Pendulum

The sky blackens, lightning flashes over the white cotton balls, and the silence pushes him into the darkest recesses of his mind. It shouldn’t be this quiet, but there it is. The numbing silence of a stillness that’s indescribable. Shadows overcast the tombstones, and he kneels, staring at the moss on the corners of the stone. It wasn’t long ago that he stood here saying a different goodbye. Now, he’s back glancing at a life he’ll never live. His fingers tap the stone. A spider crawls across, and his lips curl in disgust. Instead of brushing the spider, he stands up and crosses his arms. So much is about to happen today he can feel it in the air. Even though he can’t explain it and he wishes he could. Everything will change today. He knows that. His life is about to take a dramatic turn, and he’s not ready for it. He licks his lips. A branch snaps behind him and he jumps. A couple holding hands walks by and he shakes his head. His eyes drop to their hands and his shoulders stiffen. Love is such a wasted emotion. He has never understood it. The couple lock eyes with him, they are wearing black coats and he spots shimmering silver on their necks. The way they look at him makes him itch for the comfort of his bed. He looks away. He can still feel their eyes on him. Baiting him to look this way, and he takes a deep breath. Closes his eyes. The vibration in the air is at a high pitch. When he opens them, he clenches his fists. He looks over his shoulder and the couple disappeared. He kneels one time and places his hand on the stone. “Bye, dad,” when the words leave his lips, a hollowness takes over him. He stands up, pushing away the tears. It has been two years since his father passed. It shouldn’t be like this, but the pain pricks his heart. Everyone he knew told him he’d get over it, but he still hasn’t. Every day, the pain threatens to break him. He straightens his back and his phone buzzes. When he pulls the phone out of his pocket, his stomach grumbles and his shoulders hunch. He switches off his phone and walks towards the car. Today is one of those days when he wished he had enough time. Enough time to do all the things he wanted to do, but he has to say goodbye. The problem with goodbyes is it’s so easy to go to the dark places that you never wanted to go to. This is one of those times. He wished he had a choice. If he had a choice, he would disappear. That way there’s no heart felt goodbyes or sorrowful glances. He sighs and takes out his car keys. Minutes pass by. He leans back in the car and stares at the gravestones. Being here feels strange, almost as if he’s asleep, but he knows that’s not true. He takes a deep breath and starts the car. The one thing running through his head is he has to get home. There’s a ticking time bomb in his head and it’s about to go off. He’s uncertain when it will, but he knows that if he doesn’t center himself, then it will blow. His phone buzzes again, and it goes through the car dashboard. He spots the car I. D with a glance, licks his lips and taps the answer button on the dashboard. “Yo, where are you, man?” “Got caught up.” He tightens his grip on the steering wheel. “You good. Your voice sounds weird.” “Couldn’t be better.” His lips wobble and his eyes blear. “Well, you can tell me the truth, Zane. You know that, right?” His back stiffens. “Are you with my mother?” He gulps. “Yeah, she’s asking for you. What do I tell her?” “I’m on my way. Tell her I am coming.” The call drops, and Zane bends his head for a second. Emotions fill his heart and it keeps pushing him back. If it was him, he’d trap them and then that will change everything. But he has no choice. Ever since he was a boy, his mother has always been there for him. And so much is going to change. His life will be different. It isn’t as if he expected something else, or maybe what he hoped for was more time. Two years ago, his father died. He glances at the watch his father gave him. Zane remembers as if it was yesterday. He turned fifteen and his father sat him down. His eyes glimmered, and he handed them the box. That day, everything changed. It feels weird thinking about that moment because two months later, someone shot his father. They did not find the killer. Speculation went around that his father had angered the wrong person. He was an investigator, after all. But Zane thought there was something more behind it. The police didn’t do their job and everything changed. He sighs. Maybe it was for the best that he’s leaving the city. Too many painful memories. Zane taps the accelerator and closes his eyes. It lasts for a second, but it calms his racing heart. It’s impossible going back. He once heard that, and now he understands what it means. Zane clutches the steering wheel and takes a gasping breath. His insides hurt and the silence is driving him nuts. He glances at the radio, ponders about turning it on, then he decides not to. Music would only make the pain worse. In a couple of minutes, he turns into his driveway and stares at the colossal house; the bricks lining the driveway and the peach-colored garage doors. As a joke, he painted it with his father. They knew it would irritate his mother because the house was white. Zane licks his lips, parks the car outside the garage door and closes it. Music is coming from the house. The melodic soft beats tickle his ears, but with a heavy heart, he walks to the door and opens it. The music is louder in the house. People cram into the living room, bobbing their heads to a song with no lyrics attached to it. He sighs and shakes his head. His younger brother is chugging down a can of drink. His eyes open and he rushes to him. Pushes him to the kitchen and closes the door. “Where’s mom?” Zane asks, staring at the dishes on the island filled with snacks. “You know, couldn’t bear to say goodbye to you,” his brother shoves chips with a dip on them in his mouth. Zane nods. “Figures, but I am only going to stay with uncle for bit. Not that deep.” He shrugs. His brother’s gray eyes widen. “Yeah, well, mom hates goodbyes.” “So, she gave you the house to yourself. You realize parties are usually evening events.” He shrugs. “She refused that idea, so we compromised.” Zane dips his head. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He rubs his temples. “Anything exciting happened?” The door opens and a boy with wavy air walks in. “Was wondering where you were, Lewis. We are about to watch Jorge beat your score.” Lewis shakes his head. “That can’t happen,” he runs out of the room, dropping crumbs of chips on the floor. The door slams shut. Zane walks to the sink and opens the tap. The water gushes out and, for a split second, he allows his memories to slip into the darkest recesses of his mind. Zane closes the facet, and he walks out of the kitchen. The pumping beats stall him for a second. He watches his brother bobbing his head in an awkward motion and he smiles. It will be difficult going through life without his brother. His heart aches as he dwells on it and he shakes his head. Zane climbs the stairs, and he stares down at his brother, taking in the moment. When his father died, Lewis went into his shell and it took some time for him to heal. He wonders whether it’s an act and he’s pretending. It would make so much more sense than one day, he snapped out of his despair. He licks his lips and ambles to his bedroom. The door is open and his jaw drops when he spots Amberly reading one of his book. She looks up, and they lock eyes for a second. “You’re back,” she says, tilting her head to the side. He nods. “What are you doing here?” He crosses his arms. “Wyatt has been looking for you,” her voice is tonally calm. Zane drops his eyes, then glances at the ceiling. “What did you tell him?” She stands up. The dress on her accentuates her body. “I told him that there was nothing to worry about. His best friend wouldn’t ignore him,” she sighs. “What’s going on, Zane?” Zane pinches his nose. “Amberly, we aren’t friends and you are right. I wasn’t ignoring him. If you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been busy.” She raises her eyes. “Clearly,” she says in a mocking tone. “Just call, Wyatt. He’s worried about you or don’t.” She shrugs. “After all, we aren’t friends,” she struts towards him and pushes the book into his hands. Zane watches her go, and his heart tightens. He leans against the wall and takes a gasping breath. Ever since his father died, his life hasn’t been the same. So much has changed, and he wonders if his father was alive. Would it be this messy? Zane stares at the book. He curls his fist and throws it at the ground. His phone buzzes. He pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the caller I.D. He closes his eyes and takes a gasping breath. His knees weaken, and he opens his eyes. Ambles to the bed and sits on the edge. He lies on the bed and stares at the ceiling. Two years ago, he never got to say goodbye to his father and ever since that day he died, it has haunted him. Now, he’s making the same mistake as before. Retreating into a bubble, hoping that it will never pop and he’s being presented with a hard fact. A cold one, to be honest. That he can’t run away from fate for long. It will always catch up to him. He licks his parched lips. All he needs is to catch his breath and he will go. He promises himself that, but time moves too slow. Zane doesn’t know how long he spends lying on the bed. He contemplates the decisions he made so far and the implication of them. The sun goes down and his phone rings. He glances at it on the floor. Zane sits up and rubs his eyes. He walks to it, picks it up and stares at the twenty-four missed calls from Wyatt. Zane rolls his shoulders, stands up, and pushes his phone into his back pocket. He opens the door and silence greets him. The party must have ended hours ago. He walks out of the room and peeps over the balcony. Lewis is playing video games and hollering. Zane rolls his eyes. His little brother developed an unusual habit of late. He climbs down the staircase and walks into the lobby. “I’m going to see Wyatt. Tell mother I will be back soon.” Lewis nods and refuses to look back at his brother. There’s an empty bowl on the table in front of Lewis and a can of drink. There are tread marks on the floor. Zane smiles wistfully. A part of him wants to walk over to his brother and kiss him on the forehead, but he chooses to not to do that. A memory filters in of his father and how he used to do that. Every time, Zane would shrug, choosing to ignore his father’s sentimental words. Now, regret weaves its way into his heart. He can’t help but wonder if he had reciprocated. Would his life be different? He pushes the memory away and leaves the house. Zane jumps into the car and drives to Wyatt’s. He assumes he is at the penthouse close to his company. In a few minutes, Zane realizes how right he is. Even though Wyatt and Zane have been best friends since they were five-year-old kids, Wyatt was different. An intellectual kid who could spot patterns that no one else could. That is why, when he was thirteen, he developed a compatibility app. His example was his parents, who divorced. Wyatt wanted to make sure that anyone who wanted to get married would go through a series of questions to find out if they were compatible. The app made billions of dollars, making Wyatt and his family wealthy. His life forever changed, and two years later, he was one of the wealthiest kids. So did Zane’s life as well. Two years later, he started working on his second app. Zane gets out of the car and stares at the modern glass house. Water runs down the side of the glass, it splashes into a water basin. Wyatt parked his silver BMW in the garage on the left side. Zane spends a few minutes staring at the house. He takes in a deep breath. Wyatt’s life changed when he started that app, and so did Zane’s. He shoves his hands into his pockets and knocks on the door. He glances at the doorbell, but something stops him from pressing it. The door clicks open and Amberly glances at him. Zane’s jaw drops. He should have expected her to be here. She was always here. Well, when she’s not at home. “Took you long enough,” she sputters. “What are you doing here?” She raises her eyebrows. “Unlike you, I don’t want to die.” the words hit him like a tornado. Zane stares down at his feet and allows the words to roll over him for a second. Ironic that a few years ago, that word wouldn’t affect him the way it does now. But everything has changed. “Let him in, Amberly,” Wyatt says, staring at his tab. Amberly steps aside and Zane walks in. The door slams shut behind him. The teak walls glisten. Wyatt taps away on his tab while yelling in Japanese as he climbs the metal stairs. Being inside feels different from it usually does. Maybe because, for the first time, he realizes time is running out. Time has always been on his side, and now there’s a stamp on his forehead. A time bomb that will explode. Zane’s mind dwells on his mother and brother. They already lost their father and now, they are going to lose him. He pulls his hand and crosses his arms. His shoulders hunch up and Amberly’s eyes get bigger. She shakes her head and walks to the kitchen. Zane trails behind her, his stomach grumbling. The maid is in the kitchen washing plates and Zane walks to the fridge. He glances at all the food and takes out a lunchbox with his name on it. Wyatt always does this. The maid walks in and starts wiping the counters. “You know, he’s just worried about you. Dodging him isn’t the solution,” Amberly sips her drink and taps her fingers on the island. “Sometimes I forget we are the same age,” Zane slams the fridge door and opens the lunchbox. He bites into the tomato cheese sandwich. “After all, with the amount of times you are lecturing me, I could swear you were older.” Zane rolls his eyes. She rolls her eyes. “We are going with sarcasm, are we? Fine. Wyatt needs you to get out of your a*s so we can find a solution.” Zane eyes her, and he takes another chuck of the sandwich. His mouth waters and his stomach grumbles. He closes the lunch tin, and he stares at the open door. It’s easy to forget that there’s no solution to this problem. Wyatt is a web developer and he might have resources, but he knows nothing about biology. If he did, then maybe they could be one step closer to saving both Amberly and Wyatt. Fate made them meet. It has been three years since they met. Three years of having to endure with her involving herself. Before that, it was just Wyatt and Zane, who were going to take over the world. Two boys whose parents were financially strapped. Wyatt’s parents were never around and, for some time, they lived under one roof. Then his father started acting like a parent. Maybe Zane’s father knocked sense into him. “There’s no solution. You realize that.” “Wyatt got a specialist. He could help.” Zane snickers. “Help. You got to be joking,” he shakes his head. “You are naïve.” “Can I please have the room?” Wyatt crosses his arms. The maid shuffles off and Amberly smiles mockingly. The door shuts behind them and the stillness pushes them up a wall. Wyatt and Zane glance at each other. Zane has always towered over Wyatt. But they look like brothers or siblings of a sort despite their complexion. Wyatt has bronze hair, which he tints. Maybe, he assumes, it makes him look like a badass. His cappuccino complexion has a few freckles on it. There’s Zane who has brunette hair, who insists on wearing t-shirts and his black sneakers. His hair is always messy. Always ruffled. Zane looks more of a model, where’s as Wyatt looks like a nerdy kid playing cool. Even though they look like that, there are still the boys who grew up in a rough neighborhood. Scars on Wyatt’s arm are proof of how hard his life was. Regardless of how much money he has now, he was so close to death. “I can explain?” Zane stutters. “So, today I get that Zane. The one who is coming up with excuses. You either want to live or you don’t,” he waves his arms in the air. “The specialist I got costs a lot of money, Zane,” he shakes his head. He takes a deep breath. “Besides that, time is running out. We can’t afford to mess with time. Do you get that?” Wyatt crosses his arms. Zane stares out of the window and his chest tightens. If there was a way he could go back to the past before he discovered something was off with him, he would. It would be so much simpler than this. “When is the specialist coming?” “In the evening, we will use the party as a cover.” Wyatt sighs. “I have to attend a meeting, so behave.” The door slams shut, leaving Zane to his thoughts.