Red Hot Love

Sleepless and Subterfugitive

Sunny clawed at the blanket surrounding her, pulling it off her face and sitting up. Stretching, she rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Her dream seemed to have exhausted her of the desire to sleep any further.

Light was coming from the closed bathroom door. Jem's voice, hushed and quiet. Sunny stood up and walked over quietly, bending and putting her ear to the door.

"Yes, you can call back around…let's see…"

Sunny knocked on the door. Jem paused. "Wait. I think she's awake now."

The door swung open and Jem grimly looked over at her, already fully dressed. "It's the campus security," Jem said quietly. Sunny held out her hand, and Jem handed her the phone.

Sunny cleared her throat and held the phone to her ear with both hands.

"Hello?" She asked, her voice a little unsteady.

After a few moments, she coughed and just nodded. "Okay."

"Are you okay?" The officer asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sunny replied, slightly fluttery. The officer went back to their report and finished after a few minutes. Sunny nodded again, even though clearly nobody but Jem could see her, and hung up.

"Well?" Jem asked.

Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you get the phone from?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Campus security told me to get one, for emergency contact purposes." Jem shrugged defeatedly. "I suppose if this happens again, we either should keep a phone or move to another campus again."

"No," Sunny glared. "Moving campuses again will hurt your grades."

"Not necessarily-"

"Yes, it has and it will," Sunny hissed, "And if there's one thing you care about, it's your education."

There was a pause.

"I care about you too, Sunny," Jem said quietly.

"Yeah," Sunny muttered, turning around and rubbing her ribs. "They said they questioned the guy who tried to kidnap me or whatever."

"What did they say?"

"He won't tell them why. He refuses to talk."

Jem narrowed her eyes, but Sunny did not turn back around. "What else?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty shaken up, no lie. I don't want to talk about it."

A few moments passed.

"Sunny, we can move. It's not a problem. For your safety-"

"I'm fine. I don't want to move. I like this campus. And," she frowned and turned to face Jem, "I liked this dorm."

"Sunny, I'm really sorry, but…"

"You got a phone, didn't you?" Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Besides, it's not like he was sent by my mother or anything."

Jem closed her eyes. "There is no evidence pointing towards that absurd possibility, however-"

"Jem, whether I feel safe or not depends solely on what I think, and I want you to continue your education here."

"But…"

"Maybe if you're so worried about being tracked down by her, we should split up. I'll be the decoy so I don't attract her attention to you."

"Sunny, no! What are you thinking of-"

"I should leave. I'm just being a hindrance to you," Sunny shrugged and turned around.

"No," Jem squarely grabbed her shoulders, just like she used to when they were younger, to stabilize her. "Let's talk about this, this shouldn't-"

"I don't want to talk," Sunny replied, detaching Jem's hands from her shoulders. "I'm tired. And upset. And everything sucks because all I can do is cause trouble, not be productive." Her head was starting to ache and get dizzy. Just great.

"Sunny, Sunny, please breathe. Please breathe."

"No." Flowy circles began to overtake her vision.

"Please, Sunny? Just…forget this all, just breathe…"

Sunny put both hands to her head and turned around as slowly as possible, though she still almost lost her balance amidst the world tilting. "No. Leave me alone."

Jem stayed back a few feet as she collapsed onto her bed and buried her sleepless face in the cold pillows. She took a few deep breaths and the world slowly went back to its normal shape.

Moments later, she felt a soft hand near her, not touching her but sinking into the mattress she hunched over.

"Sunny," Jem said softly, "I'm sorry this happened…I'd do anything to prevent it from recurring."

Sunny did not turn over.

Maybe we shouldn't have left my mother and gone to this university. Maybe this is all a punishment for what we did. Maybe we'll never find happiness on our own like we said we would. Maybe we're too broken to survive.

"Sunny."

Sunny took deeper breaths, relieved to see the world balancing itself with each intake of oxygen. Slowly, things stopped spinning and tilting.

"Sunny."

She looked over, head pounding. Jem sat with her hands in her lap, obedient. Like she always used to.

"I don't want to see you like that again," Sunny muttered.

Jem crossed her arms. "Okay," she said. "And I don't want to see you hurt," she muttered, her voice a little husky from thirst.

Sunny smirked. "You sound like you could use a glass of water." She reached up and touched Jem's face. Jem let her. Slowly, softly, she traced the outside of her chapped lips and the rough skin on her chin. "You're pretty," she murmured.

Jem touched her wrist and grasped it gently. "Do you still trust me?"

"Maybe."

They stayed immobile for a few seconds. For the first time, as if she didn't want to leave, Jem murmured "I have class soon."

"Right," Sunny gritted her teeth, "You have to walk an hour across campus."

"It's not that bad."

"If we have to move dorms," Sunny smiled, "Let's go to a dorm that's closer to your classes."

Jem sighed. "If plausible, yes." Slowly, she wrenched herself from Sunny's wandering fingers and stood up. "See you."

Sunny crossed her arms. "I love you."

"Thanks," Jem replied, heading out the door, but not as quickly as usual.

"Cursory as usual."

"If I run for the next twelve minutes, I have a chance of making it to class five minutes before it starts."

Sunny smiled as the door closed on itself, blocking out the last hallway light and leaving natural light to take its place. A few moments passed. The dorm room was entirely silent, save for the sounds of construction in the distance.

Quietly she turned over, reached for her phone, and checked the clock.

"Your class already started minutes ago," she muttered. "No need to be secretive about it."