Equinox

by L. J. Higgins

  “I have to keep moving, but I’ll see you both at dinner, yeah?”

  “We’ll be there with bells on,” Reece said.

  “I won’t be wearing bells, but I’ll be there,” I said.

  Tyson laughed before leaving us with our lunch. I put down my pen and paper and picked up an egg and lettuce sandwich. Reece picked up his own sandwich.

  “A day stuck in this room with me will be worth it, I promise,” he said.

  “You don’t think anything’s going on between Natalie and my brother, do you?” I asked him.

  Reece laughed. “No, I don’t think so. Last I heard Tyson was spending a lot of time with Cleo.”

  “I saw her touching his arm in the dining hall, yesterday,” I said. “She’s why he wants to go to Terra Sol, isn’t she?”

  “I think so.”

  “He’s spent so much of his life looking after me, then helping the Solians. He deserves to be happy. I wish he’d felt comfortable enough to tell me he likes her,” I said.

  “I think he was worried about how you’d feel about him seeing a Solian. I didn’t think you’d be happy if I told him about what’d happened between us.”

  “Well, at least he should know I’m okay with it after this morning.”

  Reece laughed. “That was quite the reveal, wasn’t it?”

  “The look on Natalie’s face was priceless,” I said.

  “What’s going on with you two, anyway?” he asked. “You’ve barely spoken since we arrived.”

  “It’s been crazy since we got here, but I guess part of me finds it hard to be around her. She reminds me too much of what I was and what I’ve done.”

  “And I don’t?” he asked.

  “You spent the whole time we went hunting together stopping me from making any more mistakes. You’re the one who woke me up to everything. So no, you don’t.”

  “We better get back to it,” he said. “This food won’t count itself.”

  “How awesome would it be if it could, though?” I replied, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

  The numbness in my butt had crept down through my crossed legs, and my neck ached from leaning over the piece of paper I wrote on, resting on the concrete floor. Reece stretched his neck from side to side, looking just as worn out as I felt.

  “Who would’ve thought sitting down counting all day would be so exhausting?” I moaned.

  “Not me.”

  “It must be nearly time to finish. I’m in desperate need of a hot shower and my bed,” I said.

  His eyes widened, and he became more alert at my words. “Wait here a second, and I’ll find out.”

  He crawled to his feet, stretching his legs out slowly, He walked towards the door as though he’d spent the day riding a horse and disappeared through it. Taking it as my cue to stretch, I pushed the box of rice bags I’d been counting aside and extended my legs out in front of me, stretching over them to reach for my toes. My entire body ached.

  “We’re good to go,” Reece said, re-entering the room.

  “Thank goodness. I feel like I’ve aged a hundred years sitting in here.” Standing, I leaned against the shelving until I was sure my legs would hold me up.

  “Let’s get you into a nice warm shower. I could use one myself,” he said.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything…”

  He sniffed his armpits. “They are pretty bad.”

  He took our counting sheets and attached them to a clip on the wall before leading me out into the hallway and towards our rooms.

  Once inside my room, my bed beckoned for me to crawl in and close my eyes to sleep away my aching muscles, but the thought of a hot shower won out, and I grabbed some fresh clothes and made my way to the bathrooms.

  They were completely empty when I arrived, and I hoped it would remain that way until I finished my shower and got back to my room.

  Undressing, I turned on the shower and stepped underneath the showerhead, wishing it had the same pressure as the showers at Skywatchers. The slow fall of water didn’t do much to soothe my muscles, but at least it was warm, and I took the time to let the heat sink into my skin and bones.

  “Ky?” Natalie’s voice called from outside the shower cubicle.

  “Are you kidding me? I thought I was alone for once!”

  “I missed you, too.”

  “I bet you had an awesome job today while I counted boxes of dried fruit.” I turned off the shower and stepped out to dry myself off.

  “I had an amazing day. I was just seeing how long until you’ll be ready to come to dinner?” she asked.

  Dinner. I hadn’t even thought about eating, not since I caught sight of my comfy bed. “I was thinking I might skip dinner. I’m exhausted.”

  “Counting is hard work for people with the IQ of a pre-schooler,” she said.

  I opened the door wrapped in my towel. “The counting wasn’t the problem. The concrete floor on my butt was.”

  “You’ll survive. You can’t go to bed without dinner. Tyson will worry,” she said.

  “Let him worry. I’m going to bed,” I replied, closing the door again so I could dress.

  After putting on my underwear, I pulled on a grey t-shirt and a pair of blue track pants. I stepped out, drying off my hair. Natalie burst out laughing.

  “What?” I turned to the mirror to get a look at myself.

  “You’re going to wear that to dinner?” she asked.

  “I said I’m not going to dinner, and it’s not like I’m trying to impress anyone,” I said, noticing she wore a knee-length floral dress. “But apparently, you are.”

  “I just thought it’d be nice to dress up for a change. I got you something to wear, too.” She held up a low-cut navy blue dress.

  “No thanks.” I finished drying my hair and made my way towards the door.

  Natalie stood in front of me. “Please.” She gave me her best puppy dog eyes.

  “I said no,” I said, pushing past her and making my way back towards my room.

  “Come on. What girl can say no to a pretty dress?” she said, following me.

  Turning around the corner, I found Reece standing at my door in black slacks and a button up sky blue shirt that highlighted the blue of his eyes.

  “What are you wearing?” he asked.

  “Really? You, too?” I said, opening my door and walking into my room.

  I picked up a hairbrush and started brushing out my hair as the other two followed me in.

  “I really think you should wear the dress,” Reece said.

  “I didn’t pick you for the kind of guy who demanded girls wear what he asks,” I said.

  “I’m not.”

  “But I’m the girlfriend who demands you wear it. You owe me,” Natalie said.

  “This is how you want me to repay you for rescuing me. By wearing a dress?” I asked her.

  “Exactly.” She smiled wide, holding the dress towards me.

  “Fine. Get out.” I took the dress from her hands.

  She grinned and left the room followed by Reece.

  Changing out of my comfy clothing, I pulled on the dress and struggled with the zipper running up the back of it for a moment before I managed to catch it between my fingers and wriggle it up. I knew I could’ve asked Natalie or Reece for help. I guessed they were both standing in the hallway waiting for me, but I didn’t want to make a bigger deal out of me wearing it than they already were.

  Smoothing it down, it didn’t quite reach my knees, but the dark blue fabric hugged my figure nicely, even if the front was cut a bit lower than I was used to. I ran my fingers through my long dark hair and drew in a breath before opening my door.

  Reece’s eyes widened as they landed on me. I swallowed hard.

  “You look amazing,” he said.

  “Thank you,” I replied.

  “He’s not kidding. You look gorgeous,” said Natalie. “I have some nude flats for you to wear. I didn’t think you’d agree with heels.”

  “Yo
u thought right.” I took them from her and slid them on my feet. “So, are you two going to tell me what on earth is going on?”

  They looked between each other.

  “I’m going to run ahead. I’ll see you there,” Natalie said before disappearing.

  “What’s going on?” I raised an eyebrow at Reece.

  “I need you to trust me,” he said.

  “Okay, now I’m worried,” I said.

  “I need you to close your eyes.”

  “No way. I don’t trust you or anyone else for that matter.”

  He laughed. “I thought you might say that. But if you don’t, you’ll ruin the surprise.”

  “What surprise?”

  “Let me put a scarf around your eyes, and you’ll find out.” He held up a red scarf.

  “Fine. But if I run into anything or fall over, I get to knee you in the groin,” I said, crossing my arms.

  “Deal.”

  He stepped behind me and placed the scarf over my eyes. The only thing I could see was my feet through the crack at the bottom.

  “Can you see?” he asked.

  “Can we just get moving before someone sees me?” I replied.

  He laughed again. “Do you know what the date is today?”

  I thought for a moment. When was the last time I knew the date? “Not a clue.”

  “How about what month it is?” he asked.

  “August? September maybe?” I replied.

  “And what’s an important date in September?” he asked.

  “The Equinox?” I asked.

  “More important. Does the date September twentieth mean anything to you?” he asked.

  My eyes widened beneath the blindfold. “It’s my birthday.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Reece led me down the corridors with a hand on each of my shoulders, and true to his word, I didn’t run into anything or fall over. The squeal of opening doors made me cringe as he ushered me forward.

  “Ready?” he whispered.

  “I don’t…”

  He whipped the scarf from my face.

  “Happy birthday!” The chorus of voices filled the room as I blinked my eyes into focus. Tyson and Natalie stood front and centre before what looked to be most of the people living in the bunker.

  My hand went to my heart at the sight of them, tears prickling my eyes, and I swallowed hard to keep my composure. I hadn’t celebrated a birthday with more than a notecard from the Commander and a cupcake from Ricko since I’d joined Skywatchers. To think they’d gone to all of this effort for me after everything I’d done. But they didn’t all know. They just knew I was Tyson’s sister.

  “Happy eighteenth birthday, Ky,” Reece said, pulling me from my racing thoughts.

  I was eighteen. I held his gaze, and he nodded, beckoning me to step forward.

  Tyson wrapped me in his arms. “Happy birthday, little sister. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you a present, but I hoped this awesome eighteenth birthday party would make up for it.”

  “This is incredible. I can’t believe you remembered,” I said.

  “Of course, I did. I can’t believe you didn’t.”

  “In my defence, checking what date it is hasn’t exactly been at the top of my priority list.”

  “Everybody ready?” Tyson called out to the group.

  They broke out into a birthday song, and the crowd parted to reveal Cleo and another woman carrying a slab of cake with ‘Happy 18th Birthday, Kylah,’ written across it in blue and dotted with lit candles. They sat it on a table, and Tyson guided me forward as they finished singing.

  “Blow them out,” Tyson said.

  “Make a wish first,” Reece said.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I wished there was a way I could erase the past so I could be with my brother and Reece for the rest of my life. Opening them again, I blew out all of the candles with one long breath.

  The room cheered before a pop song began thumping through the room. The lights dimmed, and a few people approached to wish me a happy birthday while others talked amongst themselves or started to dance in the middle of the room.

  “Happy birthday,” Natalie said, wrapping me in a hug. “Hope you enjoy tonight.”

  “So, everyone knew about this except me?” I said.

  “Pretty much,” Tyson said.

  “And you were okay with making me sit on the concrete counting all day… on my eighteenth birthday?” I asked both him and Reece.

  “I had to put you somewhere you wouldn’t notice what we were doing,” he replied.

  “My butt is so sore I was going to skip dinner and go to bed,” I said.

  “I’m sure your butt will recover,” he said. “Especially, once you’ve had some cake. And the special drink I got the Solians to make for you.”

  “Drink?” I asked, looking between them all.

  “It’s called Kota. It’s made from plants native to Terra Sol,” said Reece. “We brought a whole bunch of it as a gift for your planet. But you know how that all went. It packs quite a punch.”

  “So, it’s alcohol?” I asked.

  “Yes. You can’t have your eighteenth birthday without having a drink. It’s a Solian tradition,” Tyson said.

  Tyson turned towards a table and turned back with two plastic cups full of red liquid in his hands. He passed one to Reece and one to me.

  “Natalie?” he’d turned back to retrieve two more.

  “Thanks,” she replied, taking the drink.

  “Bottoms up!” Tyson said.

  We all lifted our cups to our lips. The Kota tasted like wild berries and mint, and although it warmed my throat on the way down, it was easy to drink.

  “I thought you said it packed a punch?” I asked Reece.

  “You just wait,” he replied.

  “You coming to dance with me?” Natalie asked.

  “I think I’ll need a few more of these before I even think about dancing,” I said. “Plus, I’m still getting my head around being a year older without even knowing.”

  “Suit yourself.” She bounced off into the group of dancers, drink in hand.

  “Well, this sucks,” I said to Tyson.

  “What?” asked Tyson.

  “I can’t exactly be mad at you for ditching me today when you were putting all of this together, can I?”

  He put his arm around my shoulders. “I have lost years to make up for. Especially, if you’re not coming to Terra Sol. You haven’t convinced her yet, have you?” He turned to Reece who still had his hand across the small of my back.

  “Sorry, mate.” He shrugged.

  “Well, keep trying. I’m not giving up on her, yet. Maybe we can get her to sign an agreement when she’s had a few more Kota’s? Ahh! Cleo! Ky, do you remember Cleo?” Tyson disappeared for a moment before returning with Cleo by his side. “I know I should’ve said something earlier, but Cleo’s my girlfriend.”

  “I had a feeling something was going on between you,” I said, taking another long sip of Kota.

  “Happy birthday,” she replied, her gaze slipping to Tyson before returning to me. “I’ve heard so much about you, it’s was nice to finally put a face to the name.”

  I emptied my cup of Kota.

  “Would you like a refill?” Reece asked.

  “Yes, please.” I handed him my cup and watched him leave.

  Awkwardness crept in without Reece beside me, and I struggled to make conversation. “You must be either crazy or way too nice to put up with Tyson.”

  “A bit of both, I think,” she replied.

  “Okay, this is why I didn’t want to tell you,” Tyson said.

  “Because we can swap notes on how annoying you are?” I said with a smirk, my shoulders softening.

  “And because of the stories you can tell from when we were kids. I’ve got these people all convinced I had loads of friends and wasn’t a nerd, now you could unravel it all,” he said.

  “If you keep me locked up in a room all day like today again, I might ju
st have to tell them about the time you begged mum to dress you up as a princess for my birthday so you didn’t miss out,” I laughed.

  “Okay,” he started, directing me away. “Someone get this girl some cake so she stops talking.”

  Cleo handed me a piece of the chocolate cake, and I took a bite.

  “Yup, that’ll do it. This is amazing,” I mumbled.

  I was half way through the piece of cake when Reece returned with my drink.

  “Where’s yours?” I asked.

  “One’s enough for me,” he said.

  “That potent, hey? Maybe I shouldn’t have any more,” I said.

  “Rubbish!” Tyson said. I think he’d already had too much. “It’s your birthday, you can have as much Kota as you like.”

  I finished my cake and took the cup from Reece, taking a mouthful and shifting my weight beside him.

  “Okay, now you’ve had enough Kota to dance. Come on.” Tyson grabbed my hand and dragged me to where a group of people were dancing.

  I looked to Reece and Cleo for help, but they both shrugged their shoulders. I was on my own. Tyson grabbed both of my hands, wiggling me from side to side, and I couldn’t help the smile spreading across my face.

  “There she is, my little sister,” Tyson said. “I missed you so much.”

  “I missed you, too,” I said.

  He squeezed me in a tight hug before spinning me around and letting go of my hands. I took a step back but ran into someone. Reece.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked.

  “Me? Do you think I’d abandon my crazy brother?” I said, feigning shock.

  “That’s exactly what I thought you were doing. But I don’t blame you.” He nodded towards Tyson who was waving his hands in the air like one of those blow up wobbly guys you used to see out the front of car dealerships.

  “Your dancing hasn’t gotten any better,” I told Tyson.

  Cleo arrived beside us.

  “Cleo likes my dancing,” he said, wiggling his arms around her.

  “It’s incredibly sexy.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. It was so good to see him smile every time he looked at her. There was no way I could ask him to stay here with me, not when he had someone that made him so happy.

  “Hey.” Natalie danced up beside me. “You ready for another drink?”