Free Empty Streets by Jessica Cotter Page A

helping her back into her room last night, Bodhi had thrown a rope up to her. She needed to do a better job of hiding the rope and re-taping the window upon reentry.
    She lay on her bed, dozing, waiting as the clock approached midnight. And then she fell asleep.
    Two hours later, Eri awoke with a start. Her internal clock told her it was after one in the morning. She tapped on her lamp and shook her head to wake herself up. She stood and tapped the lamp out, edging herself behind the tapestry. She affixed a hooked end of the rope to the frame of the window and placed the looped end around her waist, the heavy tapestry rubbing against her left side, irritating her skin. Finally, she pulled back the tarp around the window and peeked out into the world below. Silence and darkness. She wondered if she would be able to find Bodhi.
    She slithered out the bottom half of the window and, placing her feet against the townhouse, lowered herself to the ground. She left the rope dangling against the house. It was dark tonight, darker than last night, with no starlight to illuminate the house.
    Eri crept away towards the edge of the row of houses, as she had with Bodhi last night, in the direction of the alley. Maybe he was up on the roof. It was so dark she could only see a couple feet in front of her.
    "Hey," she heard a whispered voice. She peered into blackness.
    "Um, hey," she whispered back.
    "I'm across the street. Hurry. You're late." She scurried across the dark street, hoping she didn't fall in a pothole.
    It wasn't until she was two feet from him that she saw him. Before he could say anything, she threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. He froze, surprised by her actions.
    "Hey…are you okay?" He encircled his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. His hands, hot and strong, pressed against her back. She shook her head into him. Worry about Ezra expanded inside her.
    "Do you want to talk?" he whispered, walking backwards and pulling her with him until she could feel them hit a solid surface. Bodhi maneuvered them until they were hiding in a small space between two buildings.
    She shook her head against him again. She wasn't even sure what to say. She didn't want to cry.
    Bodhi loosened his hold on her and she let go of him in response. It was too dark to see much other than the faint outline of his bare arms and legs. She wondered if he could see her at all. His hands traced up her arms and found her face, pulling her towards him as he bent down to see her. She could see his face, a shadow in the blackness of the sleeping city. She shook her head slightly, unable to explain the growing fear she felt regarding her brother.
    He closed the distance between them to kiss her lightly before letting her go. Her heart stopped at the unexpected contact. She licked her lips instinctively, leaning up for more. Instead of kissing her again, he pulled her to him and placed his mouth near her ear.
    "I was only a little worried about you when you didn't show up at midnight," he said, his breath barely a whisper in her ear.
    She pulled his head down towards her ear and whispered, "I almost didn't come. But I need something and this seemed like it."
    He nodded, pulling her to him again and hugging her. Her inability to see anything heightened her physical awareness of him. The lankiness of his chest and stomach muscles against her thin t-shirt and the softness of his hair against the side of her face worked to reduce the tension in her shoulders. She felt peaceful, calm in this darkness in a way she wasn't elsewhere. She wanted to stay in this crevice until the sun came up, ignoring the sadness stealing into her mind.
    "Come on, I have something kinda cool to show you," he whispered as he pulled at her arm, keeping his body flat against the building until they reached a garbage alley, where he pulled her after him and ran. She ran as fast as she could, the alley illuminated by a very faint, blue light. She