Moods
Tires screeching. Skythe pulled the steering wheel into a hard turn around the corner. Alex’s head was throttled, hitting the back of the seat.
“Ow! Skythe what’s wrong!”
He threw a quick glance at her, crease lines still folding across his forehead. Skythe locked his eyes into the gravel road again. He had ignored her. Alex watched him. She would let his mood die away, before she could speak to him. It wasn’t easy. Seeing him agitated. It made her shudder. Scared. The strings of conversation between them snapped. Now he drove, infuriated by his own mysterious thoughts. Aggressively flinging the car, around turns that flickered the first signs of Alex’s homely neighborhood. The neighborhood where she saw Mrs. Hale wave cheerfully to her. Before she could wave back, the car had already streaked by. It’s loud roar now racing through the streets, with cottages erected from either side. Alex would try again, this time conjuring up her own aggressive mood. She would confront him. Alex wrapped her arms around her waist. Hesitantly shot brief glances at him. He was still angry. Still agitated. But she would confront him. “Skythe!”

His eyes were firm. Still locked onto the narrowing road, the car seemingly glided across.
“Skythe, listen to me!” she said, her voice a hoarse boom. “I’m your girlfriend. Tell me what’s wrong”
The car was flung around another turn. It screeched, halting abruptly in front of Alex’s house. A tall wooden cottage, channeling out winks of light through narrow windows. It’s lopsided roof stood; guarding a behemoth of blackened clouds that crawled ever so fast, to Greendale. The darkness approached.
Skythe unlocked the door with a click, then darted outside. Alex, following him with her eyes, past the hood, to her side of the door. He thrust it open. Alex gasped. The cold draught from outside torpedoed in. Skythe. He leaned over to Alex, strong arms imprisoning both sides of her tiny waist. She had to lean back too, until her arm uncomfortably pushed against the straight gear shifter. His breath was colder. Leaving Alex’s nose tingling as it brushed past it. Still no conversation between them. Deadly silence. Looking into his gray pupils. Watching them in awe, as they contorted deep in Alex’s own soul. Without warning, he brought his face closer. Pressed his icy lips against Alex’s. Cold. Alex embraced him. She threw her arm loosely around his neck. He did the same. First nibbling at her lip, then running his hand down her spine, and firmly scooping up her waist. Pulling her towards his chest. Alex kissed him through overwhelmed, quavering breaths. He seemed unperturbed by this. Alex took in his breath. She could almost feel it, blowing down her throat fusing with her own warm breaths. He retracted, “I-I think it’s time to go!”. Alex almost wailed,
“W-Why?”
“Because, Alex!”. This was said looking backwards, at some distant object only he could see. He glided off to the driver’s seat again. Alex, left dry, leaning on the gear shifter; gazing at her house from the ajar door. She pulled herself upwards, and jumped out the car. She peered back inside, and saw that he was already in the driver’s seat. Twisted the keys at the ignition.

The car roared to life, abruptly awakened from its sleep. “I love you Alex” he said. The crease lines on his forehead unwound. The agitation was waning out. A warm wash of relief massaged Alex’s face into a smile, “I love you too”. She slammed the car door shut. The car roared. Streaked out on the open road again. He was gone. Alex was left dry, weakly waving her hand out to him.

A nip of rain dropped on Alex’s nose. Wet. Then another on her ear. One on her hand. Then another. Wet. The thunder crashed, encouraging a denser shower. The raindrops drenched Alex’s head. She ran to the house. Up the porch. Opening the door just a little. Gliding inside, then shutting the rain completely out. It’s quiet whoosh carried a shattered memory. The presence of Skythe still clasping her heart.

Alex struggled out of her drenched hoodie, throwing it to the wooden dining char that had been pulled out before she left that morning. “Mom!”, she said. She looked up the stairs “Mom!”. There was no one. She was alone in the house. The quiet, wooden floored, and lightly furniture house.
Alex trotted up the stairs. She had walked down the long passage, splattered with pictures of her brother as a baby. A few blurry wedding ones. And a few of her and her friends, gathered around a candled birthday cake. She had opened the door to find her brother cross-legged, staring up, at flickering pictures on the T.V. He had a stylish joystick in his hand, furiously pressing it’s multi-colored buttons. “Max?” Alex said, “Whatcha doin?” Max fiddled with the joystick. He swung it around, in sync to the 3-D characters on the screen. He pressed a button, and the flickering went black.

“Playing Ghostbusters” he said, turning back to Alex. Alex smiled. A child’s world was simple. Withdrawn from the world of moody boyfriends and strange ‘ghost hunters’ concealing a mysterious grudge. “The door was unlocked…are you alone?” Max turned back to the screen. It flashed to life.
“Yeah, mom went out.”
Alex leaned on the doorframe, “Where to?”
“She said we’re having dinner with Uncle Juan. She went to get groceries.”
Alex’s face died. “We’re having dinner with Juan?” Angry. Annoyed.
“Yeah!” Max said childishly.
Alex stormed out. Past the passage. Flung her bedroom door open. Slammed it shut. On the other side of the room, Alex had heard. A faint snarl, coming from Max’s videogame. Juan had been a shadow. Seemingly hanging over Alex, injecting dread and discomfort into her life. He was coming to dinner. Alex would watch him flirt with her mother. She would sit. Silent. Max, making childish remarks. Alex sighed. She would have to act happy. When deep inside she scorched. She would look in Juan’s eyes. And watch him leer. Her breath would quaver. Then it would be all over. And she would smile in relief.