Light (Gone 6)

Diana had been at loose ends since getting out of the hospital. She’d been taken in by parents of FAYZ kids but hadn’t really had a place of her own.

After the service they grouped together with lemonades and iced teas in their hands, all of them dressed in “nice” clothing. None of them was armed. Not even so much as a spiked baseball bat.

“Nice speech,” Diana snarked. “Are you going to play yourself in the movie?”

“The director considered it,” Astrid said. “But it turns out I’m not quite the Astrid type. It was a somewhat surreal moment. Koyaanisqatsi.”

That earned her a collective sigh and many rolled eyes.

“I’m not asking her,” Dekka said.

“It means ‘life out of balance,’” Astrid explained. “Koyaanisqatsi.”

“And yet no one asked,” Dekka pointed out.

“You guys hear about the camper?” Edilio asked. “Way up north of the Stefano Rey. Says he saw this girl. Golden skin. Saw her and then, poof. Not there.”

“There are going to be stories like that for years,” Astrid said. “The FAYZ will spawn a thousand legends and myths. Not to mention that it’s screwed up the study of physics pretty well.”

“It would be interesting, though, wouldn’t it?” Quinn asked.

“Just a story,” Sam said. He held up his hand. “Nothing there. All that is over.”

They talked until the talk grew too painful. Then they hugged and went their separate ways, all but Sam and Astrid. And Diana. Sam took her arm as she started to leave.

“Listen, Diana,” he said. “We have an idea. Astrid has all this Hollywood money now.”

“Great for you. Now your girlfriend is smarter and richer than you,” Diana teased. “But not quite as cute.”

“Yeah, well, um . . . here’s the thing. My mother and I . . . well. We aren’t really close anymore.”

“I’m sorry. There’s a lot of that going around.”

“And Astrid has to be down in LA a lot anyway. So . . . so my mother has emancipated me. That means I’m legally on my own. Legally an adult.”

“Can you handle the responsibility?” Diana asked.

Sam grinned. “Well, it’s tough. So much pressure deciding do I want pizza or Chinese food.”

“Yeah, you’re not good at making those life-and-death decisions.”

“We have a place. The two of us. It’s not far from Quinn’s house, in Santa Monica. The school’s not bad. The beach is right there. And it’s crazy, but it’s too big for just the two of us.”

Astrid came over and said, “Have you told her?”

“I’m in the process.”

Astrid sighed. “Come live with us, Diana. Don’t argue. Just say yes.”

Diana looked at the ground to hide her emotions. Then she said, “Would I have to be hearing you two going at it night and day?”

AFTERMATH 4

THEIR ROOM WAS furnished from IKEA. They had a queen-size bed, two nightstands, two dressers, and many lamps.

Sam still did not like the dark. But he no longer feared it.

They had a TV, two laptops, fast internet service, and two iPhones. Through the window came the sounds of traffic. There was a great deal of food in the refrigerator and the cupboards. The bathroom was well stocked with medicines. Enough to supply a small clinic.