Chapter 6: Laugh Louder

JASPER:
I shiver against the cold, wet clothes sticking to my skin under the covers. I was next to the window, and bright neon lights shone into my eyes, giving me a headache again. From behind me, in the other bed across the room, I heard a wet sniffle.

I didn’t have to guess to know it was Axel. I pulled the covers closer to my face and tried to close my eyes, drowning it out by focusing on the heavy rain. He eventually got quieter. I exhaled and went back to being annoyed by the blinding blue lights shining into my eyes.

Then he started again, a faint hiccuping sound sharper in the quiet room. I slowly turned my head and looked at his darkened silhouette in the back of the room. “You’ll wake up Mavis,” I whispered. He sniffled again. “Sorry,” he choked out. A faint sob followed, and I pulled the covers off along with my tired body. I got closer and saw his puffy eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed with my hands in my lap.
“You cry louder than Mavis laughs.” He looked away, wiping his face with the thin blanket.

“Sorry,” he repeated. I stayed silent and looked away at the wall. I saw Mavis’s hand move on her pillow.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered. “You didn’t.” The sound of rain pounding against the ceiling filled the silence again. “Scoot over,” I told him. “Your side of the room’s warmer.”

He paused a second before moving toward Mavis’s side of the bed, making a gap for me. I lay without the blanket, not wanting to get the bed too wet. I stared at the ceiling quietly. Axel quieted down. His head lowered, touching mine.

I stayed still, fidgeting with the blanket. His breathing evened out, and I awkwardly lay there, feeling the warmth of his body against my cold one. Mika shifted against the couch and pressed his head deeper into the pillow. I closed my heavy eyelids and dozed off to the sound of wind and rain.

MAVIS:
I’ve been awake for what feels like hours.
Axel is pressed against my back, completely still.
For a second, I wonder if he’s actually even breathing.
Morning light bleeds weakly through the window, muted by tall buildings outside. The cuts from the window sting every time I move.

I force myself to look around the room for a distraction.
Mika’s awake on the couch.
He’s lying flat on his back with his arms folded over his stomach, staring at the ceiling like he forgot how to blink.
He looks like he just saw the grim reaper or something.
“Slept well?” I joke quietly, pushing the blankets off myself.
He doesn’t answer.
Doesn’t even look at me.
Whatever dude.
My face immediately drops, and I exhale through my nose.
I shift awkwardly before giving up on the conversation completely.
Axel’s head slipped off his pillow sometime during the night and ended up against Jasper’s shoulder. Jasper tilted toward him in his sleep without noticing.
I almost snort at the sight, not cause it’s funny. Just the way Jaspers drooling on the pillow.
Mika suddenly stands up from the couch.
“Mavis, grab the clothes. I’ll get the rest of the money,” he says, sounding like Oscar the Grouch again.
He’s already walking away before he finishes the sentence.
Someone shifts behind me.
I turn and see Axel blinking awake slowly.
“Are we leaving?” he asks, voice still rough with sleep.
“I dunno.” I shrug.
Then start piling clothes together without bothering to fold any of it. Outside still looks cold and disgusting.
Axel barely moves, probably because Jasper’s still asleep beside him.
A minute later, Mika comes back into the room holding a wrinkled ten-dollar bill.
He stops beside Jasper and pokes his cheek until Jasper’s eyes crack open into an exhausted glare.
“We’re leaving,” Mika says.
Then he walks away again.
I shake my head lightly once he leaves grabbing the pile of clothes. It’s so annoying when he pretends to be the boss.
Jasper drags himself upright while Axel rubs at his eyes.
I pull the motel door open, cold morning air immediately breaking through, and hurry down the wet metal staircase.
Everyone else follows slower.
Mika heads straight for the lobby to check us out.
Jasper leans against the wall outside with his arms crossed, staring blankly at the building across the street.
Axel squats on the ground, yawning and fidgeting with the blades of grass.
The silence starts getting uncomfortable again.
“Shitty weather, huh?” I joke quietly toward Jasper.
He exhales through his nose, annoyed, and ignores me completely.
I stare a second too long again, then suck in my cheeks and stop talking.

A few minutes later, Mika pushes through the lobby doors and the bell above them rings sharply. He gestures for us to follow him.
I immediately start walking faster than everyone else just so I don’t have to stay in that weird silence they got going on.

The pavement still glistens with rainwater and morning fog. Cars hiss past, spraying dirty puddles across the curb.
“So, boss,” I call back toward Mika, “where are we headed?”
“Bus stop. It’s past this turn,” he mutters.
Good enough for me.
I skip ahead until I reach the bench first.
An older man is already sitting there who looks even grumpier than us.
He doesn’t bother to look up; he just scowls at the ground and mumbles something when I get there.
Well, he seems nice.
Mika stops beside me with both hands shoved into his pockets with the money.
Axel almost sits beside the old guy.
I immediately grab the back of his hoodie and drag him around the bench toward me instead.
He stares at me, confused.
I give him and look.
Idiot.
A bus finally hisses to a stop in front of us, spraying muddy water onto the pavement.

Mika climbs on first.
The rest of us follow behind him into a bus full of exhausted older people who already look angry enough to hate us on sight.
I take a seat near the back beside the window.
Axel sits beside me.
Jasper and Mika sit in the row ahead after Mika hands money to the driver.
The bus jerks forward with another hiss and crawls through the city past smoke-filled alleyways and overflowing dumpsters.
There’s bird shit smeared across the windshield that nobody bothered cleaning.
Axel starts picking at his nails beside me.
“You’re gonna rip one off,” I warn him.
“Sorry,” he mumbles immediately.
I glance sideways at him.
“You apologize too much. If your nail falls off, then you’ll be real sorry.”
I laugh quietly.
He smiles a little before looking away again.
I rest my forehead against the cold glass.
A few seconds later, Mika turns around in his seat.
“We need to figure out what we’re telling Creed,” he says quietly, a leak of anxiety and determination hinting in his expression.
Jasper sits beside him, staring down at his headphones like he’s trying to decide whether they’re broken or not.
The bus rattles loudly around us while everyone thinks.
“What if we say we got inside, but something triggered security before we could search for the documents?” Mika says. “We didn’t have enough time.”
Axel looks at me like I’m supposed to know what to do.
“Sure,” I say. “I don’t have a better idea.”
“It’d help if we actually knew more than just ‘someone killed my wife’,” Jasper mutters, still staring at the headphones in his hands. “The full picture could be helpful too.” He grumbles.
“Well, its important enough we figure it out.” Mika says flatly before turning back around because he’s decided the conversation’s over.
I lean against the window again.
Beside me, Axel shifts nervously.
“Do you think Creed’s mad?” he asks quietly.
I turn toward him slowly and look at him for a moment.
“Uh. Yeah?” I laugh under my breath. “When is he not?”
Axel looks down at his hands again.

I stare at him for a second longer than I probably should. He's got that look again. The one I don't have a name for and don't particularly want one.

“Weirdo,” I mutter.
Then I look back out the window and clench my hands tighter in my sleeves.
I breathe against the glass and it fogs.
With my finger I write: “Fuck you Creed.”
I look at it for a moment watching it disappear.
Everyone else is just scared of him. But I hate everything about him and I’d yell it in his face if I could.
He reminds me too much of Lara.
Someone who can say the exact thing that could give someone 3 different personality disorders without giving it a second thought.
While you think you deserve worse.
So I don’t fear him. I see right through his lying yellow teeth.
I lean against the window again and watch as we get closer to the subway, and how quieter the bus feels.