I was groggy when I heard a text message come through on my phone, but when I saw who it was from, I was suddenly wide awake.
[Hi. How are you?]
It was so simple, and yet, it seemed so loaded. For one, I really didn't know how to answer that question. In general, I was kind of a mess, but at that very moment, I was elated. Then there was the fact that the text had come at six in the morning, which meant that it was midnight in Indiana. I didn't know many people who sent casual texts out at that hour, there had to be something deeper beneath it.
I massaged my neck. I was analyzing this way too much. But one thing was certain: Kayla had not forgotten about me. My fingers itched as I wrote a reply.
[I'm okay. I'm really glad you texted me.]
I cringed. That sounded really lame and lackluster, but her response came almost immediately.
[Frog, it is so good to hear from you! Did you lose my number?]
I stared at the words. It would be so easy to say that I had, but I felt that I should be as honest as I could.
[No. It's just that my life has been a little bit crazy lately. I'm sorry I didn't respond to your messages, I didn't really know what to say.]
[That's okay. What's been crazy?]
I exhaled. How could I explain this to her without revealing everything? [Well, we moved to Gulbrania, and things are really different over here. Oh, and my dad is back in my life. That's kind of been a huge adjustment.]
[Wow. That's a weird coincidence. My dad showed up at school today to see me.]
I raised my eyebrows. [Is he out of prison?]
[Yes, unfortunately.]
All of the sudden I felt incredibly selfish. Here I had been wallowing in all of my issues and keeping Kayla at a distance when she had been going through some really difficult things as well.
[I'm so sorry. That must have been mortifying], I wrote.
[Yep. That would be the perfect word to describe it.]
[What are you going to do?]
[Try to avoid him as long as possible. You know how it is, having a father who's a jerk.]
Now I felt even worse. My dad hadn't left us because he was a jerk. He had left us to protect us. [Actually,] I wrote, [after talking with my dad, I kind of understood why he did what he did.]
[Really? So you've forgiven him?]
[Yeah, for the most part.]
Several minutes passed before Kayla responded. [That's great. Maybe I should follow your example.]
I cringed. I really didn't know what kind of guy Mr. Morrison was, or if prison had changed him. I didn't want Kayla to get hurt again, but maybe it would be beneficial if she gave him a chance.
[You should talk to him], I wrote. [But be careful.]
[Oh, don't worry about me, I can take care of myself.]
[Of course.]
[I never do rash things, like kiss boys out of the blue.]
[Just ones out of the green.]
[Ha! Exactly.]
I swallowed hard. Had we just joked about her kissing me? And survived it? It seemed so, but I couldn't be sure. Texting wasn't ideal for things like this, but I was probably still too nervous to talk to her on the phone.
[I miss you.] She wrote.
[I miss you too.]
I smiled. It was good to talk to Kayla. She filled a void I hadn't known was there. I was about to suggest that she come visit Gulbrania when my mother burst into my room.
"Frederick, we've got to move you underground, NOW."
My head was still full of Kayla, so it took me a few seconds to process what my mother was saying. "What do you mean?"
She began opening all my drawers and throwing things out of them. "One of our operatives discovered that the Jumerum are planning to kidnap you. They are at our borders as we speak, and your father and his team are trying to stop them. In the meantime, we need to hide you."
I felt a rush of unexpected indignation. "Hide? You want me to just hide?"
"Yes," my mother replied, ignoring my discontent. "Now hurry and pack up all your essentials. Thankfully all of your new clothing is already down there."
I got out of my bed and folded my arms across my chest. I may not have been the bravest or most capable teenager in the world, but I knew that I didn't want to run away and be useless while my dad fought all of my battles for me.
"Mom, I've spent all of this time training and preparing for something like this," I said, willing my mother to look me in the eye as she continued to rush around my room. "I should be out there, helping dad, fighting with him. Why don't you guys trust me enough to let me do anything?"
My mom took a deep breath and crossed to me. "Frederick," she said, "this has very little to do with trust. We have faith in you, but when there is any threat, it is imperative that you and your father stay separated. You two are the only ones with access to the Gulbranak, and if both of you were taken or killed…" she shuddered and took another breath," then our country, and perhaps the world, would be in a very dire situation. This is why you've spent so little time with your father. Right now, allowing the two of you to be together puts us all at great risk." She put her hand on my shoulder. "There are times to fight, and there are times to flee. If you want to help your father, if you want to help your country, now is the time to flee."
The weight of her words pressed in on me, and I could see that my desire to join in the fight was selfish.
"Okay, let's get down there."
My mother stepped back, looking relieved.
I glanced around my room and realized that the only thing I really needed was the phone I still had in my hand. "I'm ready. Let's go."
My mom frowned. "You're still wearing your pajamas."
I threw up my hands. "I thought this was an urgent situation. Now you're concerned about me looking fashionable while I flee for my life?"
She rolled her eyes. "Just change your pants and put on a coat," she said. "We do need to hurry, but I'm willing to wait a few minutes to ensure that the Prince of Gulbrania is not seen running through the streets in pants with dragons on them."
I sighed. There were just some things about royalty I was never going to understand.