《Contrasting Similarities》38. Raising the walls back up
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The day dragged on and my mood only worsened.
It was hard to pay attention in class and I kept zoning out. Like tuning in to the class then tuning out. The cycle went on. Rose was making notes and paying close attention to everything, like she's always done.
Lunch was interesting. Jayden kept glancing at us as we sat at the table on the other end of the cafeteria. And that Jessica girl kept stealing glances at Josiah.
She's in for it if she goes for him. I don't want a snobby sister-in-law who is too full of herself. So self-obsessed that she treats others like shit.
I stared at her creepily all the time and she got to know about it soon. That's why she kept her head down most of the time and didn't even lift it to glance at Josiah again.
That's all that happened, except for the almost breakdown I experienced in the second last lecture. I don't know what happened but suddenly everything seemed to be coming crashing down and that overwhelming feeling returned.
I missed Dad terribly. His name is the only thing I have and I know Jayden will bring that up before Lucian. Knowing Lucian, he will start with his orders again.
And that alone clawed at me from the inside. It hurt so much that I almost lost control. Almost. But the bell rang and I had to compose myself and run out of the bathroom before Josiah noticed there was something wrong.
"Is something wrong?" Rose asked from beside me, squeezing my hand.
"Yeah. Jayden being a late bitch." I scoffed. "We've been waiting since forever."
We were standing in the parking near Jayden's car, waiting for him to grace us with his presence and take us away from this hellhole.
He finally appeared walking out of the building with his friends and Josiah, chatting loudly and goofing around.
I rolled my eyes, as he said his goodbyes to his friends and walked to the car, ignoring everyone looking his way.
He looked at me, raised his eyebrows then shook his head.
"Impatient Bunny," He grumbled, opening the door for us to get in.
I scowled and got in after Rose, not in the mood to deal with his bullshit.
Him and Josiah got in quickly and soon we were driving off.
Dinner is usually at 8. Five hours more.
I tapped my foot while looking out of the window. A sigh escaped my mouth.
It was out of my understanding how everything flipped upside down in such a short time.
And it felt like it's all going off-track. I was losing the smallest of control and that realization just dawned upon me. The realization that I was changing, despite steeling my heart after Dad and deciding I wouldn't give in. The moment I was told he died, the bright side of things died.
He was wrong just once. His Dad superpowers didn't work once. The moment he said everything was the same after Mom died. When he told us she was living in our hearts and just wasn't speaking. When he cleared our blurry vision, by comforting us, even though the brightness of his bright and pretty green eyes, died down when he saw her casket being lowered to the ground.
Making her absence permanent. Leaving her three hearts back here to deal with the curse of grief and loss.
"Bunny?" Jayden asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I blinked once, causing the tears to fall down on my hand as I stared out.
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"I asked, if you wanted to go somewhere today? Like a picnic." He asked.
"No," I said, my voice coming out weirdly soft and gentle.
"Okay." He said, quietly before the silence consumed us again.
I want my parents. I need them.
The hand on my lap clenched into a fist, while the other clawed at the arm.
My next breath came with quite the struggle. My chest felt painfully tight and the reminder that I had my two big hearts beating inside me just made it hurt even more.
How could his little heart give out all the love to support another broken little heart and then manage to mend itself?
How was it supposed to be selfish and keep some love for its own when all it has seen is two big hearts showering all their love on the little ones?
The blurry garage was what came into view as I snapped out of it. Pushing the door open quickly, I rushed to the door.
Being engulfed in the warmth of the house was good, but for some reason my mind went straight to how it wasn't Dad's arms that provided the warmth.
Mindlessly crossing the lobby, I rushed to the stairs and climbed up quickly.
This isn't who I am. I am not so weak to seek for comfort even after having the knowledge that it is only temporary.
Sheltering my heart was hard and I can't let everything go in vain by breaking the walls so quickly. Lowering the walls, only leads to memories coming back to haunt me.
A reminder that destiny played its game yet again and snatched every bit of happiness I had. Snatched everything from me like it was never supposed to be mine. I was destined to be the shield, to be the one suffering so the other half was happy.
Shutting the door behind me, I took in a deep breath. Which was rather shaky along with the pathetic sobs that raked though my chest.
My hand flew to my chest, feeling the racing heartbeat inside. With another shaky breath, the hand tightened around the fabric, bunching it in a fist, as my nails dug into the skin.
"Levi!" Rose's panicked voice didn't help with the beeping that started echoing in my head.
"I'm okay," I said. My voice came out shaky and weak.
She entered the room, coming to an abrupt halt when she saw me standing just in front of the door.
She took deep breaths for some time before I heard the click of the lock, after she shut the door.
I flinched when her arm wrapped around my shoulder. Looking to my side, I saw her looking up at me. There was something different. She looked strong. That's when another realisation settled in. That the roles were switched. I was supposed to wipe her tears and provide comfort, not the other way around.
"I'm okay," I said, steeling my resolve and keeping the tears at bay.
"Come on," she said, soothingly, leading me towards the bed. I complied and walked to the bed, a pit settling in my stomach.
'So pathetic. Now she has to comfort you. Pathetic bitch acting like a victim.'
Don't listen to it.
Nico's words echoed in my head, causing more tears to form in my eyes.
'Now he will be disappointed and think you're pathetic.'
"Here. Drink some water." Rose handed me the glass of water. I took it absentmindedly and stared at the wall before us.
Taking a sip, I reveled in the cool sensation it provided to my throat.
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"I'm okay," I whispered again, turning to look at her, only to get a frown in return.
"There is something," she said, taking my hand in hers. "And I know you won't tell me, no matter how much I try. I think you should call Asher."
All movements stilled. The bouncing of my leg, the tapping of the fingers of my free hand and the clenching and unclenching of my jaw.
"No. There's nothing wrong. I don't need to call him." I said, simply, taking another sip to busy myself. I could see in my peripheral vision, the way her frown intensified.
"Please Levi," she said, softly.
"No, Rose," I said, without turning my head to look at her.
Maybe raising the walls back up will keep these sudden emotions in.
'He won't even try probably. Everyone is already tired of you.'
"I'm going to take a shower. I don't wanna eat," I said, standing up. Putting the glass on the nightstand, I turned around and walked to the bathroom, without another word or another glance at my sister.
Shutting the door, I took my shoes off and placed them in a corner.
The shower was set to hot, as I saw the steam raise up the blackened out walls around me.
I heard the door open and small footsteps. Rose took two steps and stopped, probably near the counter.
"I've put some clothes here. Damien is asking for you in the kitchen," she said, softly, but loud enough for me to hear her over the sounds of the running water.
"I don't want to have lunch," I said.
"I told him that, but he still wants you downstairs," she said. I stayed silent at that. She took that as a cue and her footsteps retreated.
About ten minutes later, I was covered from head to foot with warm clothes. It was actually an oversized hoodie, a warm sweatpants and fuzzy socks.
I stepped out of the bathroom to an empty and silent room.
'She's probably downstairs, eating and spending time with your brothers. No one cares enough to see if you eat or not.'
I clenched my jaw and walked towards the door. I don't care.
The mansion was silent. I expected the sounds of them chatting from the kitchen, but it was surprisingly silent.
I pushed the kitchen door open, immediately coming to a halt when I saw Jayden, Josiah and Rose busy on their phones. Damien was busy on his phone too but he was leaning against the counter, with his legs crossed at the ankles. His arms were crossed over his chest as he held his phone one hand..
He looked up with a raised eyebrow and put his phone in his pocket when he saw me.
"Come here," he said, standing straighter so wasn't leaning against the counter anymore and pointing to the spot in front of him. What am I, five?
"Nah. I'm good here," I said, crossing my arms and giving him a deadpanned look.
"I won't repeat myself, Bunny. But know that if I have to drag you here, I'll simply force feed you all your food before I start asking questions," he gritted, a glare forming on his face, replacing the previous emotionless look.
"I think I'm done-"
He cut me off.
"You're the kid here, Bunny. You don't get to defy orders," he said, simply. "And that's the last chance you have to walk on your own."
I clenched my jaw and contemplated for a moment. The harsh glare on his face seemed to dissipate a little as I took a step forward.
I stood before him, looking at the wall behind him, my head turned to the side slightly.
"Why are you upset?" He asked, grabbing my chin gently to turn my head to him.
"I'm not. I just don't want to eat," I gritted. My jaw clenched as I looked at his face. The glare on my face caused his own to return.
"Don't talk like that," he said, sharply, releasing my chin. "Go eat. If you don't want to tell me, I'm sure Asher or Lucian will get it out of you."
"I said, I don't want to eat," I said, taking a step back.
My stomach decided to growl loudly just then. Damien blinked.
"Go sit and have your lunch," he commanded, crossing his arms, not backing down one bit.
Taking a deep breath in, I lifted my head up.
"No."
"Okay," he said, lowering one arm to his pocket. He pulled his phone back out. "Asher wanted to talk to you."
My eyes widened.
"Wait!" I said, putting my hands on his hand holding the phone. He raised an eyebrow, while looking at me with a stern look. "I'll eat."
I lowered my gaze to the phone and sighed when I saw his thumb was just hovering over Asher's contact.
"Alright. Take a seat." He said, his face turning emotionless. Despite the anger still visible in his eyes, he leaned down to place a kiss on my head.
That took me by surprise, because the last thing I expected from him after having an argument like that was a kiss.
"If it gets too much, call Asher. He'll be home sooner," he muttered, bending down to be on the same level as me. His cold grey eyes bored into my dead ones. His held a 'don't mess with me' type coldness while mine held nothing. Not even anger. "Till then, you're not to stay alone."
I opened my mouth to say something but he raised his hand to silence me.
"Your guardian's order," he said, giving me a pointed look.
I just huffed in response and marched to the table. Damien followed close behind and took his seat beside me.
I muttered a small thank you when the food was placed before me.
I frowned at the amount of greens I could see. Spending the first three minutes to seperate the green part from the rest of the much better part, I finally started eating.
I had just taken the first bite when Damien's spoon invaded my plate's personal space. My eyes widened when the possibility that he was going to mix it back up came into clear view, making me almost pout.
He didn't have to take Lucian's role. He should've let me be for once.
I watched in utter horror and misery as his spoon touched the green pile on the side, about to waste the time and hardwork I put into separating them.
My eyes widened more when he filled up his spoon and started putting it in his plate.
My wide eyes shifted to him slowly, while he focused on not dropping anything on the table.
"Don't tell Lucian," he said, quietly.
I nodded, still in a daze, watching him go back to eating for a while before focussing back on my food.
Eating quicker than I've ever done, I excused myself just as Josiah stood up from the table.
Just as I was about to open the door, someone cleared their throat. I stopped and turned to Damien with a questioning look.
He simply raised an eyebrow, as he looked back at me, his elbow resting on the back of his chair.
'You're not to stay alone.'
I rolled my eyes and dragged my feet back towards the table.
Sitting down with a huff, I crossed my arms and glared at the table. Looking up again, I saw Rose looking between me and Damien.
I turned my head again and came face to face with Damien who was watching me. He snapped his gaze back to face forward, while I frowned.
I waited for Rose to be done before walking out with her. We were silent for most of the time as we walked to our room. When we did reach our room, I went straight to the desk chair saying I was just going to start with homework. Rose sat on the bed with her books spread out in front of her.
I can't wait for Asher to be home. But maybe I'm too stubborn to call him for my problems.
Or I'm just a coward who doesn't want to face it but still want him to find about it himself.
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