✶⊶⊷⊶⊷❍⊶⊷⊶⊷✶

We are all searching for someone whose demons play well with ours.

✶⊶⊷⊶⊷❍⊶⊷⊶⊷✶

-Chapter 24--Those with tinted hearts could still feel pain too-

It was dead at night and none of the twin guys returned home, yet. The only ones in this enormous house were Ms.Nancy and me.

Dinner with her alone was kind of awkward. She wasn't as talkative today. Well... She didn't talk at all.

Disappointment shone in her dark eyes when my father called her at midday to notify her he wasn't coming home for dinner tonight.

There was this odd feeling a few hours ago inside my gut telling me that he wasn't coming at all today... And probably Ms. Nancy noticed that too because he did not call again.

My father was still at the hospital working hard to finish the paperwork he had left to stack up for two weeks because he wanted to come home early to see me and come eat dinner with the family. That's what he told me over the phone after Ms. Nancy passed it on to me to speak with him.

The only sound that was heard on the dining table was our utensil clicking with our plates. All I wanted at the moment was the floor to swallow me up from such an uncomfortable situation.

My nerves were on edge the entire time. Trying to not make a single sound to not upset her even more than she already was that my dad wasn't home.

How does Kevin have the courage to piss off this lady without being afraid by her cold, piercing eyes, which look as if a single gaze from those icy blue pairs could send the earth back into the ice age?

I didn't dare speak throughout the whole dinner knowing she was in an awful mood. This woman was hard to decipher... Her aura is bizarre. And the more bizarre she became to me the harder it was to speak to her or form any form of conversation with her.

It felt like two strangers forcefully eating dinner together because they had no choice but to. And that alone made things even worse the longer we sat there quietly eating.

One minute this woman is happy, confident, and overjoyed. And on the next when my father is not next to her, she's cold, silent, and kind of detached from the moment.

Is she bipolar?... There could be a possibility that she is... Or she just doesn't feel comfortable enough to open up to me. Are all stepmothers like her with their spouse's kids?

Or is it just me that is experiencing this issue? She's probably upset with me... because I never take her side when Kevin makes me choose between them.

My therapist today told me "Do not feel guilty for things out of your control. Things just happen for a reason... "When I open up about feeling guilty for every little thing that... As she explained, it was out of my control.

But it's hard not to feel a bit guilty in this situation. It was hard to rewire a brain to not think this way when all it's known was to blame itself for everything that goes wrong.

One of the things I despised about myself was my mind allowing my heart and soul to be dominated by a heavy sense of guilt.

Ms.Nancy excused herself first from me. Since then she has been locked up in her bedroom.

If only the twins were here it wouldn't have been so awkward. At least they could have started talking about nonsense that they did in school and probably their mother would have laughed, smiled, or something.

My focus goes to the Tv again.

As usual, colorful animation played on the big screen. The volume of the tv was low to not disturb Ms.Nancy upstairs.

I did not want to give her a reason to dislike me.

The only thing brightening the living room was the soft blue glow emitting from the big screen.

This is the 3rd time in less than 1 hour that my mind wandered back on the twins and their whereabouts.

When they come back home they're surely getting in trouble again with their mother.

Where were they at these late hours of the night?

Are they okay?

Did Kevin take Leo to the strip club, again?

It wouldn't be surprising if Kevin did. He loves messing with his twin brother way too much. I could already imagine Kevin pissing his brother off with a mischievous smile spreading across his face.

Kevin's probably taking a long ass break again with a brunette somewhere inside one of those hidden rooms in the strip club...

Just to irritate his twin brother who is probably right now settled on one of the black stools drinking liquor to pass the time until Kevin gets tired of annoying him with his absence.

Or maybe he's getting a stress reliever from the beautiful green-eyed woman, right now... She never truly told me what she gave customers for stress relief. Is it... illegal substance? I hope not.

Poor Leo, He's always putting up with Kevin's crazy Attics. Kevin is fortunate to have such a patient and understanding brother who cherishes him.

A few minutes passed by... The sound of a car engine turning off faintly resonated throughout the silence of the night.

Bringing my attention towards the front door as I get up from the couch and place the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. Preparing myself to greet my father in a warm hug, when he enters.

The sound of keys turning locks on the front door reverberated throughout the dark, silent house.

When multiple footsteps filled the dark entryway... heading toward the living room I knew then that it wasn't dad but the twins.

When they finally meet my eyes, both of them freeze on the spot... Were they expecting someone else to be seated in the living room alone in the dark, munching away quietly a full bowl of popcorn?

They resembled two deer caught in the headlights... One appeared uneasy, while the other refused to look at me. This was strange.

Without saying a word, Leo came towards me and wrapped his strong arms around my waist as he buried his cold face in the crook of my neck... Causing my cheeks to warm up and my heart to beat rapidly fast by his bizarre actions.

For a brief moment, I thought Leo was intoxicated.

The whole day today my mind wouldn't stop playing what occurred this morning in my bedroom.

My heart would squeeze whenever those vivid images of Leo choking me to death, were resurface in the forefront of my mind.

The feeling of Leo's large hands wrapped tightly around my neck still lingered.

This persistent ache in my chest has been bothering me all day, simply thinking about who he so desperately wanted to remove from the face of the earth.

Sleep just wouldn't come to me on how anxious my body felt. So I settled in to watch some pleasant animation to clear my mind of the uneasy memories of Leo's hands around my neck.

But my heart eased a little when my nose picked up the scent of his velvety cologne rather than the strong booze aroma he had when he entered my bedroom dead at night when he was heavily intoxicated out of his mind.

"What's wrong, Leo?" Why does he look so overwhelmed? Did something happen? Did he have a bad day today?

My gaze was drawn to Kevin's towering stature, hoping to decipher from his demeanor alone, what had gone wrong with them today

Oddly, Leo's hugging me like he was trying to comfort me instead of himself ... Confusion rose in me the more he kept hugging me like a wounded kitten that needed help.

My gaze was drawn once more to the pair of gray eyes that were silently watching us from afar. I was hoping for an explanation from Kevin as to why Leo was behaving in this manner... However, my curiosity was never answered.

He was just standing there in the dark, waiting for something... Maybe I'm going insane, or maybe my mind is just tired, but... He seemed to want a hug from me as well.

Those stormy grey eyes shone with an unexplainable emotion that I have never seen in them before. It's like he knows something that I, myself don't know. And that alone made me a little scared.

But as those unexplainable emotions flashed through those stormy eyes... They were gone in seconds. Gosh, this guy was good at quickly suppressing his emotions.

Leo hugged me slightly tighter, drawing my full attention back to him.

"What's wrong? "My voice comes out a little shaky, scared that something bad has happened to Dad .... because there's no other reason they would be acting in such a strange way towards me... If it's not that.

"Nothing... It's just that I had the urge to hug you." When he pulled back, freeing me from his crashing warm hug, he whispered those words without looking me in the eyes.

Before I could question him any further. He cut me off before a word could pass through my lips.

"How many meals did you eat today? Did you eat anything healthy?" He asked, changing the topic altogether.

It's like he was trying to fatten me up a little. Not that I'm complaining... His cooking is divine.

"I ate 2 meals... And, yes, I ate something healthy today. "

"Are you still hungry?" He throws me a warm smile.

Of course, I'm hungry, which is why I was greedily swallowing that bawl of white cheddar popcorn like it was my last snack of the week.

When I was dining with Ms.Nancy I couldn't finish my plate of food because of how anxious I was to make a mistake in front of her. Especially since she wore a soft frown the entire meal.

"I don't think Ms.Nancy will appreciate the noise this late at night, especially if she isn't in the best of spirits." I let out softly more to myself than to them.

I don't want any of the twin guys to get in trouble with her again. Especially right now that she seems to be in a gloomy state.

"If she's in a bad mood, that's her problem." Kevin finally spoke. He's so serious... In stark contrast to the captivating smile, He wore this morning when I made a fool of myself in front of him.

When I gape at him, a wild notion just crossed my mind: 'I like him better when he smiles.'

✶⊶⊷⊶⊷❍⊶⊷⊶⊷✶

AND LEFT A COMMENT AND LIKE💫

SOME GOOD NEWS: WE ARE HEADING TO PHASE TWO OF THIS BOOK.

VERY SOON WE WILL BE MEETING THE REST OF THE CAST MEMBERS😈.

Who would be friends and who will be foes? Take a guess😏😉.

•See you next time👋•