Seeing The Silence by Tyler Lace (dark books to read txt) 📕

it at me. I dropped the jacket and tried to catch the eyeliner, it bouncing in my hands a few times before I caught it and picked up the jacket again, throwing it back.

He caught it. "I'm confused as to why you have eyeliner. You don't wear makeup." He threw it back.

I scowled and watched as he looked for his wallet in another pair of jeans that were discarded on the floor. "What time did you get home?"

"Uh ... Three? Or four? I don't remem-HERE!" He pulled out a leather wallet. "Now, where's my phone?"

"Left in that boys car?"

"Tom?"

"Charlie, you idiot. Wait, you saw Tom?!"

He just continued looking through his things. "Yeah."

"And he drove you home?"

"Yep." He started to look through another pair of pants, then ripped off the blanket.

"Right ... Why?"

"Charlie fell into a conversation with an ex, that ended in a little more than a conversation," he stated, still mainly focusing on finding his phone by throwing the pillows. "Then Tom was there and he offered to drive me home."

"I thought you swore to never see him again after he sold your old helmet to pay for a present for his new-old-boyfriend?"

He shrugged, throwing the pillows back on the bed. "It was an accident. I didn't kiss him or anything."

"Oh, yeah? Then what did you do?"

"Well," he started, checking his wardrobe for his phone, "we talked about life since year seven-"

"Then you kissed him?"

"No." He shut the cupboard. "Then I found Charlie making out with his ex-"

"Then you kissed."

He checked his desk. "I didn't kiss him," he mumbled loud enough for me to hear, as he continued looking. "Then he felt bad for me and we talked for a little longer."

"No kissing?"

"No kissing," he sighed. "Turns out, his grandpa survived the surgery."

"The one with the tattoos? Or the one who kept yelling at you because of your hair?"

"The non-scary one," he assured. "And you know his sister?"

"Brown hair?"

"Yes, with the ridiculously short-shorts. She got a scholarship at some school."

"Good for her."

He stuffed his hands in his pillows, hoping to find the phone. "Then he offered to drive me home, because I was too tired to ride back, and I instructed him on the way because it had been so long-found it!" He grabbed the phone from his side table. "Then we kissed."

"You said you didn't kiss him!"

"I lied." He threw the discarded jeans into his washing basket beside the bed, before turning back to me, and sighing. "Why are you still standing there?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're still standing there, which means you want something."

"What I want is to give you back your jumper."

He walked over. "In that case..." And he snatched the jacket from my grasp, then shut the door in my face.

I jumped back, holding my nose. "Ow! You ass!"

"Did that hit you!" he called through the door, obviously away and presumably fixing his bed now from the disaster that was him finding his phone.

"Yes!"

"Good. Love you!"

"Ass!"

"Thank you!"

I rolled my eyes and continued down the hall.

I walked into the kitchen and was met with my sister standing on a chair trying to reach the cupboard. "What are you doing?"

She took a step back, losing her balance. "Wha!"

I caught her and put her down. "Don't do that."

"I'm not a kid."

"Sure you aren't," said Danny, entering the room and grabbing an apple from the bowl. "You're just a seven year old girl, not a kid."

"Thank you," Nisha said, holding her head high.

"You patronizing bitch."

"Heard that!" he called, walking into the lounge room and snatching his beanie from the couch.

"You going to get your bike back?"

He made a noise from the back of his throat. "Too far to walk. A friend is dropping it over so I," he started, pulling his phone out and texting someone, "am going with another friend to get my hair done."

"You really need to get a car."

"You really need to get a life!" he called back as he closed the door behind him.

"What a girl-" I jumped back, startled when he tapped on the window next to me.

He made a heart shape with his hands as I glared, then he walked off towards a black car, but a different one from yesterday.

Something pulled on my shirt. "Yes?" I looked down at her pale face.

"Can I please have the bread now?"

"R-right ... Sorry." I reached up and passed her the loaf.

I reached up and grabbed the chicken soup, then threw it in the shopping trolley.

"Can we get this?" Nisha ran up to me from around the corner and held up a chocolate bar.

I sighed and chucked it in the trolley as she clapped excitedly.

"Don't you have a thing on this afternoon?"

"Hmm?" I said, not really paying attention, but just grabbing things and putting them in the trolley.

"The thing you've been going to for the past few months? The reason why you've been getting back home just before mum and dad get home."

I looked to my left and grabbed a loaf of bread. "Practice?"

"Yeah."

"I'm leaving a bit early today. I have to buy something on the way," I mumbled.

We continued shopping for about an hour until we realised we actually didn't have that much money. So instead we just bought the chocolate and hoped that mum and dad would just give up and buy some food on the way home tomorrow.

As we walked through the gigantic shopping center I saw Danny sitting at a bench, his arm thrown over the back and one leg thrown over the other.

"Hey, Nisha, here's five dollars." I handed her the note. "Go to the arcade."

"Okay!" She skipped off, her shoes making a clicking sound.

I walked over to Danny and sat next to him. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

I rested my chin on my fists. "Then why are you by yourself?"

"I'm waiting for Tom to finish his shopping."

"You're with that ass?! Danny-"

"It's fine. He just drove me here. We're not dating."

"But you kiss him."

"Caroline, there's a thing called friendship."

"And that includes making out with your ex?"

"Now you've got it."

I rolled my eyes, then looked at his hair. It was black now, with bright red ends, still short though. "Why do you do that?"

"What?"

"Boy-hop."

He seemed to crack a smirk. "Never heard that term."

"Danny," I growled.

"Do I need a reason? I could just be a selfish ass of an idiot who is so bored he likes to just kiss guys then leave them?"

I looked at him, him still looking somewhere else though. "But you're not selfish."

"But I'm an idiot."

"Only in joking terms."

He sighed. I was not one for giving advice. "Remind me to come to you for a pep talk next time."

"Oh, come on. There has to be reason for you doing it."

He just shook his head, leaning forward now with his elbows on his knees and hands clasped together. "Well, there isn't."

"Are you sure?"

He sighed again. "What are you insisting?"

I sat straight now. I wasn't going to say it, because then he'd be upset or something. I've actually never really seen him get upset, just closed off, and we didn't want that again. "That you're not a boy-hopper?"

"Okay, fine, I'm not a boy-hopper. Now, shouldn't you go stop Nisha from wondering off?"

I looked up. "She's not going- NO!" I sprung up and ran to her, where she was actually going off. "Where were you going?"

"To find you?"

"Nice try. I-" I looked over at Danny, who gave Tom a quick hug before the two walked off together. He was always one to escape a situation.

"What is it?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Nothing, let's go home."

"But what about Danny?"

I sighed and continued walking alongside her. "He's older. He can take care of himself."

"He's only a year older than you, though."

I shrugged. "Hey, do you have any money left?"

"Look! Food!" She ran off in the direction of the fast food places.

"Nisha! Come back!" I chased after her and, after one minute, I already lost her. "Where- what- NISHA!"

I spent ages pushing past the crowds and mistaking several children for my sister before I found her. She was holding a thing of chips and was just sitting underneath one of the fake trees with the hexagon structures surrounding it. "Hi!"

"You were missing for fifteen minutes!"

She looked at her wrist. "No."

"There's no Watch there."

She looked up innocently, eating another chip. "Sorry."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to be late now."

She blinked twice. "So when you said it started early, you meant early."

"Yes," I said exhausted. "Wait, where'd you get those chips?"

"They were just sitting over there at the- HEY!" I snatched them from her and threw them in the bin.

"You found them?"

"Yes."

"Just sitting there?"

"Yes."

I buried my face in my hands. "Let's just go."

"But what about your thing?"

I sighed as we began walking again. "I'll take you home, then go to the thing.”

Chapter Two: Acceptance

 

The afternoon air was cold on my arms as I locked the chained gate then put the key back under the blanket, walking back in the direction of the corner shops and out of the alley.

Once I left the dim alley, I was met with many people just walking around, a few people wearing jeans and band shirts with brightly coloured hair singing lyrics to some metal song, and multi coloured banners hanging from the shops. The road was giving off dust as people drove fast through the hidden town, blurring out the acreages that were on the other side, holding houses, some bigger and fancier than others.

A bell went off as I entered the bakery, the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the room. I could hear the transparent fridge humming in the corner as I approached the counter.

"Good afternoon," said a girl, probably in her twenties, with her blonde hair pulled back and a black apron thrown over the top of her shirt and blue jeans

"Afternoon. Can I just get one of those?" I pointed to one of those large finger buns with pink icing, coconut, and sultanas hiding amongst the bun.

"Sure thing." She bent down and grabbed it with gloved hands, then put it in a large paper bag, then in a plastic bag.

I gave her the money, mumbling a "Thanks" before walking out and shoving the change back in my jeans, and starting my journey down the road to my destination.

I kicked my feet against the road, letting clouds of dust fly into the air in front of me, as I swung the bag next to me, getting bored, before I stopped, as it kept hitting my leg.

Finally, I was met with the familiar gate into the acreage. I jumped over the metal and walked down the dirt driveway until the house and garage was in front of me. The house was one story with a beautiful garden surrounding the front at its edge, with three steps leading to the patio, then there stood a door.

I walked to the garage and knocked three times, before the door hummed and rose, and I was met by a girl with long bright green hair and wearing black ripped jeans with a purple top.

"Hey, Caroline," she greeted, smiling.

"Hi, Rose. I brought the thing." I lifted up the plastic bag and she stepped aside so I could enter the threshold.

It was just like any other garage, with its cement flooring and plain walls, except it had no cars, just a drum kit, a few