Behind Her IllusionA Story by HeidiThere's a soundtrack to this story, if you can read and listen. Gary Jules- Mad World. Repeat and relax.The loud, distant crunch of steel breaking like twigs echoed around him. By the time Logan could look up, the screaming had already gone silent. Up was down, flipped around and nearly strangled by the un-giving safety belt. Someone was crying. Blurred figures moved in slow motion around him, talking in low murmurs. The copper stench of blood violated his nostrils, making him vomit. Heavy thuds. Footsteps? The sound of breaking glass was chased by the mingling, piercing shrieks of ripping metal and plastic. The noise resonated louder; making darkness rise and swallow his sight whole, jerking him awake in bed. The clock told him it was early morning. Instead of going back to sleep he started his day off almost two hours early. In the cool, dark hall he could see the ominous silhouette of his sister’s door. She was usually the first awake, but the past few weeks he had beat her to the bathroom almost every day. He was beginning to wonder if something was wrong. He
sat alone on a barstool in the kitchen for a while, rotating back and forth. He
was contently settled in a sleepy fog, disturbed from his forming thoughts when
a slender brunette ambled through the kitchen. Their similarities were striking,
high cheek bones and dark eyes; she could have passed for his clone if she
wasn’t distinctly female. On her way out the door she turned, giving him a look over. “You’re going to school like that? You look like a bum. How can we be related?” Her sarcastic manner did little to faze Logan, who morphed his face into a snide smile at her exit. He looked down at his worn out blazer, a fraying piece of ebony fabric whose many zippers were pulling off. There’s nothing wrong with being comfortable. I don’t know how she parades around on her toes all day in clothes she constantly has to adjust. Dawn
was breaking as his mother’s car rumbled into the drive way. His mom came in through the back door just as he was leaving. When she saw him an anxious look settled on her weary face. “Why are you up so early?” Logan lied. “I have a meeting with a teacher before school. It’s nothing, I promise.” He kissed her on the cheek, knowing his white lie would do little to settle her irrational nerves, and fled into the morning chill. The first half of the day went by in a slow haze. School was always easy for him. First period easily slid into third. Lectures droned on, equations were already solved and rough drafts wrote themselves. His life seemed to carry on without his help or even his acknowledgement. The promise of food was enough to pull him from the depths of his mind and into a blank, conscious stare. He sat at a table alone, waiting for the friends who stopped showing. Lately they had deserted him. Someone lightly punched him on the shoulder. He didn’t bother to look, but sighed, “Hello, Sarah.” His counterpart pulled up a chair, showing off her perfect posture. “Why are you sitting by yourself again?” She pointed a brightly painted nail across the cafeteria. “Your friends are over there. I’m pretty sure they miss you.” Sarah rolled her eyes and leaned back in the chair. “The family always says how alike we are. I’m beginning to think we barely share more than the same strand of DNA.” The bell sounded and Sarah eyed him for a moment. “You’d better stop being such a freak and talk to somebody,” she said, dismissing herself into a crowd of girls. Sarah knew exactly how to embed herself under his skin, inflating into an unending itch. She was right though, other than physical appearance they contrasted each other severely and their personalities clashed at extremes. She was a social butterfly, he had a few close friends he cared little for; she was filled with hopes and dreams, he couldn’t see past tomorrow; she dressed well, he dressed lazily. The two of them were never seen together in public and had their own group of friends; almost no one knew they were related. The alarm buzzed for fifteen minutes before effectively waking him. While getting dressed his sister’s comments bit at the back of his mind, demanding attention. Consciously he dressed a little nicer. It wasn’t much, just a new pair of jeans and a shirt he’d never worn. His mom wasn’t in the kitchen and he didn’t hear anyone else in the house. The sun was already lighting up the sky which meant he didn’t stand a chance of being on time. The
florescent halls were empty except for a girl with large eyes. She was
frantically glancing at a paper in her hand and the long corridors. He closed the distance between them, debating
with him if he should talk to her. She’s kinda
pretty. Oh, why not, I’ve already missed most of first period. He took a deep breath, braving himself before he tapped her on the shoulder. “Need help?” She
nodded and held out a crumpled schedule in a shaking hand. At lunch, instead of his sister eventually
joining him, it was the big eyed girl. She sat across from him, containing
herself within the space around her chair and didn’t say a word. The sensation of
roaming eyes crawled over Wandering
down stairs, She
sighed in lazy objection, tugging her jacket off. “I’m not cooking, He snatched the food from her. “I’ll cook. Who’s eating tonight?” She rubbed his head, tousling his hair. “Just you and me. No one else.” His mother sat at the small,
worn table that had filled the corner of the kitchen for years. Shoes? “They look terrible,” she debated. “They are stained and have holes in them.” “You look
homeless, He tapped the cool metal cook wear against the palm of his hand, trying to retain his rebellion. “You’re not wearing them. They work for me.” After a moment she silently raised herself from the table, pausing in the door way. “Ok, I just thought I would try to cheer you up.” After
an extensive meal, Sarah rolled her eyes and tiptoed back down the hall. Smiling she said, “I saw you with the new girl today.” Her
smile turned mischievous. “I know, but it doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about me,
you’ll figure out what’s going on sometime. Why don’t you do something
different? There’s no point in being at home with no one around.” She dissolved
into her dark room, leaving First
period was much more appealing now that Amanda was seated a few rows in front
of him. Later,
when the class had formed into a frenzy of chaotic energy, When she spoke it was a whisper he could barely hear over the drumming in his ears. “Everyone’s afraid of you.” Amanda’s large, innocent eyes studied their socializing classmates. She shook her head slowly, holding his gaze in the vast pools around her pupils. She’s not lying. The beating in his chest began to subside and the relief was a welcome comfort. Girls had never found him approachable. Some would coon at him when he wasn’t looking, others would stare, but if he looked back they always became petrified where they stood. “I know about your sister and what happened with your friends and stuff.” Shrugging,
Amanda bobbed her head in a confused agreement and stood with the rest of the class to file out the door. Before
departing in the hall, Amanda gave him an approving smile. “Unlike everyone
else, I think anyone who’s interesting is slightly crazy.” She was carried down
the hall by a group of girls, leaving His gut instincts told him something was wrong, griping his stomach in an icy hold. He searched the house and found he was alone. The day was chilly, the sky spreading a constant mist, but he needed to walk, to think. Being near busy streets made him anxious, the sound of engines irritated his ear drums, the drone of slick rubber sliding over soaked asphalt made his skin crawl. What is going on? I’m never this jumpy, I never feel like this. His stroll was short lived; provoked by the noise of moving traffic to return to the solace of is room. He
flipped on the stereo for background noise and settled into the middle of his
bed, concentrating on the muddled feeling in his stomach. Cars are irritating me. Cars? I have dreams about cars, no, nightmares
of an accident. Are they acting out as real fears? The screaming and crying, it
was so real. Was it real? It couldn’t be, but it has to be. Outside
his window a taxi cab pulled up and his mother stepped out, more fast food in
her hands. The
presence of an epiphany weighed in on his mind. A voice in his head said,
“You’ve got it.” He ran down the stairs to meet his mom, nearly knocking her over as she came inside. “Mom, where’s Sarah?” I need to know. His heart was racing, ready to propel his twisting insides through his mouth. Her
face was void but her eyes smoldered. “Not today She stared him down with a hard expression that demanded obedience. “Why do you do this to me?” Rattling
his brain and scrambling to catch up, His mother slammed
the food on the counter and whirled on him. “You know where she is! Nothing
will bring her back. Not my guilt, our love, or you pretending she’s still
here. You’re not five years old anymore He knew what he
would find there, an untouched bed and personal belongings exactly as she left
them, her perfume lingering in the air. © 2011 HeidiAuthor's Note
Featured Review
Reviews
|
StatsAuthorHeidiOHAboutI'm Heidi. I do all forms of writing. I'm involved in may artistic fields. I respond to my red request as quickly as I can, though there a many of them. more..Writing
Related WritingPeople who liked this story also liked..
|