Behind the Silence

Behind the Silence

Copyright © 2014 Luna Miguel

Published by Luna Miguel at Smashwords

ISBN: 9781311441263

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter One

Mama! Mama! Mamaaaaaaa! I screamed, and when I opened my eyes, I was soaking with my own tears.

I pushed myself up, gasping.

Someone rushed to my bedroom–Jake. He stormed to my bed and hugged me so tight. He pulled my head to his shoulder, Shhhh, it was just a dream. I’m here now, his voice was soft and soothing.

Mama, I muttered under his neck.

I know. It was just a dream. Don’t worry about it, it was just a dream, he really made sure that I’ll catch what he just said, that everything was just a dream.

He pushed me away from him to break off the hug, I’ll get you some water, okay? He turned on the lamp before he walked out of my room.

I flattened my back on the headboard, hugged my shin, and laid my left cheek between my knees. My tears were still streaming. I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m crying because I’m scared. That dream has eaten all the braveness inside me.

Five minutes later, Jake came back and handed me the glass of water. I drunk half of it and gave it back to him. He rested it on the bedside table.

You want me to stay until you fall asleep?

I nodded. It’s only 1:15 A.M. on my digital clock, and if I’m not going to let him stay, I’m sure, I’ll be up all night.

He fixed my pillow and asked me to lie down, and then he lay beside me. I really feel safe whenever Jake is on my side.

Jake? I muttered.

Yeah? he whispered.

Thank you.

He smiled, Shhhh you don’t need to say that. You know I’m always here for you. I am going to protect you... forever.

Jake is the best definition of a brother. Whenever I scratched my knees when we were little kids, he always runs to me and blows it until the pain has gone. And whenever older kids bullied me, he always fights them back and makes them swear to stay away from me.

Take some rest. We have school tomorrow, and he reached for the lamp and turned it off.

I did what he asked me to do. I closed my eyes and let myself drown in the silence of the night.

My digital clock rang. It says 5:30 A.M. I pressed the off button to make it stop from ringing. Jake wasn’t beside me anymore. I stood up and stared at my own reflection in the mirror. I looked awful, maybe because I cried so hard last night.

It’s already 6:30 A.M. on my watch when I walked downstairs. Papa was already sitting at our dining table when I entered the dining room. He let down the newspaper to greet me, Good morning honey.

Good morning Pa, I replied and kissed him on his cheek. I took my seat and slowly laid my bag on the floor.

Jake told me you had that dream again last night, he was looking at me as if he wanted to give me a hug.

Yes Pa... where’s Jake? I said timidly.

I don’t want to talk about it because I don’t want to play that dream again in my head.

He went back his room. He said he forgot his Physics book upstairs. How are you honey? I’m worried about you.

We only see Papa during breakfast. He’s a surgeon, so we rarely see him when Jake and I are at home. And every morning, he makes sure that all of us sit in our dining room to have a little chat while eating our first meal of the day. He believed that we need that to strengthen our relationship.

Hey! Good morning! Jake sat down and poured his plate with egg and bacon.

Papa was still waiting for my answer.

I’m alright Pa, don’t worry about me.

I don’t think you’re fine Lauren. If you have only seen yourself last night, you will agree with me, Jake butted in.

He was right. I looked awful when I saw myself in the mirror earlier this morning, and maybe last night, I looked worse.

Papa sighed, and it’s very obvious how worried he is now.

Okay, I’ll call your doctor later and I’ll set an appointment for you. I’ll call you as soon as I get your schedule, he picked up his fork to stuff the bacon in his mouth.

Do I really need to visit her Papa?

Yes, honey, you need that. It’s for your own good, he was busy picking his bacon on his plate. Then, he raised his head and gazed at me, Talking to someone like Dr. Palermo will help you surpass this.

I didn’t complain, perhaps they were right. This terrible dream started last week, and last night was the fourth time. It’s starting to bother me, too.

Papa turned his gaze on Jake. What time is your basketball practice later?

Four PM Paps.

Hmm, he nodded. I’ll pick you up honey if your schedule will fall on Jake’s time.

I can get the bus Pa.

I know how busy my Papa is, so I don’t want him to sacrifice his time for me.

No, honey, Jake and I will figure that out. You don’t have to get the bus because I don’t want you to.

They always treat me like a baby. Jake has this older brother persona whenever he speaks to me, and Papa, he always treats me as if I’m still six years old. Sometimes, I feel like they don’t trust me, and that they think I can’t take care of myself.

Jake and Papa planned my whole day. I mean, they have talked about how they will handle their schedules just to bring me to my psychiatrist.

Papa was just concerned about you, you know, Jake pulled the car in the driveway.

I know, I turned my gaze outside and never speak again.

He might have sensed that I don’t want to discuss that matter any longer, so he drove in silence until we reached our school. Somebody called him when we both got out of the car.

Hey dude, it was Peter walking toward us. Peter has been Jake’s best buddy since grade school. He’s a total geek and not so popular in school, unlike Jake. Well, my brother is a varsity player that’s why everyone in our school knows him.

Hi Ren, he smiled at me.

Hi Pete, I greeted him back. I tapped my brother’s shoulder, See you in class. Yes, we have the same schedule because we’re both in the senior year. Jake and I am a twin.

I walked alone in the corridor, and my first stop was in my locker. I pulled my English book and stuffed it inside my bag.

Good morning, I heard a familiar voice. I turned to my left and saw Veronica. A smile formed on my lips.

I wanted to say good morning too, but unfortunately, she wasn’t talking to me. I squeezed myself to the crowd until I reached my English class.

Every time I see her, I feel something strange in my stomach, something I can’t explain. I shook my head to wipe away her image in my mind.

Our English room was already opened and a couple of students were sitting in their respective seats, so I entered and sat down near the window. Jake and Peter came in after a couple of minutes. They both seated at the back of the room. Jake always does that because he said he wanted to see everyone in our class. I truly don’t get his explanation.

I flipped my book to page 94 and started to scan the information inside. The chair in front of me moved, I looked up and saw Veronica again taking her seat. She smiled at me for the first time or maybe it was just my hallucination. Something popped up in my head, should I smile back? Why on earth do I need to think about it? Before I attempted to crook my lips for a smile, she was already seated and her attention shifted to her phone. Okay, if she really smiled at me, then I failed.

My morning went by so quickly. I attended my Algebra class after English, and then, lunch break.

I walked to the cafeteria alone because Jake has his computer class after English. So technically, our next meet up is in the cafeteria at 11:00 A.M.

There are still a couple of tables available, so I joined the line to buy my lunch.

Hey!

I heard a familiar voice, so I turned around and saw Chen walking toward me.

Hi, I greeted her with a smile.

Why are you alone? Where’s Jake? She pulled a tray in the counter and filled it with an apple and a plate of baked macaroni.

In his computer class, but he might be on his way now.

Chen and I have known each other since grade school. And even though we knew each other for so long, we don’t hang out that much. Honestly, she’s the only friend I have here in school, well, besides with Jake and Peter of course. Papa and Jake wanted me to have gazillion, but unfortunately, I prefer being alone. The crowd and the noise only exhaust me.

You know Brenda right? She’s going to throw a party this weekend, do you want to go? Chen is a party freak and she dresses like those IT girls you see in the magazines. And sometimes I feel awkward whenever I was beside her because I only wear a TEE, jeans, and a chuck, and she called it my uniform.

I don’t think so. You know I don’t go to parties.

We paid our lunch and walked toward the empty table, and she sat beside me.

Is your brother dating Veronica?

What? I blurted out. And where on earth did she get that?

Look! she pointed to the entrance.

What? Is that really Jake and Veronica together? How come I didn’t know about that?

They walked to our table, and Jake pulled the chair in front of me to let Veronica take her seat.

He bent down with his right hand on the table, left hand at the back of Veronica’s chair, and his face was almost a foot away from hers. What do you want? I’ll get that for you.

Well, I’m fine with fries and tuna sandwich.

Okay, no problem ma’am, he stood up straight and walked toward the counter.

Hi, I heard her speak. She was staring at me with a smile on her lips when I raised my head to meet her eyes.

Hi, my mouth became dry. I’m beginning to feel the strange feeling again.

I’m Veronica.

I want to answer her, yes I already knew you, but instead, I introduced myself to her. I’m Lauren, then, I looked down to my plate again to pick up my fries.

I’m Chen, Chen butted in and gave her hand to Veronica.

Yeah, I believe you’re in my Home Eco Class. She was a little bit enthusiastic with the information she just said.

Yeah, I am, Chen was elated too, maybe because she never thought Veronica will recognize her. Well, honestly, I don’t really know why she’s happy.

They continued to chat until Jake came back.

He sat down and laid Veronica’s food in front of her.

So, do you know each other now?

Um, yeah, they introduced their selves to me, then she stuffed a couple of fries in her mouth.

That’s nice, at least now you know my twin sister Lauren and her friend Chen. He nodded at me and at Chen. I saw Chen smiled with that little introduction.

I didn’t say a thing. I’m not sure how to deal with this. Jake had few girlfriends before, but those girls didn’t seem interested in me and I wasn’t interested in them either, so it’s not really a problem. But with this one, it’s a bit different, I felt like I want to move to the next table because she’s making me nervous.

Your sister seems a bit... quiet. She gazed at me and smiled again.

Why do you keep on smiling at me? I want to ask, but of course, I don’t have the guts to ask that question.

Jake froze.

Sorry, I... didn’t mean to offend anyone, she said, and then she turned red. Now I really need to say something. I don’t want her to think that she offended me and I don’t want Jake to get upset.

No... I mean... It’s okay... It’s just... talking isn’t my thing. I tried to say it slowly and paused if necessary. I don’t want to stutter, I will look funny in front of her if I do.

Jake smiled and nodded at me. I know he wanted to say thank you, but kept it to himself. I held my silence until the end of our break, while the three of them continued their little chit-chat.

I’m done with my plate, and we all decided to go to our next class.

See you later girls. Jake bid his goodbye and headed to his next class. And Chen walked in the opposite direction to attend her Literature class.

You’re going to Art Class, right?

Yeah? It was more of a question than an affirmation.

Can we walk together?

Sure.

Sorry for what I said earlier. Sometimes, I’m a bit, you know, tactless.

I can feel how sorry she was from the sound of her voice.

Please don’t say sorry. Actually, I’m also thinking if I offended you because I didn’t talk that much earlier. I wasn’t looking at her instead I kept my eyes on the pavement.

I’ll try my best to get used to it, she paused, and then she pushed me a little on my side, hey, loosen up.

Is she really like this? I mean this is the first time I’ve held a conversation with her. She’s pushy and talks a lot. I’m not saying I don’t like it though, honestly, it didn’t annoy me and secretly, it makes me want to smile.

I stared at her and smiled, Sorry.

We’re in the same class, right? And Jenna told me that you’re so good in arts.

Oh, yeah, Jenna, she sits beside me in art class. She always watches me every time I doodle something on my sketch pad, and then smile at me whenever I catch her looking at my work. So that’s the reason why, she thinks I’m good with what I’m doing? It’s actually the only thing that calms me down, aside from Jake of course. Playing with pen and paper is better than surfing the net, well, that’s only my opinion. Kids today more prefer playing with their phones, tablets, or their computers, and it just so happened that I’m not like those kids.

Yeah, we have Physics too.

Oh yeah, yeah, I’m supposed to say that too, she grinned.

Wait! Are you free later?

Why did she ask me if I’m free later? In movies, when a guy asked a girl if she’s free later, it only means one thing—he’s going to ask her out for a date. Oh no, I should not think about it that way. First and for most, we’re not in the movie, and secondly, she’s not a guy Lauren, come on.

I don’t think so, I said softly.

Why am I acting like this? I mean, she was trying to reach out for me, but why am I so cold? I should at least be more enthusiastic, right.

Oh, okay, why not? she was a bit disappointed with my answer.

I took a deep breath and told myself to please be nice and stop being so cold. Papa will pick me up later... we’re going somewhere.

Oh, she smiled again. Maybe, tomorrow? So, she’s not giving up?

We finally arrived at our Art class and we are still ten minutes early. And before I could answer her question, someone tapped her on her shoulder and said, Hey! I haven’t seen in the club lately. What’s keeping you busy? She looked at me sending me a message that the conversation wasn’t over yet. I continued to walk inside and sat in my usual seat near the window.

She sat in front of me again, just like in our English class, and the girl who asked her where she had been lately sat beside her.

Someone told me you’re going out with that cute guy in our basketball team huh. What’s his name? Jake, right? The smile on that girl’s face was endless.

I saw Veronica tilted her head in my direction, but it seemed like the girl whose name I don’t know did not notice it. Going out? News spreads so fast, huh? Not yet, I only joined him, his sister, and his sister’s friend for lunch.

Whatever! But I think you guys are going to be a cute couple, you know, because he’s the Mr. Popular and you’re the Ms. Pretty Face of the campus, then she laughed—a sarcastic laugh.

Oh my God, stop that, she shook her head while chuckling. Does this mean she likes the idea about them being a couple? I guess so.

Time flies so fast in my art class. I wish it was longer than any other class I have.

I stuffed all my things in my bag and before I