Irene, My dead best friend [Wattys 2015]

Chapter 5: Irene sees

“I was trying to scream. I was trying to find a way to get out of this entrapment but all I could feel was dirt falling onto my face, covering my mouth and body”

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“Take a seat, dear. Oh, look at me, I didn’t even ask you your name,” mom said blushing at her as she lead her into our neat and clean living room. Mom had been cleaning.

“That’s quite alright. I’m Irene,” she beamed up at my mother, shocking her into silence. I knew it. Mom saw her eyes too. There was just something about them. That shade of clear blue and the intensity that they carried, it felt like those eyes looked straight down into your soul. Mom recovered fast, though and smiled down at her, watching Irene sit down onto our old petunia patterned sofas.

“It’s a pleasure to have you in our house, Irene. Just give me a minute while I go get us coffee,” mom, although flustered, recovered and walked towards the kitchen.

My mind itself was on other things. I was watching as Irene gently sat down on our old sofas. My old sofas were noisy. As she sat, not even the faintest queeks left them and my hands started to sweat again.

Look away. Look away. Look away. I whispered in my mind. Nope it wasn’t going to work and I was on the verge of freaking out again. Instead of sitting down and giving her company, I all but ran into the kitchen after my mum.

“Mom, why did you have to invite her inside? There was no need to! And there is no way you are going to show her my baby pictures. Are you TRYING to embarrass me?!” I was trembling. It wasn’t enough that I had the-case-of-the-floating-feelingless-girl on my hands but my mom was now testing a whole other side of me.

“Now, now, Jason. Relax, I won’t show her your pictures. You were an adorable baby, BUT,” she continued glaring at me as I tried cutting into her sentence, “I won’t show her if you don’t want me to. Now go keep her company while I get the coffee cups ready. Don’t be rude,”

I dragged my feet back into the living room where Irene was still sitting on the couch, frozen in place. I stopped mid way and watched her closely. She was lost in thought and on closer inspection her eyes had a glazy look to them. She was clearly lost in thought or (as a much deeper cortex of my brain tried to tell me) she was not here. On instinct my palms began to sweat again and I wiped them on the sides of my jeans. MAN UP! I scolded myself inside my head. She was only a teenage girl with A LOT of peculiarities, nonetheless still a girl.

I swallowed loudly and walked over to her watching her every move, not that she was making any. She was frozen in place just like the way Rufus would stare at me sometime. WHAT was with all the staring lately?! Sitting beside her on our very dated looking sofa, a sensory part of my brain registered how a very audible creak was released from within the sofa which had very aptly been missing when Irene sat.

“Irene,” I called out to her, trying to break her out of her trance.

She gave no sign of movement or, now that I think about it breathing. The normal rise and fall of her chest was not there and I tried to look back into her eyes, lest someone caught me staring at her. Awkward.

“Irene,” again, there was no response except for a lonely tear that slowly trailed down her left cheek followed by a smaller one that now escaped her right eye. Oh my Lord she was crying again. What was it with all the crying and freaking me out?

“Irene!” I whisper-yelled at her as I tried to bring her back from her thoughts afraid the entire while of what I would have to do next. Where was mom?! Was she grinding coffee herself?!