Not Your Typical Ghost Story

Chapter 5- Breakfast Stinks. Lunch Hurts. And Roman Skips Dinner.

TW: Running Away, Dissociation, Pushing Others,

September 23rd | Seven Months Since Remus Died | Roman Needs Therapy 

Roman knew from the moment he woke from his nightmare that today wasn't going to be easy. The tight feeling in his chest coupled with the cold feeling told him today was going to be filled with anxiety, the type where you lash out in anger. Well, it probably wasn't really anxiety, the feeling was self-diagnosed, but he didn't know what else to call it. He just knew that anything could set him off.

He sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of his parents getting ready for work down below. It smelled like 'sit down breakfast'; eggs, sausage, grilled peppers and onions, and freshly baked pastries his father had done the prep work for the night before.

Roman tried not to grimace, 'sit down breakfast' were rare on weekdays but exactly what they sounded like. It meant that instead of everyone grabbing something quick like toast or pop tarts they'd sit down at the table and eat as a family. 'Sit down breakfasts' usually only happened once a week on the weekends, and for them to be happening in the middle of the week meant one of two things. Either something bad had happened or something good happened. They hadn't had a surprise 'sit down breakfast' in a while, not since his parents told him they were moving.

"Roman!" His mother called, "Levantarse ahora, time for breakfast."

Roman groaned, there was no getting out of this was there? What had he done? Was this about his grades? He hadn't told them about Logan helping him out yet, but that should calm them down. He sighed as he dragged himself out of bed and grabbed his clothes to change into.

He caught sight of Remus on his way downstairs, he was staring longingly at the table down stairs. Roman frowned sympathetically. His poor brother didn't get to sit down with his parents for meals anymore and Roman knew it affected him. Whenever Remus sat down with them, nobody could interact with him. Not even Roman or he'd make his parents worry about him again, Remus would be forced to sit there and watch as his family lived on without him.

"I'll try and get it over with quickly," Roman told him as they watched their parents set the table together, "Then we can leave early or something, okay?" Remus nodded gratefully and watched his twin make his way towards the table and take a seat, thanking his parents for the meal.

"So, what's the occasion?" Roman asked a few minutes into his omelet.

"Papa found a job," His mother said with a smile.

His father smiled triumphantly, he had been jobless for over a year now. Before Rumus died, his father had taken leave due to stress and wanting to be there for his sons, after his death he, like the rest of the family, struggled immensely and ended up quitting, making his mother the family's sole breadwinner for months now. She was a lawyer, and a good one at that, so it wasn't like Mr. Garcia quitting caused financial stress, though they did have to make some changes to their budgeting plans and what they could or could not afford to buy.

"Thats great Papi," Roman told him, "Where are you working now?"

"Hillview Middle School, I start next week" his father replied as he waved his fork around slightly, "They've been looking for a new teacher, they say I came around right in time. They were going to cancel classes if they couldn't find a permanent fit, can you believe it hijo? Cancel music classes? Aye! What has the world come to!?"

Roman giggled slightly at his father's antics, it was not hard to see where the twins got their dramatics from. That was probably one of the few qualities both boys had gotten from their father apart from looks.