Through the Eyes of a Storm

Chapter 3

"So what have you been up to?" I asked her, desperate for a change of subject.  

"I was just on the Internet all summer," she laughed at herself, blushing a tiny bit. I rolled my eyes but I wasn't surprised. That girl was absolutely addicted to YouTube; I remember one weekend years ago where we stayed awake for 2 days just watching YouTube. I'm surprised she hasn't seen everything on that site by now.

"You should get out more," I scolded playfully.  

"Well, I would if a certain someone would have taken the time out of his oh-so-busy schedule to hang out with me," she joked and I forced a smile. I felt guilty for neglecting her over the summer, but I've just been worrying over Gryffin. He was my twin after all, and even though we rarely ever spoke any more, we still had a connection that I just couldn't ignore when he was like this.   

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I've just been spending so much time trying to help Gryffin and-"  

"I know," she cut me off. "Family first." I nodded solemnly. There was a look in her eye that told me she really did understand, but there was something else. Hurt. I felt a pang in my heart knowing that I was the one that put that look there, that made her feel that way.

"I promise we'll spend more time together, okay? Cross my heart." I watched hopefully and she tried to hide a smile, but failed as it slowly spread across her lips anyway, lighting up her eyes again.  

"Okay," she agreed, rolling her eyes.

    ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

We spent a couple hours just catching up before she had to go home for dinner. I walked her home since she only lived two blocks away, then walked back to my house.  

"I'm home!" I called as I dropped my bag onto the floor and shucked off my shoes. I knew Harriet and Robert would be at work right now, but there was no sign of anyone else either. "Trent? Bailey? Gryffin? Is anyone home?" Just then Trent came trotting down from upstairs and gave me a small smile.  

"Bailey's at her friend's house today and your brother is up in his room," he told me.   

"Alright," I replied.  

"So how was school?" he asked, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Trent was Robert and Harriet's son and was three years older than Gryffin and I; He had graduated high school last year. I wasn't sure how I felt about Trent; he was easy to talk to and a really nice guy, but every now and then something would seem off about him. I had a feeling he was mixed up in drugs or something, but I couldn't really be bothered to investigate it.  

"It sucked," I shrugged and he chuckled.  

"Yeah, that about sums it up," he grinned. "Well, I'm going to be heading off to work soon. I hope you don't mind if you two are home alone for a while."   

I shook my head. "Not at all."

He gave me one last smile then turned and disappeared into the basement. I dragged my feet upstairs to go to my room, but stopped in front of Hunter's door. I could hear something faint and muffled though the door, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. I silently tiptoed closer to the door and pressed my ear against the wood. I could make out heavy, shaky breaths, quiet sobs and whimpering. I pulled away from the door, turned the handle and pushed. It opened about an inch, and then stopped, obviously blocked by something behind the door. I tried it again, but it didn't budge.  

"Gryffin?" I called, desperately pushing on the door. "Come on, open the door! Gryffin!"  

"Go away," he replied weakly, his voice coming from somewhere near the door. He must've used himself to barricade the door.  

"Gryff-"  

"Fuck off!" he yelped. He shoved back against the door and nearly shut it on my fingers. I stared at the door for a minute, debating whether or not it was worth risking possibly getting beaten up again. He didn't seem like he was having one of his meltdowns, so I figured it would be fine to leave him alone for a while. 

I decided to take a shower while it was free and grabbed some clothes from my room. I locked the bathroom door behind me, stripped down and stepped into the shower, turning on the water. It hit me, ice cold and I sighed in frustration. Of course Gryffin used up all the hot water. Usually I would be left with cold water though, so I've gotten used to it by now.  

Just as I was finishing washing my hair, I heard the doorknob turn and I thanked my lucky stars that I locked it. Then came the desperate knocking and I rolled my eyes. Couldn't he wait like ten minutes?  

"Hold your horses! I'll be out in a minute," I called out, shutting off the water. The knocking stopped, leaving me in an eerie silence. I stepped out of the shower and put on the clothes I brought with me before opening the door.   

The hallway was empty. I'd been expecting Gryffin to be waiting for me on the other side, but I guess he had gone back to his room.   

"You can have the bathroom!" I called down the hall. I waited but he didn't come out. I knew he heard me though, so I just retreated back to my room. Just as I was about to shut my door, I heard the footsteps and the bathroom door slam. Was he deliberately avoiding me now? I felt a sharp pang in my heart when I thought that; I couldn't believe my own twin brother was going out of his way to not have to talk to me.  

I refused to let him do that. I spent all of my spare time trying to figure out how to relieve the pain I knew my brother felt, even though he would never admit to it. I wasn't going to let him repay me with avoidance.

We were going to have a little talk.

  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  A/N:  

Question of the Chapter:  

What's going to happen between the twins now?  

2 votes until next chapter!