Twice The Love, Twice The Hate. I Just Had To Fall For Twins.

Twice The Love, Twice The Hate. I Just Had To Fall For Twins. {15}

                “So…I have a brain freeze,” Newt said with a frown the next day. We were back outside, and drinking slushies. I rolled my eyes at her and sipped my slushie.

                “Newt…I have a question,” I said and she glanced at me curiously. “Okay. Shoot.” I sipped my slushie again and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Why does Shane stutter sometimes?” She sighed and twirled a piece of hair around her finger.

                “He had a huge stuttering problem when we were little. It was terrible when he was 11. You couldn’t even understand him. He went mute for a few months. But by the time he was about 14, it was pretty much gone. He still stutters sometimes, usually when he gets nervous. Some jackass bullies used to beat him up and call him the Stuttering Shithead.”

                I frowned deeply. “That’s so sad!” Newt shrugged. “That was back when me and Shane were actually friends,” she said bitterly. “You liked him, didn’t you?” I asked quietly and she nodded sadly. “I did for a few years, actually. Probably from the time we were 9 until we were 15, when he and Shawn fucking stabbed me. I really never thought he would hurt me like that.”

                “What about his parents?” I asked. “His dad’s a waste of space piece of shit,” she growled. “Shane needed him, and he abandoned Shane. If he hadn’t abandoned Shane, maybe the kid would actually have some self confidence and be able to stand up to Shawn.”

                “Why did he abandon Shane? I mean, like, they obviously live with their dad. So what do you mean?” I asked, confused. Newt sighed. “Shane got…hurt. Really, really bad. Instead of helping him recover, his dad just turned to drinking and smoking. Like I said, waste of space piece of shit.”

                “What happened to him?” Newt sighed again. “That’s for him to talk about, Luna. I’m sorry. I at least respect him enough for that. If he wants you to know, he’ll tell you. Not to sound mean, by the way.” I shook my head. “I understand.”

                Afterschool, I went home and sat down to watch TV. “Get ready to go, Luna! We’re going out for dinner!” my mom called about an hour later. I sighed and got up. I tied my shoes on and got in the car with my parents.

                They drove to a restaurant and we got out of the car and went inside. We were seated and I picked up a menu and began to scan it curiously. I was freaking starving.

                “Hi, my name’s Shane, I’ll be waiter for tonight. May I take your o-o-order?”

                I looked up in shock. “Shane?” I asked in confusion. “Hi L-Luna,” he said nervously. “What can I get you to drink?” “Uh…I’ll have Mountain Dew,” I said and he scribbled it down and turned to my mom.

                “Shane! Shane! Shane!” a little kid cried and ran over. “Daddy said your shift is over. He said to get the hell outta here!”  

                Shane glanced at us and shook his head. “Tell him I’ll serve this table and then take you home, okay Jordan?” The little boy nodded and turned to run back. “Don’t run, Jordan! You’ll fall,” Shane said and the boy nodded again before walking away.

                “Sorry about that,” Shane said, turning back to us as mom and dad gave their drink orders. He left and came back a few minutes later with our drinks.

                “What can I get you to eat?” he asked, clearing his throat. We gave him our orders and he left to get the food. He came back and set down some bread. “Your o-o-orders will be out in a m-minute,” he said and cleared his throat again, a slight panic in his eyes.

                “Hey, I said you shift was over. What are you still doing here?” a man asked, coming over to Shane. “I-I’m just s-s-serving one last t-table Uncle Ch-Chris,” Shane said and more panic rose in his eyes. He cleared his throat again.

                The man, Chris, looked at Shane with sympathetic eyes. “Okay.” He placed a hand on Shane’s shoulder. “Calm down, Shane,” he said gently before walking away.

                Shane glanced at us. “I’ll go check on your f-f-food,” he said and hurried away. “You know him, Luna?”dad asked and I nodded. “Yea, that’s Shane, the kid whose house I was over. He’s Shawn’s brother.”

                “Bit of stutter on him,” dad said and sipped on his soda. I nodded. “Yea, I’ve never seen it that bad before,” I said with a deep frown. Something must be freaking poor Shane out.

                                                                                ***Shane’s POV***

                I went into the kitchen and cleared my throat again. “Hey, are you okay?” Uncle Chris asked, coming over to me. He was the owner of the restaurant and my dad’s best friend. I babysat his 3 kids for him a lot with Shawn.

                “I can’t stop st-st-stuttering,” I whispered in terror. He placed a hand on my shoulder and led me out of the kitchen and into his little office. “Listen to me, Shane. Calm down. Take a few deep breaths. Don’t panic, okay?” he said gently. I sat on his desk and buried my face in my hands, trying to calm myself down.

                His son, Jordan, looked up. He had been sitting in the corner playing his gameboy. “Daddy, is Shane okay?” he asked curiously. “Yea Jordan, he’s fine. Now shut up and play your game,” he said, shaking his head.

                “It’s the girl, isn’t it Shane? She’s got you nervous?” I nodded reluctantly. “Yea,” I whispered. “Shawn’s d-d-dating h-her.” Chris grinned at me. “Hey, why don’t you invite her to babysit with you and Shawn tomorrow night?” I looked up at him and nodded slowly.

                “Kid, just calm down. The stutter’s in your head. You’re better than it,” he said and I nodded again before thanking him and leaving his office. I got their food out of the kitchen and went over to the table.

                “Here you go,” I said and set their food down, mentally fighting the stutter. I bit my lip before turning to Luna. “Hey Luna, do you want to help me and my brother babysit tomorrow night?” I offered politely. She gave me a small smile and nodded. “Sure, Shane.” I smiled softly before leaving, feeling terrified and satisfied at the same time.