Splinters: Part One

Part One | 2

"And lastly, we get ready to sing."

Ursanne then let out a god-awful sound. And of course, the rest of the girls followed suit.

I opened my mouth and screamed. It was a very poor scream. It sounded like what a bad actor would sound like if he were falling.

"Then, we run through the sprinklers until we're dripping wet!"

I stepped away from the sprinklers. "Won't your parents be upset that you guys are wet?"

Isabeau shook her head. "They encourage it."

Net pointed towards Odera. "It was all Dera's idea!"

Odera shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"Okay, girls, get ready!" Ursanne said.

They all started The Shiver, and then they swiped off all their stress and lastly, warmed up their not-so-good vocals. Then they all lined up and spread out their arms and zoomed down the fields singing a weird song.

I watched them as they all acted as airplanes and sang. I couldn't understand a word they were saying but they all were in unison. I took a mental picture.

"C'mon, Brayden!" Net shouted.

Suddenly, I felt two hands push me forward. Ursanne instructed me to open my arms. Together, she and I flew down the fields.

...

When we returned to the house, everyone was soaked. Melissa and Greg handed us all towels and ordered us to take showers. Since so much water was being used at once, not everyone could take a shower at the same time so while we were waiting, Isabeau, Edaline and I played with these weird hamsters that run around and stuff.

At first, it creeped me out, but as time went on, I learned to watch and kind of enjoy them.

The sound of Potey's bark was loud outside. I felt bad for not letting him come in, but the idea of being near a dog was petrifying. I was thankful Potey wasn't like the pit-bull I had encountered all those years ago.

I wanted to get over my fears slowly, but Potey's bark wasn't helping anything. I knew Isabeau could see that I was in deep thought, so she asked me what was up.

"I'm just thinking about Potey."

"Are you scared of him?" Edaline asked.

I stared at her, not sure of how to reply.

"Eda, no." Isabeau scolded.

I glanced at Isabeau and blinked. Slowly, I got up and left the room.

"Brayden! Where are you going?" Isabeau shouted.

"Just to get a drink of water." I replied loudly.

I heard the faint sentence, "Mom said to not ask him questions."

I frowned.

"Why?" Eda asked quietly.

"She said he has problems."

I blushed and shut my eyes.

I didn't want the girls to feel like I had something to hide, even though I did. I didn't want them to know about my mother or my father or the beer or the dogs or police or warrants or fights and and grandmother and everything else that had no happiness in my life. I didn't want them to know about my Splinters.

I sighed, continuing down the hall towards the kitchen, but stopped short when I heard Greg and Melissa speaking, but with Ursanne also in the room.

"Did I ever meet her?" I heard Ursanne ask.

"No, of course not." Melissa replied.

"Did you know she had him?" Ursanne went on.

"None of us knew about-" Greg stopped at the sight of me.

"I'm sorry." I apologized awkwardly.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. What do you need?" Melissa asked quickly, stepping towards me.

"I just need a drink of water." I said, pointing at the refrigerator.

"Oh. Ursanne, a cup?"

Ursanne headed towards the cabinet and took out a plastic cup and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I mumbled, stepping towards the fridge and getting some water.

I sipped some of it while everyone stared at me. I began to feel self-conscious. Slowly, I lowered the cup and set it on the island. I stood still, letting my fingers tap the counter top.

Finally, Ursanne broke the silence. "So you can take a shower now, Brayden."

"Oh yes! I'll show you the towels."

Melissa gestured me towards her. I followed her up the stairs and towards a closet. She took a deep red towel out from the closet, causing me to stand still. I didn't move, but kept my eyes on the towel. It looked so much like...

"Brayden?"

I took my eyes off from the fabric and slowly grasped it. Melissa led me towards the bathroom and told me how to work the shower and then she left. A few minutes later, she returned with some clothes she supposedly bought for me before today. I thanked her and was left alone.

I stripped of my clothes and tried my best not to pay attention to the towel. After turning on the shower, I slipped in, letting the warm water trail down my body, breathing in slowly and breathing out slowly. After a three minute debate on choosing what shampoo to use, I finally decided and finished up.

I turned off the water and opened the curtain. I had forgotten about the towel and stared at it for a long, long moment. Memories from that day came flooding back the longer I stared. 

Flashbacks of sitting in a closet, covering my ears... The sounds of men fighting... I was so young, I didn't know what was happening. It was one of the worst nights of my life, I don't think I could let myself remember even if I tried. 

The crackle of a gunshot. No. No, there wasn't a gun. Was there? But the blood... There was so much blood. But, couldn't it have just been mine? 

"Don't come out, Brayden,"  my father's voice was clear as day. 

After what felt like forever, I came out and I watched him clean the floor with one of our bath towels. It was stained with more blood than I'd probably ever see in my life.

Forcing the memories out of my head, I slowly stepped out from the tub and advanced towards the towel on the toilet seat. Part of me was scared to touch it. I closed my eyes and grasped the towel, hurriedly dried myself and then chucked it away from me.

It was like I could still hear the men shouting. I could hear the sound of things breaking. I could hear the crackle of a bullet being shot from a gun by a simple tug of a trigger.

I sighed and finished in the bathroom. When I emerged, all the girls were getting ready for bed. They hurriedly brushed their teeth and brushed their hair. Odera and I were to share a bathroom and she showed me my toothbrush. I thanked her and let her finish first.

After everyone was done with their nightly routine, Melissa told us all to head to bed, but told me to wait for a moment.

I waited.

Greg and her told me that we'd be waking up early in the morning. First, we'll be going to the high school and speaking to the principal, and then we'll go clothes shopping. I didn't like the idea of either of those plans and almost wished I was back at the orphanage, but nearly smacked myself as the thought registered. I was lucky I was getting a taste of a new family.

Later, they left my room and I went to bed, snuggling myself deep under the covers.