Anomalously Black

Chapter 9

I'll never admit that though.

Alex clears his throat and looks at me. "Our parents loved you," he begins. "You were their only daughter, and you were everything to them. Mom was the sweetest woman I've ever known. She was kind and caring. And dad," he chuckles. "He was so funny. His jokes were terrible but the way he said them could make anyone laugh. He didn't try to force me and Jason into sports like most dads would. He accepted us for who we are. Him and mom loved each other with all their hearts. We were the perfect little family..."

I'm not very good at reading emotions, but even I can tell that it hurts Alex to talk about our parents like this. I don't remember them much and he's way older than me. He's spent more time with them than I have, meaning he knows them better. But I don't feel anything as he tells me these things. I should be sad. I should be breaking down in tears from hearing how much my dead parents loved me. But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem seem to feel a single emotion. I feel empty as I sit there listening to him. He doesn't notice the empty look that I give him, too wrapped up in his own silly emotions. He only continues to talk.

"You were their little ray of sunshine," he chuckles again. "Mom would sing to you whenever you cried or were sad. Dad would tell you funny stories. Every summer we would go down to a beach house and spend the week there. We had s'mores on the beach and listen to music. Things were perfect back then. But now-"

"Now they're dead," a voice says. We both turn our heads and see Jason standing in the doorway of our room. He looks tired and worn out. He has dark bags under his eyes, his shirt is unbuttoned at the top, and his tie has become undone.

Jason walks into the room, and looks strangely, menacing. "They're gone now and there's nothing we can do about that. You know that." He squints his eyes harshly at Alex, who shrinks back slightly.

Jason takes his eyes off of Alex and stares at me. I don't back away like Alex though, and match my stare to his. After a few moments of silence Jason speaks. "They did love us. But now it's time to move on. We can't dwell on the past anymore."

Without another word he turns around and leaves just as suddenly as he came. I look at Alex who breathes a quiet sigh of relief. He notices me looking at him and smiles. "Don't worry about him, he's just a bit cranky whenever he comes home from work."

I don't believe him. Something about that interaction didn't feel like sudden crankiness. The guards back at the asylum are cranky. But that interaction felt much more...sinister.

I stand up, about to leave the room when Alex grabs my arm. I try yank it away from him, not liking the sudden feeling of him touching me. However, his grip is tight and he refuses to let me go. He squeezes slightly and I wince. Without thinking, I use my other arm and scratch him viciously. He yelps and lets go of my wrist.

I glare harshly at him. Taking out my notebook and pen, I write something down quickly and show it to him."Never touch me again."

Alex looks at me and his stare makes me feel slightly guilty. His bright blue eyes look so full of water. They're like an ocean, only the waves are too much for me to handle and they will eventually drown me. Alex sighs, then begins speaking so quietly that I can barely hear him. "Please be careful Adeline." Once the words are out, he leaves the room, not even glancing back at me.  Part of me wants Alex to stay in the room with me. I don't want him to leave, just as I didn't want him to leave 3 years ago. But he doesn't come back.

I sit on the floor for hours, not doing anything in particular. Just...sitting there. Jason tried to call me down for dinner about twenty minutes ago but I don't move from the store. After awhile he gives up and leaves me alone in my room. I glance at the clock on my bedside table to see that it's almost 11 at night. Soon Jason and Alex come upstairs talking about nothing that could interest me. Just sports and girls and stuff like that. A door closes and footsteps cross the hallway, stopping in front of my door. Jason walks inside and joins me on the floor. "Not hungry?"