Darkness in the Light

Chapter 3

Two Years Later…

I walked through the hallways of La Follette with a grim expression and everyone seemed to notice. They cleared a path for me as I passed and went into my third period class. People tried to greet me but I ignored them and just took my seat. Luckily, Natasha was my table partner, so she would understand to leave me alone at least.

 Natasha’s hair had grown out in the past couple years to a little past her shoulders and she had died it a bright fiery red last week. Her shirt said ‘Sleeping with Sirens’ on it and she was wearing a silver ‘BVB’ necklace that I got her for her birthday. She watched me with those speculative brilliant blue eyes of hers and pursed her lips.

I stared intently at her and she nodded, understanding my mood immediately. I sighed and sat down in the chair while basically throwing my bag onto the floor. My platinum blonde hair was straightened down that day so I tried to use it as a cover for my face. The bell rang and Mr. Smith called the class to order.

 I hated that class, because he had had him. I remember sometimes when Danny would talk about how cool Smith was and I had to admit he was but it didn’t make this sophomore year any easier.

Don’t be such a Debby-Downer, Danielle said in my head. You’ll get everyone in a bad mood.

I grumbled something incoherent to myself. Yeah, I heard my comatose brother in my head. Well, technically, the voice was more like a she, at least sounded more feminine than masculine. Ever since the accident happened, I had been conversing with the voice and at some point I had come to call her Danielle, the girl-version of Danny. I knew I had gone crazy the second I started talking back to her but not once did I mention Danielle to the therapist my aunt Eryn forced me to see.

 I spoke softly so no one would hear me. “You know what day it is.”

 She was silent. Thank God.

 I couldn’t concentrate on the lesson, how could I? The date was written on the board and seemed to constantly draw my attention away from the teacher. It was taunting me, harassing me with this dark day.

 “Tyler?” Smith asked.

 I raised my head and said something very smart. “Huh?”

Half the class laughed.

Mr. Smith frowned. “Pay attention, Miss. Price.” He ordered.

I groaned and forced myself to take the notes.

The class lasted forever and when the dismissal bell finally rang, Natasha grabbed me by my right elbow. Even though it had been two years since my arm was broken it still seemed to tingle whenever touched, like an echo of the pain.

 “Ty?” She asked softly. “Are you going to be okay?”

I wanted to tell her the truth and say no but I was better to not worry her. “Yeah, I’ll be okay.” I paused and admitted to her, “I’m going to go visit him. After school.”

She considered that. “Would you mind if I tagged along? It’s been a while since-”

“No,” I said, then I sighed. “I mean, I would rather do it alone.”

She nodded with understanding then let me go.

I eyed her for a moment and tried to decipher the emotion I saw in her eyes. It looked like…worry? I couldn’t blame her, I would be worried too if she was hearing voices in her head. I hadn’t told Natasha, either, about it. She didn’t need to know about Danielle.