❝ It's hard to dream when you can't sleep and reality is a nightmare. ❞
Kaylee Thompson lost the ability to sleep the moment her twin sister died in a car crash. As their mother spirals deeper into grief and Kaylee's own grip on reality begins to sh...
I chewed my food without sound and handled my utensils carefully, knowing full well my mother's gaze was trailed on me, tracking my every movement. Beside her, my father sat with an unreadable expression on his face.
I willed a cool mask to slip upon my features as I finished my meal and forced myself not to meet their eyes. The pain was still fresh in my bones, and I could still feel the mark the tears had left on my cheeks, faint yet haunting—somehow.
My father placed down his fork on his plate, breaking the silence. Even until now, it still unnerved me on how slow and calculated his actions always were. If a robot had a human equivalent, it would be him.
"Did something happen?" His voice was soft and quiet, but I detected a sense of worry in his words.
My mother sighed before me, dragging a hand over her face. I focused my gaze on her tired eyes and unkempt hair, both of which mirrored my own. She looked away, bracing her hands on her lap.
There was a pause.
"Everything is fine." The wooden legs of the chair screeched back as she stood up, the ceramic plate slightly shaking on her hold. She disappeared into the kitchen hall before I could blink.
"Wait here." My father wiped his mouth with a napkin before he too, went up to his feet, muttering words I didn't hear clearly before I was left alone in the room.
The wall clock ticked away, my heartbeat thundering in my ears.
I clenched my fists and dug my nails into my palms just as a wave of dizziness overcame my senses. With a blink, my vision tilted and movement flickered from the corner of my eye.
Swiftly turning my head to the action, the blood in my veins froze when I beheld who was in the corner of the room. I clambered up to my feet, my palm landing on the table edge to support myself.
My lips mouthed her name but no sound came out, a stray tear rolling down my cheek. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Missed me?" Kaitlyn's painted lips curved into a smile that was barely there. Her wavy brown hair shone like gold in the sunlight, her dark brown eyes sparkling like she knew something I didn't.
Maybe she did.
I stared at her in bafflement, and my chest felt like it was caving from within when a memory flashed in my mind.
-
"She's gone." The words I never thought I would hear in my life.
My knees buckled and I crashed down to the floor, tears falling down my face. My throat tightened and my heart felt like it was being ripped into pieces. It was hard to breathe, and there was only silence in my head as I sobbed. The world collapsed, and I was within it.
I stared up at the man standing before me—my father—whose face was dried with tears. I cursed at him and stood up, pounding my fists on his chest until it hurt. Until I couldn't feel anything but the pain. Until he moved my hands away and gripped my shaking shoulders, making me look at him.
I didn't know what to think of, all I knew was my only sister was gone and I'll never see her again. My other half.
"Kaylee." His eyes held nothing but anguish as I struggled against his hold. "W-What I'm about to tell y-you will sound crazy, but it's very important. Please, l-listen carefully and let me explain."
There was something urgent in his voice, but it didn't matter. Not when I was in so much pain. Kaitlyn and I were connected in ways no one would understand, especially a father like him.
I shook my head and avoided his desperate gaze.
"Please." There was a sudden pressure in my shoulders, his nails digging into the thin cloth of my shirt. I was forced to look back at him through my blurred vision, focusing on his hardened gaze.
His jaw ticked, and it was then I realized that it wasn't a request but a warning. I was never given the choice to start with.
-
It was as if time came to a standstill when a million questions rushed through my mind at once. Tears filled my eyes but I blinked them back, the remnants of my breakfast churning in my stomach.
"I don't understand," I choked out. She was wearing the same clothes the last time I saw her, but cleaner, and alive—how?
Kaitlyn slowly advanced toward me, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. I stumbled back by instinct, the wooden chair creaking at the impact. My head pounded and my face was wet with tears.
Is this how things are meant to end? Me suffocating in the darkness I created for myself?
A frown lined her lips as she halted, her unfaltering graze trailing down my neck. Where her silver necklace hung unattended. Something that looked like understanding flashed in her eyes.
My cheeks turned red at the realization, but it wasn't long before the color drained from my face. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, my gaze zeroed in on her slim neck. My throat dried when an identical silver chain shimmered under the light, momentarily blinding my vision.
My eyes widened as I shook my head. I'm really going insane.
"Kaylee." My twin sister bent down before me, her cold fingers latching into mine. Her deep brown eyes bore into me as if staring into my very soul. I trembled, a weak sob escaping my lips.
Her eyes glistened with tears, her voice dropping into a whisper. "I'm sorry."
The two words told me more than a poem ever could.
"Listen to your mind, then everything will soon be clear." Her voice echoed in my ears.
Then everything fell silent, and she was gone.
The loud and heavy footsteps that echoed in the hall told me everything I needed to know.
I stood up and slid back on my chair, my gaze trailing my father as he took his place.
He didn't talk the whole breakfast, which made two of us.
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