Caged

23

Ethan avoided me for the rest of the week.

I tried everything possible to run into him, to catch him before he left the house, or locked his door, but he dodged all of my attempts.

Some days, he was gone all day and night. I barely even saw him at school anymore, and the only way I knew he was still home every night was because I checked to see if his car was parked on the driveway before I went to sleep.

He'd been somewhat vulnerable for once, and I should've known it wouldn't last. It had been a new side to him, and I found myself thinking about it a lot.

I found myself thinking about what else I didn't know about the rest of my family.

How much I didn't know about Elijah and what he did when he was away from the house all the time, and everything else I'd been noticing. What he went through when he had to take my siblings in and change his entire life. I never paid attention because I was younger, but sometimes the memories would hit me randomly.

How much I didn't know about Kaiden and what else he went through in the past. What else he went through after losing Sophia. And why Ethan had said I was better off not knowing.

How much I didn't know about Caleb and if there was something else hidden behind his empathy and kindness. I'd never seen a different side to him. He was always steady and familiar.

If I wasn't thinking of them, Amina and the file would be on my mind. She hadn't contacted me since the day she told me everything, and the day she'd found out about her parents.

Other times, I'd be thinking of everything that I'd gone through the past few weeks. It would always end with me replaying all the things people had told me about my brothers. Everything Harrison, Nora, and everyone else had said.

Thinking as hard as I did never got me anywhere. It would only leave me with a pounding headache, and with more questions swirling through my mind.

Even now, as I sat alone at a table in the school library, I found myself with a migraine. I was starting to get them two to three times a week, and it was becoming unbearable. Sometimes, I'd find myself on the verge of throwing up from the pain.

My hands pressed into the sides of my temples, and I pressed hard, squeezing my eyes shut. It was temporary relief, and I wanted to slam my head against the wooden table. At least that way, if I fainted, I wouldn't have to deal with all of this.

"Hey."

I jumped and my eyes snapped open. I twisted my head over to the side to see Mia standing next to my chair, and I visibly straightened.

I saw her everyday, I talked to her everyday, but it was different. We were growing distant.

The day with Sebastian and her at the diner had been the first in a while in which we had been somewhat normal. When the two of us were alone, things just seemed off. The distance between us was growing.

I hated it, but I couldn't help it. I didn't know what to do to stop it from happening.

As long as I could remember, we'd been inseparable, and for the first time in my life, I found my best friend becoming more of a stranger to me with every new day that arrived.

We would still talk like we used to, but I noticed periods of awkward silence between us. There would be some sort of tension, and it would usually end up with one of us making some excuse to leave.

I noticed this distance between us had seemed to especially begin during the week that followed Addison's party. After I'd called her that morning, it grew worse each day.