Mixtapes & Polaroids | Sam x Deena

49

Yet another storm brews for Deena, and it comes in the form of her brother coming home crestfallen, walking into her room looking pale as a ghost. He stands there in silence for a few moments, Deena setting down the book she had picked up just to keep her mind from spiraling since she had decided to stay home the entire day. Simon had come over to bring her lunch, Sam had called that morning and Kate promised to drive Josh home.

She just failed to notice why exactly the boy was dead silent the entire way.

"Deena?" Josh finally says, quiet and reluctant, like his words were made of fragile glass.

"Yeah?" Deena asks, brows furrowed as he fishes out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. Deena knows immediately what it is, and her heart drops through the floor beneath them.

"Is it true? What everyone at school is saying?" Josh holds up the paper, hands shaky as Deena stares back at him in frozen silence.

"Is it true? Did... did Anna just make this up? She must have, right? It can't be..." Josh begins desperately, begging Deena to tell him it was all a sick prank— a twisted joke to get under her skin.

"Tell me it's not true. People can fake a lot of things these days, this can't be true." Josh prods once more, but in Deena's heart wrenching silence he begins to slowly realize the truth.

And Deena can't protect him, not this time.

"Josh, we have to talk." Deena quietly says, getting up from her bed as Josh immediately shakes his head.

"No! No— it's not true! It says here that... it was— it was under the influence. That's not right! Mom never— she was... she was the good one. Don't you remember? She was good to us, Deena." The desperation in Josh's voice was heartbreaking, but Deena couldn't find it in herself to lie anymore. Not like this, not to Josh.

"Josh, please... just listen." Deena's voice cracks, slowly making her way over to Josh who holds his hands up to tell her to stop.

"No! They're lying about her and you're doing nothing! How could you just run away from this? They're lying and you're being a coward—" Josh angrily exclaims, throwing the crumpled piece of paper onto the ground in a huff.

"They're not lying!" Deena cuts him off swiftly, flinching almost like the words physically tore through her throat.

"What?" Josh shakily asks, blood running cold as Deena meets his eyes, hers filled with shame and regret.

"They're not... lying, Josh. It's true." Deena admits somberly.

"How do you know that?" Josh asks, with every passing second his voice fills with undeniable dread, pushing Deena deeper into the ocean of devastation that lived in her chest.

"I talked to Dad."

"When?"

"Josh—" Deena tries to reason, but Josh was dead set on answers.

"When? When did you talk to him?" He asks sternly, through gritted teeth with a tone that crushes Deena's chest.

"A week ago." She finally responds after what felt like an eternity, apology filling her gaze as Josh looks at her in horror.

"You've known for a week and I... I have to find out like this? Digging this shit out of a trashcan wondering why all my friends were looking at me like that?" Josh begins in disbelief, glancing down at the article that sat on the ground between them as anger builds in his chest.

"I never wanted you to know. Never." Deena shakes her head, but her words only anger Josh even more.

"I had a right to know!" He screams.