Secrets

Chapter 7 - Awaken Feeling

Ever had that gut feeling that something was going to go wrong? That inexplicable weight in your stomach urging you to turn around, go back to bed, and let the world spin without you for a day?

Mia should have listened to her gut.

The moment she walked through the school gates, an oppressive sense of dread settled over her, heavy and unrelenting. She hesitated, glancing back toward the street.

She could still turn around, go home, and pretend she hadn't seen the warning signs.

But Mia Abernathy wasn't known for her self-preservation skills.

So she pressed on, and as the day unfolded, the signs only grew clearer.

First: The twins were nowhere to be seen.

Their absence wasn't just noticeable; it was glaring. They weren't in class, not even a glimpse in the hallways.

After yesterday's tense argument, Mia had a sinking feeling that something had happened.
But surely, their fight had nothing to do with her... right?

The absence of the twins gnawed at her, a sharp contrast to the usual chaos they brought with them.

Normally, their constant bickering and sarcastic remarks filled the air, grounding her in a strange but comforting way. Without them, the halls felt quieter. Too quiet.

Mia clenched her fists, forcing herself to focus as she shuffled into her next class. But her thoughts wouldn't settle.

Why do I care so much? she wondered, her brow furrowing. It wasn't like she'd known them for long.

Their friendship—if she could even call it that—was fragile at best, built on awkward conversations and their stubborn insistence on dragging her into their world.

She wasn't used to people like them. People who didn't ask if they could get close, who simply decided they were going to be part of her life and somehow made it happen.

So why does it feel like they've always been there? Like my brain has been rewired to think of them as close friends, even when I barely know them?

The thought sent a shiver through her, one she quickly brushed off. But no matter how she tried to reason with herself, the knot in her stomach wouldn't loosen.

She hated feeling this way—untethered, restless, her mind spiraling into worst-case scenarios over people who shouldn't matter this much.

But they do.

Her pencil hovered over her notebook, the words on the chalkboard blurring into meaningless shapes. She was distracted, unable to focus, the oppressive sense of dread from this morning pressing harder against her chest.

When lunch rolled around, the weight in her chest only grew heavier. She sat in the corner of the cafeteria, her tray untouched, her gaze fixed on the peeling paint of the opposite wall. The food on her plate seemed unappetizing, her stomach too knotted to eat.

Her thoughts circled back to Alex and Matt, her fingers drumming on the table as she replayed their last interaction.

Was it about me? The thought lingered, uninvited. Did I mess up? Did I ruin this fragile, strange connection before it even had the chance to solidify?

She tapped her fork against the table, the sharp plink-plink filling the silence in her corner of the room. She hated how much their absence affected her, hated how she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd done something wrong. Her usual defenses—overthinking her own actions, rationalizing her emotions—felt useless.