The Dead, The Living and The Broken

Chapter 15: Whispers and Screams

Damien could here their whispers. They thought he couldn't but he could. Their whispers of concern made him feel strange. They made him frustrated and infuriated yet in some weird way they were comforting, at least he knew they cared. However, when he would walk in on them, the others would fall silent and try to play it off.

They thought he was stupid or something.

Granted, he was never a very smart kid and B+ were an occasion worth celebrating, but he wasn't oblivious.

He walked into the kitchen and once again it fell into silence. Oliver and Elijah paused mid conversation and watched him cautiously.

As Damien looked through the cupboards for something to eat, Elijah attempted to act casually.

"Um, as I was just saying," Elijah said and searched in his mind for something to talk about. "I really miss playing hockey, don't you?"

"Yeah," Oliver replied and with that the conversation died.

Damien's eyes landed on a water bottle and he felt a pang in his heart as he recalled the events from two days ago. He gingerly took the bottled water and joined the other two boys at the table.

"What do you think?" Elijah asked and turned towards Damien. "Do you miss hockey?"

"I think that my two best friends should stop acting like I'm an oblivious idiot," Damien snapped.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked, trying to appear innocent.

Damien slammed the water bottle down on the table causing water to splash out of the bottle and spray the table. "Don't act stupid with me." Damien warned. "Don't think I don't realize the way you guys stop talking when Cass or I walk in to the room or the way you're constantly glancing at me from the corner of your eye as if I'm a time bomb that could go off at any moment."

"We're just worried about you, is that so wrong?" Oliver said.

"I'm not a baby, I know that she's gone so whatever you have to say I probably already know so why make it so goddamn secretive!" Damien shouted.

"Look, you've been through a lot, we just want to give you some closure," Elijah explained.

Damien shook his head. "So now, giving someone closure is whispering behind their backs and pretending like everything is fine?"

"It's not like tha-" Oliver started to say.

"It's exactly like that! One of my best friends is gone and my other two best friends are pitying me!" Damien said. He stood up and turned to leave the room.

Oliver quickly stood and grabbed his wrist. He turned Damien around so he was facing him. "Look we're sorry, dude, but is it so bad to feel sorry for you? I mean, you're sad so obviously we aren't going to be happy."

"Pitying me isn't going to help me in anyway, if anything it makes everything worse," Damien said and sighed. "I would really just prefer to forget it all."

Elijah walked up to Damien and Oliver. He placed a gentle hand on Damien's shoulder. "We're sorry, man. We just feel awful that you're suffering, but I don't think forgetting will do anything good for you," Elijah said.

Damien took a deep breath and nodded. Tears brimmed his eyes because he knew Elijah was right, forgetting wouldn't help him. Yet at the same time, remembering hurt so damn much.

--

After Damien came forth about how he felt, the whispers died down almost immediately. Or they at least only spoke where Cassandra and Damien couldn't hear them. The murmurs didn't bother Cassandra anyways though, she just blocked them out. Though she grew tired of shuffling around the house with nothing to do.