So On

Chapter 21 - This is Brandon

     Brandon was shifting uncomfortably in my bed. I put my chips aside so I can listen to him clearly but mostly because I couldn't hear well with all the crunching sounds my mouth was producing.

      He was staring at the floor the whole time, too embarrassed to look at me in the eye. I feel a bit guilty for having to let him tell me about his life.

     He took a deep breath and quietly released it. "You already know I'm an orphan right?"

     I nodded.

       "Well," he said, like that word alone made him squeeze it out of himself. "What I'm about to tell you is what happened when my real parents were still alive." He showed me a faint smile, but the melancholic look in his eyes pricked my heart.

     I nodded again and motioned for him to continue. "When I was eight, my parents and I lived in a lively neighborhood. The adults and my parents got along, the mailman was friendly and the other kids were all my friends, even if our age gaps were too wide."

     Brandon was closing his eyes, like he was visualizing the past. It seemed like a pleasant memory for him, since he looked calm and a smile was even tugging on his lips. I smiled too, thinking about how adorable he probably looked when he was a kid.

     Then his smile vanished and his lips formed a thin line when he continued with the rest of his story. "It was summer. We were watching a movie one night, a scary one, since mom loved horror films. We heard unusual sounds, like glass shattering, loud footsteps and something getting dragged on the floor. When we paused the movie to listen to it clearly, the sounds stopped. So we thought they were all just sound effects from the movie and we were just getting paranoid because dad and I can't handle scary shit."

     I was breathing deeply and slowly, mentally preparing myself to listen what's about to come next.

       "Mom even made fun of us. Said we were sissies or something," he hid a grin. "And then it happened."

     I swallowed hard. I think I'm hyperventilating, and he's just starting. I can't help it. I'm afraid to know. Yet I want to know. But -

     Shh Mira. Shh.

       "I felt like something was wrong - I didn't feel safe at the moment. Not because of the movie, but because of something... Strange and unexplainable. So I stood up and went to the kitchen. I swore I heard people talking there. Mom was too absorbed in the movie to even notice I'd walked off and dad was, well, absorbed in partially covering his eyes on mom's shoulder."

     I broke a helpless grin. I see the resemblance from father and son.

       "All the lights were off. Mom wanted a real spooky atmosphere to match the mood of the movie. It took a lot of guts just to walk to the kitchen. It was scary as shit."

     And I see how opposite his mom was to him and his dad. And how scarily similar his mom's tastes and my mine are.

     Brandon's face grew dark, and I knew we were getting close to the important part.

       "At first I was relieved. There was nobody in the kitchen. But what was I thinking? I couldn't see because of the darkness. I was about to leave when I heard some utensils fall. The sounds were pretty noticeable. Then all of a sudden, this hand clamped my mouth shut. My screams were muffled, I almost pissed myself from the shock."

     Oh, God.

       "There were two men in the kitchen. I couldn't see them, but I could hear them arguing. They were blaming each other for being too loud, and for revealing their selves to me. My parents noticed all the noise, so they went to the kitchen."