Joe's world

chapter 4

Later that evening I found it hard to sleep, my mind was all over the place . From tossing and turning I decided to lay on my backside as I stared at the plain ceiling . My emotions were whirlpooling in my head , making it hard to think coherently .

I could hear faint footsteps outside my bedroom door . Maybe I was not the only one who was struggling to sleep and that made me sigh .

After coming to an agreement , the boys and I came to the conclusion that I will only tell mom everything that happened once I was fully ready . I didn't know how she'd take it but I had to at least be honest with her . The only problem I was facing was how I was gonna approach her . Oh hey mom , I glowed the other day . I'm a glow worm now .

I chuckled at my own ridiculous thoughts , shaking my head at how silly I sounded .

Mom's behavior had changed drastically . She was in a good mood , a clear sign that everything was gonna be okay . I smiled to myself , praying that I was right about everything .

The only thing I wasn't planning on telling her about was the girl I saw in my class . No one would believe that someone like that exists . What's worse was how she disappeared from the face of the earth . She could have drowned for all I know .

My gut feeling was telling me that girl was the source of everything that happened to me and even though I couldn't prove it , I knew that I should trust my gut feeling . I wondered why had she left so hastily . No one noticed her , it was like she was just not important enough to be recognised . Something about her felt out of place or maybe it was her insane beauty .

As I was drowning in my thoughts , I heard a sudden knock on my door followed by Jacob's deep voice . I rolled my eyes .

" Joe open up , it's me Jacob ... can we talk for a moment , I swear I won't be long " he said .

I could obviously detect uncertainty in his in his tone . He was speaking softly as if he was afraid someone might hear him . My question was what did he have to say to me at this time of the night . Couldn't he wait until tomorrow ?

Usually Jacob would be asleep in his room with his cats by now . What was so important that he had to come to my room and not say it over a message like he usually does . It got me really curious because this is the first time in years Jacob has knocked on my door .

" It's open ! " I called out hoarsely .

A few second later my was swung open and entered a tired looking Jacob with Kiki following suit . The fluffy feline climbed on my bed like she owned it went straight to my bowl of spicy noodles from this afternoon . There was literally nothing inside the bowl as Kiki licked the damn thing clean . She was in her own world , not even caring about the tension in the room .

" Kiki go away ." I said lazily but the cat didn't listen to me .

" Seriously? you brought a cat to listen in on our conversations and eat all my food? this cat of yours should be caged up like the rest of her friends " I said , averting my attention to my brother .

Jacob was an animal person , growing up we had all sorts of pets in the house but unfortunately some died , which only left us to 3 hamsters and 2 cats Kiki and Puffy and 4 cute rabbits .

Puffy was my favorite with her golden brown fur and big blue eyes , she was the cutest and everything she did melted my heart . She had the softest paws and very cute little teeth .

All the other pets besides the cats were locked up in Jacob's room . He said that they were safe with him because we might accidentally step on them which was true . Ayan , Jacob's favourite hamster died a very painful death after I accidentally stepped on him .

Jacob use to leave him around the house , even in the kitchen counter . One day I was brushing my teeth in my bathroom and Ayan came in without me noticing . I turned around to exit the room but I had already stepped on him to a pulp . The first thing I did was scream and everyone came upstairs to ask me what was wrong .

All I could do was point a shaky finger at the dead hamster and the next thing , the room was filled with Jacob's piercing cries . I believe that was the real reason why he kept his pets away from the house . Away from me specifically .

Jacob cleared his throat and I brought my attention back to him , he took a seat on my bean bag that was placed near my bed while playing with the hem of his shirt . A habit of his when nervous or under pressure . I frowned at him , waiting for him to speak his mind but the boy was looking at his lap .

" Say something or leave ." I commanded through gritted teeth .

Jacob looked up at me and spoke after a few minutes of silence . His voice shaky with a hint of raspyness to it .

"I know everything Joe " he said , looking anywhere but me .

What was he talking about what ? Did he mean to say that he saw me skipping class today ? I looked at his legs which he was bouncing up and down .

" What are you saying ?" I asked , genuinely baffled but rather than answering my question , he stood up and left without another word .

" You have to be fucking kidding me . The kid's on drugs ." I said lowly .

I wanted laugh but I was left more questions dangling over my head . Maybe there was something my family wasn't telling me and I wanted answers from them .

If he supposedly knew everything , how come no one has said anything to me . Instead of confronting Jacob about it , I decided to sleep it off . I will get all the answers I needed by tomorrow I told myself reassuringly .

I closed my eyes in an attempt to sleep but my head was like an ocean of thoughts . It felt like I was slowing drowning in the depths of it . Never have I ever felt so conflicted in my life .

I was the one to always have things under control but now I feared that I would lose myself . My confused mind replayed everything that happened earlier , from the time I saw someone posses peculiar beauty to when I followed her somewhere I've never been to before .

Jason and Jacob were acting kind off unusual too .
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