The Missing Piece

Chapter 1

One Month Since He Left

I've accepted that my father left us, believe me when I say this, but I'm not okay. I have distanced myself from everyone. Charlie knows how I'm feeling and has Skia help him in their failed attempts to cheer me up and get me to talk to them.
One time they even locked me in the room Skia and I share until I promised I would speak to them, so I did. When they let me out I said a simple "Hi" and walked away.

School isn't any better either. My teachers all give me sad looks and so do my friends-old friends. I don't really talk to them anymore. These days,I am only willing to talk to one person; Reed Hansen.

Reed is the best friend of Skia's boyfriend Daniel, brother of Charlie's friend,quarterback of the school football team, and all around cute. He's what some people would call a crush. But it's more of a pound rather than a crush, as it's so much stronger. The only problem is; we're from different worlds. I'm not sure he even knows that I'm Skia's twin, let alone alive. He knows Skia. The strong, sporty cheerleader who has a boyfriend on the varsity team like Reed, and whose boyfriend is the best friend of him. He's a jock, and I'm nothing but a girl who writes in her free time; whose father left her on Christmas Eve a month ago. I'm not good at speaking in front of people-I never have been. So in other words, I'm not talking to anyone.

I have been doodling on the margins of my notebook when I finally look at my clock. 2am. I've gotten used to staying up late writing, so being up this late doesn't really bother me anymore. Honestly, I don't want to sleep. Whenever I try to sleep, I end up having the same dream.

In the dream I'm running from something unknown. My knees and elbows are scraped from falling. I can't stop tumbling on rocks and debris, but I don't stop running. Even though I don't know what I'm running from, I know if I stop something will go wrong. I hope I might find what I'm running from, but for now, I'm still going.

I wake up with a jolt when my alarm clock start beeping. I must have fallen asleep just thinking about the dream. I swing my legs out of bed and walk to my alarm clock. Turning it off, I notice that Skia is already gone. Uh oh.
I walk into the hall and not to my surprise, Skia and Charlie are blocking the stairs.

"You have to talk to us Bently." Skia says, "You can't avoid us forever, and we won't let you pass until you talk."

"Move so I can get my breakfast"

"Bents." Charlie starts, "Come on you need to talk to us. You can't continue like this. Skia told me you haven't been sleeping. Maybe if you talk to us, you'll sleep better."

"Maybe if you move, I won't have to push you down the stairs." I retort.
Skia looks at her feet and steps to the side. I push through and go down the stairs. Looking back, I see the hurt looks on their faces. They know they failed, again. Brushing off the regret, I continue with my routine-Eat, coffee, clothes, brush hair, brush teeth- and browse Instagram until it's time to leave. Two honks tell me that Daniel is outside waiting for Skia despite the fact that she has a car and license of her own.
I walk to my car and fish around in my bag for keys. I hear a sound behind me and turn to see Charlie dangling my keys. "Talk" he commands.
    I turn to Daniel, still sitting in his car and ask "Hey Daniel, can I get a ride?" He turns to me, shocked and nods his head. I gloatingly walk to Daniel's car and hop in the back seat.
    When Skia walks out of the house, a look of shock passes her face. I have never ridden with Daniel to school before. A look at a disappointed Charlie and a look of understanding covers her face.
    She gets in the front seat while Daniel leans over and kisses her cheek. This gesture turns Skia as red as a tomato. I stay silent in the back seat while Skia tries to get me to talk to her. When we get to school, the car was barely stopped when I said thank you and jumped out.