Wrong dose

Chapter 18 (Jake)

Skylar was coming to his house tonight. Jake still couldn't believe it. Yes, she had been there before, but his parents had never been there when she came. In fact, Jake doubted they even knew who she was, despite mentioning her at the dinner table. He had no idea how they would cope with an extra person at the dining table tonight, given the fact that he hadn't brought home a friend in, well, forever.
Jake knew what his parents thought of him. Though no one had said anything explicitly, he saw the glances his father and mother shared from time to time. Those looks only reserved for when he refused to try out for a certain sport or asked for help getting to the car. To them, he was only a cripple, a nuisance.
He was a disappointment.
His mother was a teacher at a nearby elementary school, and his father was the owner of a small mechanics shop. They had never done anything great in their lives. They were completely average. And they wanted him to be just like them, but that was impossible. Even at a young age, it had been obvious that Jake would never be like other boys. When the time came for babies to begin walking, it never happened to him until much, much later. And that was because his doctor told him he needed leg braces. Ever since then, the warmth their small family had shared had leaked out little by little. Now he didn't matter to them at all. He wouldn't become a mechanic just like his father before him, he was doomed to live like a cripple for the rest of his life. His parents didn't care, not anymore.

******
Jake was nervously roaming the halls of his house in a crisp, new polo shirt, waiting for Skylar to arrive. They had decided to go their separate ways first, and then she would come to his house that evening. In honor of the occasion, Jake had vacuumed the entire first floor, opened windows, and even mopped the floors. He ignored the strain it put on his weak legs despite the leg braces. He wanted his family to make a good impression on his twin, even though she had already been to his house. This was different. She would see how they acted as a family. Jake wanted to shield her from it.

It was almost a relief when the doorbell rang, and he heard his adoptive father yell for him at the top of his lungs from the bottom of the stairs. Jake hurried down to the first floor and opened the front door, revealing a slightly awkward Skylar standing on their doorstep. "Hi, I'm Skykar," she greeted quickly, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. It was a wonder to Jake how someone so strong and imposing could look so shy and meek.
Jake's father stepped forward and shook her hand. "Hey, Skylar, I'm Marcus," he said gruffly.
Then his mother joined them all in the entrance of the house . "I'm Lila," she said, taking Skylar's hand as well.
Jake mentally breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.
His mother stiffly ushered Skylar inside the house, followed by his father and then Jake himself. He saw Skylar turn back  and give him a fleeting glance of worry. Jake sent her his most reassuring half smile. After all, how badly could things go?

A few minutes later, the four of them were all seated around the small table in the kitchen making small talk.
"So, Skylar, you go to school with Jake, right?" Began his dad.
"Yeah," replied Skylar, "We have several classes together." 
"And so Jake is telling me you two have the same birthday, how interesting."
Skylar nodded wordlessly.
An uncomfortable silence lapsed around the table. Clearly his parents had given up on his friends, as well, bitterly thought Jake.
His mother finally got up, speaking her first complete sentence of the evening, "I think the lasagna is ready now." Jake, his father, and Skylar watched as she took out a steaming plate of food from the oven. Again, nobody spoke as she took out a knife and began cutting portions for the four of them.

Things slowly went downhill from there. Jake's attempts at starting a conversation all failed miserably, all met by clipped, one-word responses and the occasional distraught expression from Skylar. He saw his parents glance at each other with their signature looks of disapproval when Skylar put her elbows on the table and when she accidentally dropped her fork with a bit too much force. Jake saw her face flame up more and more as the minutes ticked by, until she was a blushing mess, slumped in her seat, pushing the food around in her plate. He felt for her--he had experienced the same thing so many times before. If there was one thing his parents knew how to do, it was make people feel horrible about themselves for no reason.

By the time Jake's mother pulled out the chocolate cake for dessert, the tension and awkwardness could have been cut with a knife. Jake was almost certain that another stern look or sharp remark would drive Skylar to tears. She didn't deserve that, not on her birthday, not ever.
He couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, Jake asked, "Hey, can Skylar and I go upstairs for a while?"
Without waiting for an answer, Jake pulled Skylar up and hurried her up the staircase as fast as his brace-clad legs would allow.

When they reached his room, Skylar collapsed on the bed with her head in her hands. "Dammit Jake," she hiccupped, "Your parents are..."
Jake felt awful, standing over Skylar and unsure of what to do as her shoulders were racked with dry sobs. This was all his fault.   As he desperately racked his head for ideas to distract her, the ringtone of a phone sounded.
Despite the sound being muffled by his backpack, he knew that ringtone. It was the one Clarice's phone had.
With a strange fear coating his veins in ice, Jake picked up the phone.
A voice that wasn't Clarice's reached his ears.
"You and your twin will come outside through the back door without being noticed, if you want to see your adoptive families again."
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially with this huge plot twist at the end! Again, I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING EARLIER!!!

Let's be real, no matter how many times I say it, I probably won't stick with any updating schedule :/ I'm so sorryyyy

Vote and comment what you think, I would love some criticism :D