Whisper

Thirteen

Dani picks me up.

This is the first I'm going to a drive-in cinema. I'm excited when I think about it. Dani brought chips and other junk foods along with her. She said the candy bar here is way too expensive. The movie didn't start yet, the screen is blank. We arrived early to find a good parking spot.

Dani was dressed in a sweater and some track suit pants. She looks like she's wearing her pyjamas. She didn't bother to wear anything too fancy as she says she'll be in her car the whole time so she may as well be comfortable.

Abruptly, a loud thud interrupts my thoughts. Dani screams as I look straight ahead and see a crow laying on the hood of Dani's car.

"Oh God, is it dead?" Dani asks, cringing at the sight of the black crow.

I lean forward, looking at the face of the crow. There's so many crows in Havenwood appearing around me. Suddenly, the crow lifts its head and jumps to its feet, squawking. It looks at Dani and I before flying away.

"I guess Brian left you alone?" Dani questions.

I frown, "Brian?" Where did Brian come from? And why would he leave me alone?

"Yeah. You told me a couple of days ago that Brian was bothering you," she explains. I said that? "Remember, I asked you if you were okay 'cause you were acting strange. You seem like you are much better now."

"Oh right." I forgot about that. I smile knowing that Brian can be the main reason why I am annoyed and frustrated again. No more confusing mysteries, no more spirits and no more forgotten memories. It's all in the past now. "Yeah, he loves irritating me but he backed off a little now." When I speak of Brian, I really mean everything else that I want to keep from her. The ghost, the Night Watchers and that night.

"And..." Dani prompted.

"And what?"

"Wait, so you don't do anything to get back at him?" Dani looked surprised.

"Not exactly. I can't really think of anything to get back at him, besides, Brian doesn't do much to me. If anything, he tries to ignore me. But when he does acknowledge me, he acts rude," I confess. Dani rolls her eyes. "But he does try to get me into trouble from Lily. He wants Lily to hate me so Lily and my dad would have a fight. I just wish that Brian would let it go and accept it that we're stuck with each other no matter how much he does not want to be part of my family."

Brian has never been like a brother to me. When our parents got married, I was excited that I would have a mother and a brother. It was all I ever wanted, especially since my own mother passed away when I was born. I always yearned for a mother and a brother was a bonus. Lily treated me like her own daughter but she never felt like a mother. If anything, she felt like one of my friends. I don't know if that's how a mother feels but I think it's close to it.

Brian on the other hand is the exact opposite of what I'd hope would be. He is only a year older than me and always treats me like dirt. He avoids me, gets me into trouble and even pretended he didn't know me at school. We were never close and it was mostly because he didn't want to be close.

"You think that after ten years of attempting to have his parents divorced, he'd taken the hint knowing that it won't work. I'll give him credit for being dedicated, but he needs to accept what has happened," Dani agrees.

I bite my lip, staring at the blank screen. "I don't know," I say. "I guess he wants life to be different and not wanting to follow what his fate brought him," I suggest.

Dani frowns, "That's definitely true. He wants to fight fate but that is the most ridiculous thing he can do."

"Why? He doesn't want his destiny to be what it is now so he's fighting against it to achieve something much better," I defend. I don't know why I am defending him.