"He's not up yet?" I ask Jessica as we change into some clothes for school. I pull on some light, denim, skinny jeans and I throw on a three quarter length sleeved t shirt. It is lightweight and soft on my skin while the body of it is white and the arms are a soft yet dark blue. I've never been one to dress up and stand out... apart from when Jessica dresses me. Then I slide on my new black converse that Mr and Mrs Jones got me. They've really done so much for me... I'm really going to have to pay them back somehow one day.
Jessica is wearing a pair of super skinny black jeans with a black and white plaid shirt that has the sleeves rolled up to around the elbow. She matches the outfit by pulling on a pair of black converse high tops.
"Yeah... Just after you went to bed, he started getting really grouchy. He wasn't talking to any of us, he wasn't going to eat anything and he snapped at us all a couple of times. He's getting another depression episode I think." Jessica exclaims with an expression of sympathy. She tries to work a smile but I know it's not real, and I should know... For years I faked a smile just to get through the day but when I get home... It would disappear and I would cry myself to sleep. Ever since I've been living here, there's not been one night that I have cried my eyes out until I fall asleep and I'm happy about that.
"Let's walk today. Just get some fresh air before school." I tell her just before we leave her room and start galloping down the stairs.
"We have to be quiet, Adam fell asleep on the sofa last night, he wasn't going to move." Jessica whispers to me as we slowly enter the living room to find a disheveled Adam sprawled across the length of sofa. He looks so peaceful, like he were a perfect human being with no worries in the world.
The truth is though, we're not perfect and we're not going to be a normal human being. We've been through too much and we've endured too much pain to be considered normal. He seems calm and peaceful... No matter how stressed, sad or angry he may get, I'll always see the inside where he is kind, thoughtful and understanding. I don't let my eyes linger on Adam for long because of her assumption. Don't want anything to support that...
I nod to Jessica in agreement as we creep through the living room towards the hall where the front door sits. We leave earlier than usual today because it takes longer to walk than to drive so when we step outside, the air is fresh and crisp. It reminds me of when I had no one. I walked every morning and usually it would be a sad, lonely walk. However, now I have Jessica... And she's the greatest friend I could ask for.
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Silence... Only breathing and only hearts beating. No whispers and no mumbles, no yawns and no laughs.
Well this is awkward... I'm used to the quiet but while I've been here, there's always been voices, and laughs... But now there's nothing. We all just sit, and wait. Everyone is here at the dining room table... Even Adam who has hardly come out of his room for around two and a half weeks. No one seems bothered to even make conversation. So, we just sit here. No noise... Just silence... Drowning in a room of absence. It is a throbbing silence that wraps around all of us like a thick blanket which makes me feel isolated from the rest of the world.
Suddenly, the sound is broken by the squeak of a boot heal on the shiny floor. I jump in my seat and suck in a short breath. The scrape of the chair across the smooth, wooden floor sounds like a spirit howling as it is dragged through a rocky pathway. The heavy steps follow however, they get quieter as they move further away and eventually, our of the dining room. I hold my breath as the floorboards creak while he moves out of sight.
"Do you mind if I go?" I question Mrs Jones, rising from my seat very slowly and gently; hardly making any sound at all.
"Go on. Its fine." Mr Jones answers for her because she seems like she is still in a moment of shock. He beckons his hand towards the door, telling me that I can go to see Adam.
YOU ARE READING
Falling Apart
Teen Fiction*TRIGGER WARNING: DEALS WITH DEPRESSION, SELF HARM AND SUICIDE* Amber is sixteen years old and to sugarcoat it... She hasn't had the best upbringing. She would love a different life, one where she can see her mother again and not be stuck with her...
