I'm Not Hungry

two

I push his arms off of me and cover my mouth. No. This can not be him. This is not Ian.

"Oh my..." I trail off, not being able to muster up the courage to speak another word.

The boy looks at me and sighs. No matter how much I want to deny it, I know that this is Ian. He speaks. "I have a lot to say and even more to explain, but I just want you to hear me out." I only nod because I still cannot speak. He sighs and says, "Okay, I don't know where to start so is there anything in particular that you want to ask me?" Well then...

Finally regaining my ability to speak, I ask, "Why did you leave?"

He winces, as if that question physically hurt him. "Chevy..." His eyes take on a sheen of salty water, tears just waiting to spill down his perfect face. I thought he would stop his explanation there, but no. I could never be so lucky. "She had a diary. It had everything in it. Thoughts, hopes, dreams, theories and everything else that went through her head. She wrote about you." Ian looks away from me. "She knew what you were doing to cope with Caleb's death. I know it was stupid on my part, to leave. If I wanted you better, I should have stayed and helped you, but I was scared. With Caleb and Chevy gone, I couldn't lose you too. I detached myself from everyone back there, cut all ties. I just couldn't do it." We hear the bell ring, and I walk as fast as I am physically capable of. I don't look back, and I don't acknowledge him. I feel his stare burning into my back.

I rush into second period and take a seat at the back of the class with everyone looking at me. The late bell rings just after I'm seated. A tall teacher in a dark suit stands at the front of the room. Jesus, he looks like he would smack every one of us with a wooden ruler, if he could.

The man speaks. "Good morning, class, welcome to pre-calculus. I am your teacher, Mr. Cole and I trust that you all will act like civilized human beings while in my classroom."

So the math started and the talk ended. You know how they all say that magic isn't real? Well, it is. I am a witness that can attest to that, because the second Mr. Cole started, almost every single person in the room was asleep.

As the day dragged on, it seemed like the classes only got longer. Next thing I knew, it was ninth period.

"Hello students, I'm your science teacher, Ms. Lake." This woman is seriously pretty. Perfect clothes, makeup, hair, face. She seems nice, then again, looks can be deceiving.

Soon enough, that class also ended. Ms. Lake is actually a very nice and funny woman. I walk back to my house and unlock the door. Starting down the hallway, I notice family pictures. Why can't my family still be like that? Oh, right. My father is dead and my mother and brother are three thousand miles away. I run up to my purple room only to find the cold air blasting. I turn to the black box and turn off the air conditioner only to turn the heat on. Not wanting to be in my freezing room for one more second, I head back down the stairs toward the huge living room. I turn on the television and start watching an episode of Criminal minds. I get through the first three seasons when the door bell rings a long beep. I get up to get the door and my head starts spinning. Recovering from the dizzying experience, I walk to the door. Looking through the peep hole, I see no one. Just to be sure, I open the door  looking around. Nothing is there, but on the doorstep are two woven baskets. Each basket has a fuzzy blanket and a tag. One says:

Name:___________
Age: 3 months
Birthday: June 2, 2016 5:19 a.m.
Gender: Female

The other says:

Name:___________
Age: 3 months
Birthday: June 2, 2016 5:22 a.m.
Gender: Male

What the actual hell? I lift the baskets and bring them to the dusty kitchen, where I set them on the granite counter top of the island. Taking the faded pink blanket into my hand, I pull it away from the wooden weave. Holy shit. I lift the other blanket only to find something shockingly similar. Two of them!

Two new lives in this world. Two babies.