Stonebrook High School

Chapter 10

I posted Chapters 8 and 9 on February 28 and now it's March 12 (was originally going to post chapter 10 on March 10 but then I had some volunteering and homework to do). Has my posting schedule been okay for everyone?

~*Ω*~

"Hey, Aunt Carrie." The boy shut the door behind him and sighed satisfyingly.

The light-haired woman slightly rotated her head to sneak a peek of the male twin and she raised an eyebrow. "Hello, dear. Where have you been?"

"Oh, Jess didn't tell you? I've been with Petra, you know, catching up and stuff." He started making his way to their room before Aunt Carrie placed a hand on his shoulder. Jesse looked up to make eye contact with her but she didn't say anything. After a few moments, she released him and motioned for him to keep moving.

Hesitation flashed in his eyes but he kept going anyway.

~*Ω*~

The sound of his footsteps on the carpet thumped as he happily strolled over to his bed. "Hey, Jess."

"Hey..." The dark-haired girl lifted her head slightly to catch a glance of him and then shoved her face back into her pillow.

Jesse sat on his bed and threw his bag next to him. "I went with Petra as she made a trade with someone. It was pretty cool. The guy cheated her out of a lot of money, though."

"..."

"Petra and I tried to look for him because he escaped when we weren't looking but we couldn't find him. So we went to her house. She lives on the outskirts of the eastern side of the city now. Her house was a pastel blue and had flowers along the grass. Mrs. Casey said hi and asked why you weren't here with me. I kinda wish you came along with us," he chuckled.

"Yeah... yeah."

"We went up in her room and played some board games and cards. I haven't played Sorry or Uno or Speed in a long time! It was really fun and Petra even threw the cards at me once for beating her in Speed."

"Exciting..."

"Yeah, it was. Then we took out her old Playstation and played All-Stars Battle Royale and some Street Fighter. I forgot how fun they were." He started smiling to himself like an idiot as he recalled the both of them screaming as they punched each other at the same time, ending in a draw.

Jess just laid in her bed, cradling her arms. Yes, it was warm, but she couldn't believe how cold she felt when she realized how rude she was to Lukas.

Yes, it was true, he wasn't smart for suggesting an insensitive idea like that, but she wasn't any better, shouting and threatening the boy.

What had happened to her? It was only the second day of the school year. She was never like this- never had she ever wanted to yell at someone, never had she ever insulted people so blatantly, never had she ever hated someone so much–

She could blame it on puberty but that was just stupid.

What happened was because of her irrational actions, not any dumb chemicals.

She was sorry for subconsciously ignoring her brother but she didn't want to ruin his good mood and spill a deluge of rants and anger onto his shoulders. She couldn't do that.

She furrowed her brow as a migraine throbbed her brain. Maybe sleeping would help her feel better in the morning.

Closing her eyes, she felt fatigue pull her downwards and regret shove her limp body into an unconscious state.

~*Ω*~

"Hey, Jess, wake up..."

A hand gently jolted her awake and she made a small gasp, slightly started from the sudden shake. Rubbing her eyes, she opened them slowly and saw her brother standing by her bedside.

"Jay... Is... is it time for school yet?" Jess asked as she stretched, twisting her torso.

"No... It's three in the morning. You were tossing and turning a lot. I was kind of worried. The way you were grasping the hem of the blanket and your hair made it seem like you were on edge or agitated about something, so I decided to wake you up in case it was a nightmare." He ruffled his messy, curly hair and pulled a chair over, sitting next to her bed with one hand still on her arm.

"I... I was moving a lot in bed?" She grabbed her head with the hand he wasn't holding and blinked, almost as if she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. "Oh. I wasn't having a nightmare, though... I think? I'm not sure."

"You know, you can always talk about everything to me, Jess." He tried to smile but it was obvious he couldn't because of the flash of concern in his eyes. "You're my sister and best friend."

"Thank you, Jay." Jess weakly gripped his hand with both of hers and held his up to her face. "Actually, I wouldn't mind if you stayed right here with me. I kinda feel like I need a hug. And I mean a very long one."

He smiled feebly and wrapped his arms around her gingerly, resting his face on her chest. "I'll stay right here until you fall asleep again."

She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket over them. "Until then."

~*Ω*~

Chapter 11 is coming out today, do not worry! Extra short chapters mean there's probably more coming soon :)