Unspoken

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“There’s a letter for you,” my mom says, frowning. Nobody has ever written me a letter before and I am just as confused as she sounds. She is about to open it when I snatch it out of her hands.

“Who’s it from?” she calls, but I’m already leaving the room. I head outside and stretch out beneath a tree before I turn my attention back to the letter. I slowly rip off the top of the envelope and pull out the piece of paper inside. My eyes travel down to the bottom to see who it is from. I feel the corners of my mouth turn up when I see Declan’s name. I go back to the beginning and start to read the letter

Dear Arianna,

I know this is probably really cheesy, but I figured if you won’t communicate by talking you could by writing. I figure you’re probably lonely since you never communicate with anyone ever and so if you want, you can write back and talk to me. I know that you have a lot going on in that head of yours and I would like to hear some of it, or at least read some of it. I have a billion questions to ask you that can’t be answered by just a shake of your head. I really want to know more about you and I think this is probably a good way.

Anyway, here are some things you should know about me. First things first I can’t stand writing. I have never written a letter to anyone. That just proves that you are pretty special, but I already knew that. Another thing is that I’m in a band and yea I’m telling you this to impress you. You could come see us play sometime, but I’m warning you now that we aren’t very good.

The other night when I saw you being attacked I realized something. I really like you and I was hoping you would go on a date with me. Please write back, otherwise I’m gonna go insane not knowing what your answer is.

Sincerely,

Declan

After reading the letter over a few times I fold it up and stuff it back into the envelope. Then I run inside clutching the envelope to my chest. My mom gives me a weird look and I realize I am grinning insanely. I ignore her and dash up the stairs to my room. Once inside, I go to my desk and search for a piece of paper. Declan is a genius! I never would have thought to write letters to anyone, although that is probably because I don’t really have anyone to write them to. Well I do now and so I take out a pen and write my reply.

* * *

The next few days I would wait for the mailman to come and then would race to the mailbox to see if their was a response to my letter. There never was and I was starting to become doubtful that he would ever write back. Maybe it was all a cruel joke. Why would he like me anyway? I try not to think like this because right now he is really all that I have. I know I have only known him for a short amount of time, but he is the first person in so long that has even tried to get to know me. It didn’t even seem to matter to him that I won’t talk. When he talks to me it was like I am just like everyone else and I need that.

One day, right before I was about to go check the mail, I got something better than a letter could ever be. Declan stood on my porch, ringing the doorbell. I smiled at him as I opened the door and he grinned in response.

“So, I hear you want to go out with me,” he says and holds up a piece of paper, with words I recognize as my own. I blush and he laughs, his eyes sparkling. “Is tomorrow night good for you?”

I shake my head yes and he looks relieved. We hang out for a little while outside, him telling me stories about his band mates that make me laugh so hard I am practically crying. Before too long he tells me that he has to go to a rehearsal and walks me back to the porch. Before he leaves he bends down and kisses me on the cheek. I watch him pull out of our driveway in his truck and wave goodbye. When I walk inside my mom is standing in the hallway watching me.

“Who was that?” she asks. Why does she even bother? She already knows that I’m not going to answer. Well, not out loud anyway. I find a piece of paper, using Declan’s idea to give her the answer she wants. I write down that he is Melanie’s son and give her the piece of paper. She raises her perfectly sculpted eyebrows in surprise.

“Why didn’t you ever do this before?” she asks, referring to my writing her an answer. I just shrug, which pisses her off. Now that she knows I can talk to her in a way, she thinks I was ignoring her all of this time. Honestly, I was.

I leave the room before she says anything else, but I hear her sputtering angrily behind me. I feel kind of bad for her. I mean it isn’t her fault she only talks to people when she is criticizing them. Well, actually that kind of is her fault, so maybe I shouldn’t feel so bad. I’m not the only one that ignores her, my dad does it on a daily basis.

I shove thoughts of her out of my mind and go upstairs. I go over to my desk and turn my laptop on. Ever since I found the picture in the attic, it has been bugging me. I need to know more, but I won’t be able to get any information out of my dad, so I decide to search online. This proves to be rather difficult since I don’t have the man’s name or know anything about him. I look up articles on my brother’s murder, but find nothing I didn’t know already. There is no mention of if there are any suspects and I am about to give up when I realize something. To find this guy my dad obviously had to hire a PI and I happen to know that my father wouldn’t trust a random stranger to take care of his business. That is when I remember Richard Sims, a friend of my dads that just happens to be a private investigator. I am certain this is not a coincidence and I look up his address. He lives in a town about two hours away and I print out a map of how to get there. Now I just need to find a way to get there. There is only one person I can think of that might be willing to drive me. Declan.