Winter in Spruceworth | Spruceworth 4.3 (Short Story)

2. Julian

2. Julian

       There was a slight knock on my bedroom door, and because I was too lazy to get off of my bed, I said, "Come in."

       Mom opened the door, giving me a small smile. "Hey, are you okay?"

       "Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

       "Well... You have been very quiet these past couple days," she said. "And you haven't stopped reading the letter in your hands over and over again."

       I sighed, looking down at the letter in my hand. Mom was right; I had been reading this letter over and over again because I had no idea what to do. I was hoping that the more I read it, the better chance I had about knowing what to do.

       I still didn't know what to do.

       "Julian, you can't pass up this opportunity," Mom said. "It's the best school in the country and it's an early acceptance. You have to take it."

       "I don't know if I want to," I said. "I still have a year and a half left of high school. Besides, Noah and I had always talked about going to the school beside Spruceworth. It's close to home, and we'll be together."

       Mom walked over and sat down at the edge of the bed. "Julian, this is McGill University we're talking about," she said. "I told you, it's the best university in the country."

       "I still don't know if I want to take it," I said. "Yeah, it's a great opportunity, but...  Noah and I have had our future planned out together for years. Go to the same university, graduate together, maybe take a term off and travel a bit or travel after we graduate."

       "You're only sixteen," Mom pointed out. "You and Noah still have your whole lives ahead of you to spend together. I know it might be hard for some twins to separate because of your bond, but you can't throw this opportunity away."

       "Mom, I can if I want to. I just... Don't know if I want to."

       "You're still thinking about it, right?"

       "Yeah, of course. My decision hasn't been made yet."

       "Okay. Just promise me you're considering all options."

       "I am. It's just...  We've been by each other's side since birth. Now we might be separated, and I don't know if I can handle it."

       "You'll be able to handle it if you really try. And Noah will understand if you take the opportunity. Have you even told him about it?"

       I shook my head. My twin brother and I always planned to go to the same university. I didn't want to throw our plan away, and I certainly didn't know how he would react to it.

       "You're going to have to tell him sooner or later," Mom said, right as we heard someone walk in the hallway pass my bedroom door.

       Mom looked over right in time to see Holden walk by, so she called his name. Holden sighed and walked back so he was standing in the doorway. "Yes?" he asked.

       "What are you doing getting home so late?" she asked. "It's past ten."

        "I was babysitting Mercy, Lucian, and Castiel," Holden said. "And I still don't understand why my curfew is ten o'clock. I'm seventeen. I'm turning eighteen next month, in fact."

       "Yeah, and until then, ten o'clock is your curfew," Mom said, which I honestly found quite stupid. Spruceworth was a small village where everything was in walking distance. There was no point for Holden's curfew to be ten o'clock.

       Especially when my and Noah's curfew was eleven o'clock, and we were younger than Holden.

       "What if I was sixteen like the twins?" Holden asked. "Would my curfew eleven o'clock? Oh, but wait. I forgot. I'm the one you're more strict to just because I have a minor brain injury. Nothing bad is going to happen to me if I stay out late."

       "That's what you said before your injury happened," Mom said, standing up. "I'm just keeping you safe."

       "Just to tell you, as soon as I turn eighteen, I'm moving out," Holden said.

       "And to where?" Mom asked. "You're not making enough money to get your own place, and Josh doesn't have any room at his house with Cleo staying there."

       "I'll stay with my bo-- best friend," Holden said.

       "And who would that be?" Mom asked. Did she not notice Holden's slip up? Holden was going to say something else, not best friend.

       That wasn't the first time Holden slipped up. It happened all the time, but Noah and I clearly weren't smart enough to figure out what he was actually talking about and what he was hiding. We were trying to figure out, but Holden was really good at keeping secrets for some reason, even though he kept slipping up.

       "Does it matter?" Holden asked. "No, it doesn't. All that matters is that I'll be out of here from all these strict rules."

       He then headed to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

       Mom huffed and turned to face me. "Can you believe your brother?"

       "Actually, I can," I said. "He's right. You and Dad are way too strict on him. I know you want to keep him safe, but you're going about it the wrong way. You're only making him feel more stressed most of the time."

       "Your father and I don't want Holden's brain to get worse, and who knows what can happen to him during the night?" 

       "Who knows what can happen during the day?"

       "It's more dangerous during the night."

       "You don't know that. You can never be sure of what can happen in Spruceworth. During the day, during the night, anytime, anything can happen. You can't keep Holden trapped inside forever, because you're only going to be pushing him further apart."

       Mom didn't reply as she walked out of my bedroom. I was sure of two things; Mom and Dad babying Holden was the reason he was keeping such a huge secret from everyone.

       And I had no idea what I was going to do about the early acceptance.

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I'm watching such an intense episode of Hollyoaks that inspired something that's going to happen in this story. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) 

Julian's quote was also guessed correctly. All but one had at least one correct guess to it.

Omg the episode is getting so intense and I'm already crying. But it's also giving me so ideas for an event that's going to happen. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) After all, it's not Spruceworth with a few deaths. Uh, I mean drama. Totally drama nothing else.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )