Feeling Empty ▷ Jeremy Gilbert

one

"Oh, what the hell, Liv?" Seventeen-year-old Stella Parker cried out in anger, holding up the broken lipstick container. "I'm seriously never letting you touch my stuff again."

The aforementioned girl scoffed, walking into the bathroom and settling next to her sister. "It's practically mine, I did buy it after all." With that, she snatched it out of her hand and applied it to her lips, making sure that Stella could see her smear it slowly. Growling lowly, Stella all but stomped away and into her sister's dorm room.

"You college kids and your entitlement..." She muttered jokingly, feeling the presence of her sister's magic. Liv grinned sloppily and grabbed her army green jacket off of the end of her bed, slipping it on quickly.

"You gonna be okay at school on Monday?" The blonde college student asked as she lifted her hair from inside the jacket. "I know it's not easy, moving all the way across the country."

"Oh, please," Stella chuckled as she slipped her duffel bag over her shoulder. "Anything to get away from Mom and Dad is a blessing. Plus, I haven't seen Jo in so long. I'm glad to finally catch up with her."

Liv raised her eyebrows. "You moved in with a sister you haven't seen since you were seven, Stel, that's got to be at least a little awkward."

"I mean, yeah," the teen shrugged awkwardly, her black duffel bag weighing down a bit uncomfortably. "I probably wouldn't have done it if you and Luke didn't go to school here." Smiling, Liv gave her sister a quick hug, trying to ignore the siphoning feeling when Stella wrapped her arms around her neck. "Sorry!" She exclaimed. "It's a bit hard to control it when I'm emotional." She wiped away a tear of happiness at the fact that she was finally with her sister again.

Liv slowly let go, smiling in understanding. "It's alright. I'm glad you're here now, though," the two of them walked out of the door together, went down the stairs, and left the dorm building. "Say hi to Jo for me!"

And with that, Liv went on her way to a class and Stella got in her car, putting the gear into drive.

—

"Stella!" Stella smiled and walked up to her, giving her a warm hug. Josette smiled and hugged her back tightly. "It's been so long,"

"I know," the teenager's smile faltered as she spoke and pulled away from her sister. "I was beginning to think I'd just imagined you." Jo let out a hearty chuckle and looked down at the youngest Parker. She was barely five feet tall, and her hair was almost an exact match to the twins'. Stella's hair was naturally wavy and her eyes were a deep blue, similar to the majority of the family.

"Well I'm here, you're here, and you are literally the same height that you were ten years ago," The woman smiled. "Let me give you a quick tour of the apartment."

The two walked about the small but cozy apartment and the doctor made sure to point out even the smallest details. They walked down the hall and Jo showed her the quaint guest room with beige paint covering the walls. "It's not anything fancy, but-"

"It's perfect." Stella reassured her and gave her a genuine smile. "Thank you for letting me stay with you, Jo, it means a lot."

The black-haired woman grinned, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're welcome any time, kiddo."

After that, Jo had to go to work and Stella had the whole apartment to herself. Her eyes traveled over every nook and cranny, and her heart fluttered when she saw a family photo on the wall. Walking over to the framed picture, she couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows at the fact that there were way more people in the photo than she could recognize.

The young girl knew that most of her siblings had been murdered by a member of the coven who didn't want any of the twins to merge, and that's why he'd killed two of her sisters and three of her brothers. Her gaze shifted to the man standing next to Jo in the photo. This must've been her twin. She didn't really know any of her siblings' names that were deceased; her parents, the twins, and Jo never wanted to talk about them.

What surprised her was that in the boy's hands was a baby. It was her. He didn't seem to happy about having to hold her, though. The annoyed look in his eyes spoke clearly. Stella snorted and looked away from the photo, turning to look at the rest of the living room. Jo had good taste.

The girl groaned in exhaustion and laid down on the soft grey couch in the middle of the room. Trying to think about what lay ahead for her, she cringed and decided that she was too tired to fully comprehend even her own thoughts. Soon enough, Stella's vision blurred and her eyes closed.

Stella woke up laying down in a large field of nothing but grass. She quickly jumped up and assessed her surroundings. "Hello?"

"Oh, you're awake," A dark-haired boy came out from behind a tree a few feet away. "Well, not really..."

"Who are you?" The blonde girl's eyes squinted at the man. "Where am I?"

The man chuckled and stepped closer to her. "Hey, you're alright. I just haven't been able to get into your dreams for a while. A few years, actually," he rolled his eyes and a bitter look crossed his features. "You know dad and his mind-blocking tendencies."

Stella was still very confused and a little bit frustrated that he was avoiding her questions. "Where am I?" She asked again, this time looking him straight in the eye. The blue-eyed man shrugged.

"I'm not sure, hold on." He pulled out a gigantic map and unfolded it, his eyes moving wildly across the paper. "Ah! We're here!" He turned the paper around and pointed his finger at a town on the map. "Brenham, Texas!"

"What!?" She ripped the paper from his hands and crumpled it up despite the boy's protests. "Okay seriously, dude, I don't know who you are, but I'm not sticking around to find out," With that, she turned around and started walking into the woods where the boy came from.

"Uh, not so fast," The boy scoffed dramatically and the girl turned around to give him the finger, but he was so close to her that she could feel his breath fanning her face. He grabbed both of her arms and started dragging her backward and into the tree he had come out from behind. At the look of fear on her face, he rolled his eyes again. "You know, when you were younger, you used to be like 'oh my God, Kai, I missed you' and now you can't even remember me,"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. I've met you before?"

Kai laughed dryly. "Stella, I've known you since you were born. You were an obnoxious baby." Now it was Stella's turn to scoff and roll her eyes, making him smirk.

"I was not!" She argued, prying her arms out of his grasp and crossing them over her chest. "Plus, I think I'd remember you since you know me so well."

The dark-haired boy looked at her with a blank expression, "You will soon."

Stella woke up with a start to keys jangling in the lock to the front door. She sighed and stood up shakily, still half asleep. Jo walked into the apartment and almost jumped in surprise. "Stella! What are you doing awake?" She looked at the clock in front of the stove. "It's almost two in the morning,"

"I fell asleep on the couch and heard you unlocking the door," Stella blushed slightly, feeling bad for sleeping on the living room furniture. Jo giggled and set her bag down on the kitchen counter before turning back to her.

"Okay, well I won't see you in the morning because I have a morning class, but I should be home by three-ish. Sound good?" Stella nodded and gave her a quick smile and a wave before heading into the guest room - which she guessed was her room now. The thought of it made her heart tug.

Slowly moving to sit on the edge of the bed, the seventeen-year-old stared out the window, awake enough now to think about what lay ahead. She was going to attend her senior year of high school with a mass of people she didn't know. Putting her head in her hands, she sighed deeply.

Was moving to Virginia a good idea?