Cursed

--> Ch. 16 <--

Chapter 16

“Reese, stop it,” Brandon said, gazing down at my knee bobbing up and down. He probably noticed how I was biting my nails, too. What could I say? I was nervous. We were withing five minutes from my house now, so I was freaking out. It was all I could do not to start hyperventilating, or worse, start crying. When Brandon saw how I completely ignored his command, he sighed and pulled over into a nearby parking lot. He turned off the truck entirely. I twisted my head around towards him, making myself refrain from staring out the window. My eyebrows were all bunched together and I could tell that my eyes were as wide as saucers. I attempted to relax the muscles in my face, but when that failed, I just stared at Brandon, waiting for a reasonable excuse as to why in the world he just stopped his vehicle.

We stared at each other for a few tense moments, but then he finally sighed. “Reese, what's wrong with you? You've been all twitchy this whole car ride.”

I laughed humorlessly. “What are you talking about?”

He stared at me blankly. “Come on. I'm not an idiot. If you're too afraid to do this, then-”

I jolted upright. “I am not afraid.” He continued staring at me with those knowing eyes, making me fidget a little, proving his point in a way, but it wasn't enough for me to give in just yet. Involuntarily, I lifted my hand up to my mouth, about to obliterate another one of my finger nails.

Brandon quickly reached over and slapped my hand back down to my lap. I furrowed my eyebrows and slacked my jaw.

“See?!” He exclaimed. “That! Stop doing that!”

I complied and gripped my knees, partly to lock my hands in place and partly to stop bobbing my knees up and down. Brandon and I stared each other down for a few more seconds. His face remained stern and defiant. The more I looked at it, the more I wanted to bite my nails. Seeing that he obviously wouldn't give up until I explained what was really going on, did it for me. I finally caved in and slouched in my seat. I let out a long, exasperated sigh.

“Okay, fine,” I mumbled more to myself. I looked out the window for a brief moment, but then back at him. I had no idea what I was about to say, but I had to at least try to get something out. “It's not that I don't want to do this- because I do. It's not you- you're perfectly fine. I'm not afraid...” I wandered off, feeling distraught with myself.

Brandon nodded. “Okay, yeah. That stuff is pretty obvious.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I don't know, what if she freaks out and never talks to me again? What of she gets a restraining order on me? What if she goes back into her little world of depression again? What if-”

“Reese, I-” Brandon tried cutting in, but I ignored him.

“-What if I end up having to go to an orphanage. Oh my gosh. What if she ships me off to Asia so that she'll never have to see my ugly little face again?”

“Reese, I don't-” He started when I paused for a few seconds in thought. I quickly continued though.

“Please tell me she won't lock me up in my room for hours on end. What if she stops cooking dinner for me because she can't seem to convince herself that she loves me anymore? What if she disappears randomly and leaves me here alone to die? Oh my gosh. What if-”

“REESE!” Brandon shouted, finally averting my attention back to him. He took hold of my shoulders and kept me really still in his grasp. I didn't move a muscle at his touch. “Just. Chill,” he said, examining my crazed eyes with his.

Silence overlapped the inside of the car, making me feel uncomfortable. He seemed like he was trying to think of a decent word or two to advise me with. A few more seconds passed before he spoke again, but those seconds seemed longer than necessary. “I think she'll understand. I mean, it's not like you could hold it in forever. You're a girl who grew up without a father figure in the house, you're going to want some answers, right? You have the right to know.” He smiled smally, just the sight of it making me smile back. Anyone could have told me those words, but I was glad to hear them coming out of Brandon's mouth. He was so convincing, it was hard not to believe anything he said.