"All eyes hold secrets, deep within, layers upon layers of them. Some innocent, some filled with guilt and remorse, and some deeply unsettling. And those steely grey ones were no different."
Tessa Franklin lives the average teenager's life: loving f...
"Tess, I thought I should give you a hand with the glasses!" Jason's voice boomed from the entrance of the living room, pulling her back to reality as she saw the pair in the kitchen put some distance between themselves. She slowly made her way inside, a weak smile making it's way to conceal the feeling of being stabbed right in the centre of her chest. She felt her step-brother approach her from behind, his footsteps soft against the hardwood floor. "Oh! There you guys are!" He exclaimed. "We were wondering where you guys disappeared off to!" A hint of amusement laced in his husky voice.
Tess' gaze fell to the floor but she could picture Mike in her mind's eye, switching his weight on to one of his legs and shoving a hand in his jeans pocket as he spoke, "Just came to get myself a drink." Jason clapped his hands as he said, "Sweet! Help me carry some cups, the rest of the crew wants to be hydrated, too." And went over to the counter to pour the drinks.
Tessa lifted her gaze as she bit her lower lip, holding down the scream that was trying to claw it's way out of her throat. The sight of Mavis and Mike smiling at each other, secretive and dripping with an emotion alien to herself made her stomach churn. She slowly started to walk out of the room and then Mavis turned to her, "Tess! Wait up!" She stopped mid step and said, "I don't feel too good. I think I'll just call it a night." And slowly walked out of the kitchen and up to her room as she felt three pairs of eyes staring at her retreating back.
As she shut the door and locked it, she felt her knees weaken. Slumping to the floor, a stream of hot tears poured down her pale cheeks. She lay on the floor, curled into a ball as she hugging her knees tightly against her aching chest, hoping it will help hold the broken pieces of her heart together. She could hear the muffled laughter erupting from the living room, and for the first time in her life, she hated her friends.
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She turned the faucet on, gripping the toilet sink so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked up from the running water and saw a red eyed demon staring back at her. She slowly lifted her thin fingers up to her head, slowly running them through her hair that looked nothing short of a birds nest. She let her fingers lightly graze the shadows under eyes as she assessed her appearance in the mirror. She heaved a sigh and wiped away the tears that managed to escape her eyes. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see them together, standing in the kitchen, radiating intimacy. Then the kiss.
She tugged at her hair, then let her hands drop to her sides, fingers balling up into a fist. She was about to smash her knuckles into the mirror, the sight of the glass shattering and sparkling like tiny diamonds vividly pictured in her head, when she was startled by the door being slammed at. "Tessa! Come out! Breakfast is ready!!" Ben shouted from the other side of the door. Quickly washing her face and tending to her hair to make it look presentable, she stepped out of the bathroom, and down to the kitchen. Her tired eyes scanned the kitchen island, and found an empty high stool next to Carl, who was loudly chewing on pancakes covered in Nutella. She shuffled to the seat and quietly pulled a plate of pancakes towards herself. "Good morning, Tess." Jason greeted from the either side of the breakfast table, briefly distracting her from pouring honey on her pancakes. "Morning." She responded dryly, stabbing her breakfast with a little too much force.
"Looks like someone's grumpy." Ben's teasing tone caught her attention, and she looked up to find him giving her a weird smile, the kind she found mildly funny on days like these. She gave a watery smile as she said, "Just tired. Couldn't sleep." He nodded to her as he poured himself a mug of coffee and began sipping on the piping hot beverage. She appreciated his lack of interest in the probable cause for her sleeplessness, like there was an unspoken understanding that she didn't want to talk about it.
The table remained silent through the rest of breakfast, save for the loud noises that came out of Carl's mouth. Tessa glared at him, a warning for him to maintain table manners or risk loosing his teeth and he responded to that by flashing her a grin, exposing his chocolate covered teeth, eliciting a giggle from her and Jason who was silently observing the exchange between the siblings.
As the table began to empty, Tessa stayed back to do the dishes and clean up some of the mess in the kitchen. As she washed the plates she heard soft footsteps entering the kitchen. She turned to find Jason, opening the fridge door and pulling out a bottle of water as he asked, "Do you need any help?" She shook her head and resumed washing the plates and she could feel the space between the two of them was getting smaller. He casually leaned against the counter, sipping on the cold water. She continued to ignore him but felt his grey eyes staring at her, almost like they were burning holes into the side of her skull.
She suddenly felt his breath close to her ear but didn't flinch as he whispered, "You deserve better." There was an eeriness to his tone which made her shudder, but before she could turn to respond, he was gone.
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Hey guys! I am back after a month long hiatus and it feels amazing!! I apologize for pulling a disappearing act like that, but a lot has been going on in my life lately.
Anyhoo! What do you guys think of the story so far? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to hear from you guys!
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