Celeste's childhood wasn't something she loved talking about. It was filled with nothing but painful memories. Whether they were the ones from when her father, along with her brothers, left, or the ones from her mother's death and her stepfather's a...
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THREE FOLDERS were displayed on the laptop screen before my gaze.
All the lights in my twin's room were switched off, and all the curtains were shut close. Frigid air danced within the corners of his dark room; cold shivers crawled up and down my spine. The only audible sound, besides that of my deep inhales, was the ticking of the clock and the yells from outside as both of my brothers continued to fight over a video game.
I had sat with them for a few minutes; I ended up feeling left out right away. Not that any of them had said anything that would make me feel that way, it was just that my mind couldn't stop jumping from a thought to the other. My thoughts refused to stop churning so loudly at the back of it-to stop drifting back to the USB drive I had seen in my bag every other moment.
I had asked Marco if I could use his laptop, and he had instantly given it to me.
That was ten minutes ago.
Fear had engulfed my pacing heart ever since. Anxiousness had accompanied it. My stomach twisted in discomforting knots, and my mind seemed to scream so loudly at me. Its orders completely contrasted with those that had been playing at the back of it since yesterday, and I found myself shutting them all out, refusing to listen to any of them.
I found myself hesitantly clicking on the first folder before my mind could get the chance to register my actions and before it could get the chance to stop me from doing so. My shaky hands continued to shiver; my leg started to bounce up and down.
My teeth dug deeply into my lip, and my eyes wandered all through Marco's room. My gaze lingered on the snow globe for a while; my thoughts seemed to pause a bit. For a moment, my mind was entirely blank. I paid no attention to the file displayed across the screen, and I paid no attention to the thoughts attempting to resurface the churning waves. Everything was too peaceful.
But for the next moment, I pulled my mind out of the peace that had encased it. I forced my gaze to drift back to the screen and my eyes to take in the single document displayed across its blinding surface. I harshly swallowed my bitter saliva and blinked when the burning sensation it had resulted in was all I could feel.
My fingers hovered over the touchpad for a while. My free hand passed through my hair, detangling its knots. I leaned back on the chair, hissing quietly beneath my breath at the intensifying pain that had struck my abdomen as a result of my rapid action. I disregarded my pain and gulped, opening the document before my hesitation would get the chance to suffocate me.
It was too quiet-too eerily quiet-as I waited for the document to load. The noises belonging to my deep inhales sounded too deafening; my heart's loud thuds blended along with them. My brothers' yells from earlier faded into the background, and I heard Armani call for me in the distance, asking me to go to the kitchen so that I could have my lunch.
"I'm coming in a few minutes," I spoke, my voice loud enough so that Armani would hear me.
The document opened, and I went entirely still. My eyes widened as they scanned over the title, and I had to suck in a deep inhale in order to make sure that I hadn't stopped breathing yet. That my lungs still succeeded in grasping the Oxygen they so desperately needed. My chest constricted; my throat burned.
