Silence by Rebekah Shimer (summer books TXT) 📕

our moods darkened. We knew that we would’ve had to face the fact that Logan was gone when we came back, but we still didn’t want to. I just wanted to hide away from everyone for a few minutes, just so I could have a moment to think for myself. Edwyn drove up to my house slowly and I knew that he didn’t want to go back home.

I asked him, “Do you want to stay for supper?”

He nodded and said, “Thanks.”

I smiled and said, “It’s not like you’re that much of a burden. It’s almost like making food for Andrew and me whenever my mom is gone.”

He laughed and said, “Yeah I guess so. I don’t eat as much as him do I? You know I’ve got to keep my figure for track season.”

I laughed at his expression of worry as he looked at his stomach. We pulled into the driveway and I was surprised when I saw that the lights were on in my house.

I asked Edwyn, “We turned the lights off right?”

He nodded and we both got out slowly. I looked over at the spot where my mom’s car usually is if she’s ever home early, but it was empty. We walked up to my house and opened the door slowly. I let the door swing all the way open before walking into the house.

I called out, “Mom? Hello? Mom are you home?”

I heard someone coming down the stairs and I knew that it was just my mom. I almost started to laugh at my sudden thought of the night before and the noises. Edwyn and I walked into the living room and my mom nearly tackled me to the floor.

She asked me hurriedly while he inspected my face, “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you! What if something had happened to you? I wouldn’t know where you were!”

I could feel my face turning a little red in front of Edwyn as I said, “I was on a date with Edwyn. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I just figured that you weren’t going to be home tonight. I’m sorry. I’ll tell you next time I leave the house okay?”

“Just be sure to. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

I knew that she had heard about Logan, which was why she was probably so worried about me.

I said sincerely, “I’m sorry mom. I understand why you were so worried. I’ll call next time okay?”

She nodded and acted as if she had just noticed Edwyn.

She smiled at him and asked, “Edwyn? Would you like to stay for supper?”

He laughed and said, “That would be great.”

She beamed and said, “I’m going to start so we can eat early. I’ve got to be back at work tonight. Sorry I won't be able to stay longer.”

Edwyn and I both shrug as she heads off into the kitchen. We sat down on the couch and I turned the TV on. I looked through all of the movie channels and decided on the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Edwyn sank back into the couch and smiled. I knew that he had always like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which was the main reason that I had picked it.

Halfway through the movie, my mom called from the kitchen, “Come and get it!”

I hadn’t even really noticed the smell of her baking something from being so engrossed in the movie. I hadn’t really seen the whole movie before, but now that I was watching it, it was almost impossible to stop watching. Edwyn jumped up from the couch and nearly sprinted into the kitchen. I chuckled to myself as I slowly made my way into the kitchen. I walked in the kitchen to see Edwyn already holding a plate, nearly drooling from the mouth at the sight of my mom’s cooking. He was standing near the enchiladas that my mom had made, almost bouncing up and down from excitement. I grabbed my plate lamely and walked over to him. I used my hip and bumped him out of my way.

He complained, “Hey!”

My mom laughed and said, “Now, now children! No fighting in the kitchen!”

They started to laugh when I walked behind Edwyn with a pouting expression on my face.

Edwyn said jokingly, “I will give you your way with anything else, but when it comes to food, you’re going to have to wait behind me if I beat you to it.”

I laughed and said, “Fine! Just be that way!”

He laughed and asked, “Do you really want to be in front of me that bad?”

I shook my head and he said humorously, “Good. I wasn’t going to let you in front of me anyway. I just wanted to see what you would say.”

I glared at him and said accusingly, “That’s low. Even for you.”

We both laughed and Edwyn turned his attention on the food in front of him. As we dished up our plates, I giggled at how much food Edwyn was piling onto his plate, compared to my plate. We all sat down at the table and joined hands together.

My mom said slowly, “Dear God. We thank you that we are all here to enjoy your day and provisions. We pray for Logan’s family Lord. Only you know how much pain they’re feeling right now. I pray that you allow us to use this situation to bring them and us closer to you Lord God. I pray for the children in the school that are having a hard time coping with this situation that is happening in our town. I just pray that you keep all of us and everyone else in this town safe. Amen.”

We all let go of each other’s hands and started to eat our food. My mom’s prayer had made me realize what school was going to be like on Monday. I cut off a piece of enchilada and put it into my mouth, not really noticing how it tasted or how hot it really was in my mouth. After I had swallowed the piece of enchilada, I noticed how hot it really was, but I didn’t want to make a scene, so I slowly grabbed my glass of water. I gulped down a full swig of water, hoping that no one else noticed. Luckily, no one else heard it, or they just pretended like they hadn’t heard it. After my throat was done burning, I waited for my enchiladas to cool a little before I took another bite. Edwyn of course was inhaling his enchiladas, which I noticed was making my mom really happy.

Usually the food that she made was just thrown away after we were done, since we wouldn’t ever really be home for supper and she was never home for lunch. We only saved the meal if it was a Friday night or something, just so I would have something to eat on Saturday. The way Edwyn was eating though, we wouldn’t really have to waste any food tonight. By the time that I was halfway done with mine, he was already getting seconds.

While he was in the kitchen, my mom whispered to me, “Does he always eat like this?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “It might just be your cooking. I know that he doesn’t really eat that much at school, but they serve school food there, so who can blame him. I don’t know. He might just be really hungry. I know I am.”

She looked down at my plate and then back at me.

I said, “I just don’t eat as much as him. Just be glad that we don’t have to throw so much away anymore.”

“I know. I’m glad that he’s eating this much. It’s a nice change from your bird-eating habits.”

I smiled and stuck my tongue out at her jokingly. She laughed and by the time that Edwyn walked back in, we were both laughing our heads off from making funny faces at each other. Edwyn walked in slowly, not really sure if he wanted to break up our moment that we were having. He slowly sat down and we both looked at him funny.

He laughed and asked, “What?”

My mom and me both laughed and slowly went back to our food.

He asked jokingly offended, “What? Are you laughing because I took seconds?”

I started to chuckle, “Yes. We’re laughing because we think that you are getting fat and you won't be able to run anymore.”

He laughed and said, “I would have to be on my death bed to not be able to run anymore.”

We all smiled and finished our supper mostly in silence. When we were finished, Edwyn and I took our plates up from the table, but my mom took them from us before we made it into the kitchen.

She said, “You guys can go into the living room and watch your movie. I’ll take care of the dishes.”

“Are you sure mom?”

She nodded and took our dishes into the kitchen for us. We shrugged our shoulders and walked back into the living room. We turned the TV back on and saw that there was still about an hour left of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We finished watching the movie and sat in silence as the credits slowly rolled onto the screen.

Edwyn sighed heavily and said, “I should probably be getting home. I need to clear some things up with my mom.”

I nodded, not really knowing if he wanted to talk about his home life with me or not. I walked him to the door and opened it for him. He started to walk out the door, but he turned around quickly. He leaned in towards my face and kissed my cheek lightly before turning back towards his car. I waved at him as he drove out of my driveway and closed the door slowly. My cheek was burning where he had kissed it, which I didn’t know if it was from the fact that my face was probably red as a tomato or if he just had that effect on me. I walked to my room in a phase, not really feeling the ground beneath my feet. I shut my door and flopped down on my bed.

I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. All of the feelings that I had been holding in the whole day finally showed themselves. I was angry, sad, and confused at why Logan had died. Why did the murderer pick him of all people? I’m not saying that I would’ve rather had the murderer kill someone else and make them feel the same pain, but I just didn’t want the murderer to kill any more people in our town. The only reason the day hadn’t been a total waste was the fact that Edwyn had taken me on our real first date. I hadn’t really ever dated another boy, knowing that most of the guys in our town wanted just one thing from the relationship, so I didn’t really know what first dates were supposed to be like.

I knew that most people didn’t go on dates the same day that their best friend was murdered, but I knew that Edwyn was just trying to get my mind off of the whole situation and just get me out of town altogether. I realized how grateful I should've been for having Edwyn there for me whenever he was. Guys that were as talented as him would care at all about me, yet he did. I wondered why he had picked me out of all the girls in the school and how I had been so lucky. My mom had gone off to work sometime while Edwyn and I were watching the movie, so I was home alone again. I didn’t really mind, except for the fact that I really didn’t want to hear more freaky noises that didn’t belong to anything. That part just really freaked me out last night.

I tried to forget about the noises, but I found myself listening for anything that might