Silence by Rebekah Shimer (summer books TXT) 📕

make a noise. I jumped when the fridge started making a noise when it made more ice, but I was always used to that noise so I didn’t really know why I jumped at that. I was just waiting for my phone to go off and really freak me out, but it never did. I knew that Edwyn wouldn’t really be texting me if he was talking to his mom. Whenever he talked to his mom, he always seemed to come away angry from them, so he didn’t want to take his anger out on me, which he subconsciously did sometimes when he was done fighting with at least one of his parents. I changed into some pajamas that were really fuzzy and climbed into my bed. I set my alarm on my phone and set it to vibrate. I didn’t want to go to school the next day, but I knew that I had to. Someone had to go and show that there was hope in this town yet.

When I closed my eyes, I knew that I wasn’t going to sleep that well, but I still tried to let my mind shut down. I knew that I had fallen asleep sometime in the night because when I woke up, it was to the sound of my alarm going off. I turned it off and got out of bed slowly, really not wanting to go to school. I got dressed and walked into the kitchen. I made some cereal for myself and sat down at the table in the kitchen. I slowly ate my cereal, making as much time for myself as I could before I would have to go to school and face everyone’s familiar stares. After a few minutes, I knew that I would have to go sometime soon if I wanted to make it on time today. I finished getting ready and got into my car. I turned it on and immediately put the heater on full blast, but turned it off just as quick when I realized that it was just going to blow out cold air since the car wasn’t warmed up.

I drove to school with the radio on low volume, since it was just people talking anyways. When I got into the parking lot, I realized that most of the parking spots were already taken. I parked in one of the last spots available and made my way up to school. I walked into the main hallway and noticed how everyone seemed to stop what they were doing and stare at me full on. I almost wanted to stare back just to see what they would do, but I just kept my head down and silently made my way to my locker. I wanted Edwyn to show up and at least smile at me, but he didn’t. He was probably at a class getting help or something like that. I walked to my first class when the bell rang and sat at the back of the class. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to focus today anyway, so I didn’t really bother trying to in the first place.

I pulled out my notebook and started to doodle on it. Before I knew it, the bell had rung and I was almost the last one out of the class. I walked out slowly after getting some weird looks from my teacher and walked through the hallway. I looked for Edwyn’s head above everyone else’s, but he wasn’t in sight. The morning passed as slowly as I had ever remembered it to and I sighed out of relief when the lunch bell rang. I walked into the lunchroom and saw that Edwyn still wasn’t anywhere to be found. I looked around the rest of the lunchroom and saw that the only other person that was missing was Bruce. Maybe Edwyn was talking to him about some important things. I grabbed a tray and got some food that I knew I wouldn’t really eat.

I sat down at a table by myself and picked at my food. I waited for Edwyn to come back into the lunchroom, but he never did.

Pieces In The Puzzle

Edwyn

 

I knew that no one would’ve judged me if I didn’t go into school the next day, but I knew that I had to be strong for Audrey. She needed someone to show her that there was hope, especially now that Logan wasn’t there to show her himself. I drove to school, but I was already late. I walked into school right when the bell rang, which meant that I didn’t have a chance to talk to Audrey before classes began. I went to all of my classes, but I never really paid attention to the teachers. I was wrapped up in my own thoughts. When the lunch bell rang, I walked out of my class and into the hallway. I saw the back of Audrey’s head in the hallway, so I tried to push through the crowd towards her.

I stopped though, when I saw Bruce in the hallway. It wasn’t how he looked that brought him to my attention; it was the way that he was looking. He gazed at Audrey as she walked past, but she didn’t notice. He had a look in his eyes that made my blood boil. He stared at her as she walked down the hallway, and I noticed how his eyes seemed to drift down as she was walking away. I stopped immediately in the hallway, even though some people gave me dirty looks. I walked over to Bruce and he smiled at me.

He asked casually, “What’s up?”

I said through my teeth, “I need to talk to you. Outside. Now.”

He shrugged his shoulders and shut his locker, “Okay, just as long as we make it to lunch.”

I didn’t nod my head so he knew that I wasn’t in a joking mood. I walked towards the front doors not caring to look back, knowing full well that he was following me. It all seemed to make sense now about his actions. He wanted to tell Audrey about Logan so he would’ve been able to comfort her, but he didn’t know that I was over at her house. He hangs on every word that she says and just stares at her whenever she’s near him. I thought that he was just given hope by her like me, but I was wrong. It was okay for me to look at her like she was my whole world, but he didn’t have any right to look at her like that. She was mine. Not his.

He asked behind me when we were outside, “What’s up?”

I turned around sharply and pointed my finger at him.

I said accusingly, “If you ever look at her like that again, I won't hesitate to stop you next time. She is mine, not yours. I appreciate that you think she’s beautiful, since she is, but you have no right to look at her like you just did.”

Bruce calmly looked at me while I was talking to him, which angered me even more.

Bruce said calmly, “I’m just admiring the . . . general splendor of our school.”

“How can you say that? You just lost Emily! How can you be over her so fast?”

At my mention of Emily’s name, his expression changed for the worse.

He said slowly, “Don’t you dare even bring Emily into this. She has nothing to do with this.”

“She has everything to do with this! How can you just forget about her so quickly and move on to someone else?”

“I never get attached to the people that I date. It’s too hard to lose them, which is something that everyone experiences sometimes in their life.”

“Did you get that line out of a magazine or something? And how can you not get attached-”

“Your girlfriend said that line. Not some cheap magazine.”

I hesitated for a second and then asked, “When did she say that to you?”

He smiled faintly and said, “One special night that I will always remember in my heart. She was just trying to comfort me with the loss of Emily. I knew that she was a little uncomfortable with it all, since she was dating you at the time, but that didn’t stop her from comforting me that night.”

I took a step back. He was lying. He had to have been. Audrey wouldn’t do that to me. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Bruce saw that I was debating whether or not to believe him, so he just shrugged his shoulders.

He said, “Maybe some things are meant to happen. I think that God let Emily be killed so Audrey and I would be able to bond together.”

“Is that what you think this whole situation is? Just some way for God to let you and Audrey some closer?”

Bruce nodded and I actually thought that he believed what he was saying.

He said, “Some things have to happen for the bigger picture.”

“The bigger picture? Is that what you’re calling Delilah’s, Emily’s, and Logan’s deaths? Just pieces in the puzzle? What kind of sick mind-“

“Sometimes a sick mind is needed for a better picture.”

I looked at him to see if he wasn’t serious, but his face told me that he was completely serious. Was he admitting that he had a sick mind? It sounded like that, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. What did that mean? What was he trying to tell me?

I asked him, “What would you need a sick mind for in this town?”

Bruce shrugged his shoulders and said, “Maybe to take control and let this little town see a slight glimpse of the better picture.”

I just shook my head, not really knowing what he was saying.

I said quietly as I walked back towards the school, “Just stay away from Audrey…”

He grabbed my arm when I walked by him and said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t be worried about Audrey.”

I tore his hand off of my arm and gave him one of the dirtiest looks I could manage. I walked back into school; only to find that the bell ending lunch had already rang. I went to my class that I usually went to after lunch and sat down in my desk. Throughout the class, I kept getting nonchalant looks back my way since I was hitting my pencil against my desk to keep me from freaking out.

What did Bruce mean by telling me to watch my own back? Was he threatening me? I shook my head and tapped my foot on the ground even faster when I was thinking about going against Bruce in a fight. I knew that it was coming close if Bruce continued to look at Audrey like he had before. I knew that I would have to talk to Audrey soon and make her talk to Bruce about how he was looking at her, but I also knew that she didn’t like confrontation. I looked around the class and saw Bruce four chairs ahead of mine. Just by looking at his back, I felt anger rise inside of me. I continued to stare at his back when I noticed markings on his neck. His jacket covered most of the marks, but I could tell that something had