"Come on!" Dahven shouted in disgust. "Get your pitiful ass up and do something!"
Crawling out of her bed, and taking another shower that morning, Dahven changed into some baggy black jeans and a white sweater.
Half drying her long mane, she ran down the stairs.
She saw everyone in the living room.
"The dead has risen." Julia replied sarcastically, her eyes rolling Heavenward.
Dahven halted for the moment and looked at her. "Julia, your mouth is moving and words are coming out." She shook her head. "This is never a good sign."
Glaring at her, Dahven wiggled her fingers and left.
Stepping outside she automatically grabbed for her cell phone, and touched air.
Closing her eyes, she remembered what she did to it yesterday.
"Well, that was brilliant, brainiac." She muttered frowning. "Time to go get another."
Piling into her car, and driving to the nearest electronics store, that wasn't in the mall, Dahven readied herself for spending the extra money to get it hooked up that day.
Returning to her car, she dialed the Hanson’s number and prayed that Isaac didn't answer.
"May I speak to Zac or Tay? No, that’s okay, Jessie. Only Tay or Zac please." She waited a few seconds and smiled. "It's Charm. I've got a sore throat. Yeah? Well when I get home I'll have some apple juice with a swirly straw too. Okay. Thank you."
After a few moments Zac picked up the phone. "Hello?" He asked slowly.
"Hey, you wanna do something today?" She asked hopefully. "Good. Yeah, Tay too if he wants. I’ll be over in a short while. Okay, buh bye." Pushing the clear button on her phone, she smiled to herself.
Grinning Zac shouted, "C’mon Tay! We're goin' out!"
He was walking into the front room when he heard Taylor scream, “Okay.” Followed by some muffled curses.
He rolled his eye as he sat down next to Isaac on the couch. "Whatcha doin today, Ike?" He asked.
Isaac shrugged indifferently. "Don’t know yet. Where are you and Tay going?" He asked taking his eyes off the puzzle he was helping Avie build on the coffee table.
"To a movie with Charm." Zac answered, as Taylor walked down the stairs.
"You know you could come with us. If you apologized to her." Taylor filled in nervously, avoiding his gaze.
Isaac shook his head. "No, thank you." He refused in forced politeness.
They heard honking in their driveway and Zac stood and clapped his hand on his brother’s shoulder. "Well, then we’ll see ya later." He said going over to the door and opening it.
Taylor followed in suit, and gave his older brother one last look before leaving. Climbing into the passenger seat he smiled weakly at Dahven.
She smiled back, "Hey." Her voice croaked out.
He laughed, "What happened to your voice?"
Her head shook as she started backing out the driveway, "I had a long fight with Arie before I got to go to bed last night. It lasted about five hours. Plus I kept talking to myself yesterday." She said causing her voice to crack shrilly.
"Maybe you shouldn’t talk then, Charm." Zac murmured, watching her as she backed out of their driveway.
Turning her attention back to Taylor, she was about to comment when she saw Isaac getting in the minivan. She shook her head. "I’ll talk. But only a little." She compromised.
Taylor nodded. "So what movie are we going to see?" He asked.
"Amistad." She said smiling.
"Cool. Those previews looked really awesome." Zac said as he started looking at the scenery that whizzed by him as Dahven drove.
After paying for their tickets Dahven, Zac, and Taylor went inside to purchase some popcorn and some small drinks.
Holding the large popcorn bucket, Dahven was forced to sit in the middle.
"Guys are you sure we needed this much popcorn?" She asked looking at the huge bucket in her lap.
"Yes!" Zac answered a little too loudly.
Taylor nodded. "Definitely. Zac and I are growing boys." He said smiling. "We need the extra fat."
Dahven giggled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that’s what I was thinking."
"Sshh." Zac said putting his finger to his lips as the lights dimmed. "You’ll get us kicked out." He warned.
She snorted, "Oh, like that’s never happened."
Zac and Taylor both laughed. The previews for the coming attractions started and a couple sat right in front of Dahven.
Groaning softly, she shifted in her seat to try and see around them, but they wouldn’t sit still while they were in their make-out session.
Frustrated, Dahven pulled the two apart. "I paid to see a movie. Not a peep show." Her voice was croaking more now than before.
The girl just giggled and the couple got up and left.
"Was that Julia?" Taylor asked quietly.
Dahven was staring at the movie screen and shrugged, "Don’t know, don't really care."
Irritated, she rubbed her sore throat, and drank some of her soda. Sitting back, she relaxed as she started to get into the movie.
"Wow. That was so awesome." Zac stated as he got up to stretch his legs out as the lights started to come back on.
Taylor nodded. "Totally." Then he laughed, "coulda lived without seeing the naked guys, but still a good movie."
Laughing, Dahven stood and started to follow behind Taylor out when she saw Julia making out with some guy.
"You were right, Tay." She said pointing her out to him. "That was Julia."
Just then Julia and the guy pulled apart. It took mere seconds to do it, but to the trio it seemed longer.
She gasped loudly and she felt as if an invisible fist slammed into her stomach. Stealing the breath from her lungs.
Sucking in a quick breath, she forced herself to walk out of the theater as if nothing had happened.
Taylor and Zac stood there and watched as Isaac pulled farther away from Julia.
"Smooth one, Ike." Taylor said sarcastically after Dahven left.
Zac laughed dryly and shook his head, "Yeah. Real smooth, Ike." He said before he followed.
Isaac groaned, "Now I’ve really blown it."
Flinching at the deep regret disguised his voice, Julia stared at him angrily. "She’s not worth it, Ike." She cooed, trying to get his attention again.
Rummaging around in her room, Dahven moved restlessly. Angry, hurt, confused, and frustrated.
"Well, what did you expect?" She asked sarcastically, staring at herself in her full-length mirror. "You can’t expect love in this life. You don’t even know what the hell it is." She reminded herself.
Looking in her dark gray eyes, which were now dull again, she sighed heavily as she ran her fingers through her shoulder length dark golden hair.
Closing her eyes; she wished that when she opened them, that she would be lying on her bed and just waking up from this horrible nightmare that everyone was calling life.
Slowly and carefully, Dahven opened her eyes. She was still standing in front of her mirror.
Her face crumpled in pain. She wanted to cry; she just wanted to shout and scream about the unfairness of this whole situation. Wishing that she could hurt everyone as much as they had hurt her.
But she couldn’t. She just couldn’t cry anymore, screaming and shouting would just hurt her throat even more, and she couldn’t hurt someone. Not when she knew how badly it the pain cut. The unbearable sting and burn from the scratch.
Sighing, she went over to her bed, and started looking around her room. She stared blindly at her portable telescope and slowly moved towards it.
Peering through the lens and she saw a shooting star. As a reaction she started to wish on it, then in anger she pushed the telescope out her window. She could hear it crashing as it landed on the cement.
Smiling, she dusted her hands and lay down to sleep. After who ever started banging on her door for about finally understood that she wasn’t going to open the door or answer them. Closing her eyes, she fell into a small peaceful slumber.
"Look, I’m sorry okay." Isaac said for like the thousandth time that night.
Taylor shrugged. "Okay." He said leaving their room.
Isaac sighed and looked at Zac. "Zac, it was stupid and I shouldn’t have done it. I know that." He pleaded for understanding.
Zac looked up at his older brother pitifully. "Tell Charm. She deserves it. Not us." He said slowly.
Groaning loudly, Isaac turned away and got into his bed. "Yeah, like she’s really gonna listen to me now. She probably won’t talk to me, much less look at me ever again." He said as he burying his face into his pillow.
Turning off the lights, Zac got into his bed. "Listen Ike, I know that Charm may have seem like she was going to dump you, but she wouldn’t do it like that. If there was ever a problem she’d go to her best friend." He said quietly.
He yawned then mumbled, "You."
After a few minutes Taylor walked back in quietly. Taking his shirt off, he got in his bed and closed his eyes.
"Tay?" Isaac whispered down to him.
Opening his eyes, Taylor rolled them. "Yeah?" He asked shortly.
"I want D back." He said softly.
Taylor’s jaw clenched tightly. "Make up your mind, Ike. Either you want her or you don't."
Before he could reply, Taylor rolled over and blocked out whatever Isaac was going to say next by holding his pillow over his head.