Unapproachable
Chapter 2
'What was that?'
It would be an understatement to say that Darren was grouchy when his alarm clock started ringing the next morning. His eyes were burning and he felt too tired to move. Even sitting up in his bed seemed like too much of an effort. Just the thought of doing an action as trifling as standing up made him nauseous. He finally forced himself into a standing position after ten minutes of grunting and struggling. He stood in the same place for several seconds swaying from side to side, trying to straighten up. Once he realized that was impossible he started making his way to the bathroom. He couldn't make two steps without stumbling. Unfortunately the teen had forgotten the bathroom door was closed and walked right into it. He staggered back and rubbed his nose. Then he went back to the door and leaned on it, resting his forehead on the cool wooden surface. He reached blindly for the door-handle. Once his hand finally grabbed hold of the handle, it seemed to go numb.
Darren slowly felt himself drifting back into his dream world when a shrill ringing cut through the air like a knife. He started straight up, letting out a 'manly' scream. The teen frantically looked around his room, trying to find the blasted alarm clock. It was definitely his sister's doing. Nelly would always do something to make sure he didn't fall back asleep in the morning. She always came up with something new every single year. And when she was too lazy to come up with something she would always use 'the shriller'. That's what she called the alarm clock. It was in her top three most affective methods.
A short while passed before Darren finally found the wicked clock in his bathroom. He rolled his eyes once he realized that not only had Nelly woken him up for good, but she had also made sure he'd get on with his getting-ready-for-school routine.
Darren turned the alarm off and hid it in his own top secret place. He brushed his teeth, washed his face and tried to put his hair in order. Heavy emphasis on 'tried'. Soon he gave it up and went to change. Once he was done he hurried down the stairs to the first floor. The old staircase creaked with each and every step he made. The moment he got off the staircase he was shushed. He looked up and locked eyes with his sister.
'What?' Darren asked loudly only to get shushed again. There was more anger behind it this time.
'Stop shushing me!' Darren couldn't understand why his sister's expression had turned from anger to worry.
'Be quiet!' Nelly whispered urgently as she ran over to her brother and clamped her hand over his mouth.
'Why?' It was muffled but she still understood.
'Little girl, light sleeper, in a room right next to stairs.' She whispered again, trying to make the explanation as short as possible.
'Ok? Why you talk this way?' Darren tried to imitate her.
'Because I have to be at school extra early today.'
Darren looked at her.
'What?'
Nothing.
'What is it Darren?' It was annoying.
Suddenly something wet slid over her palm. Nelly jumped away with a disgusted look on her face.
'Gross!'
'Shush.' Darren whispered loudly as he put a finger to his mouth.
'Don't you shush me!' She glared at him, cradling her hand as if it had been burned.
'Yeah, yeah. What's for breakfast?' Darren walked to the kitchen, chuckling to himself.
'You know, if you weren't my brother, I'd let you starve to death.' Nelly wiped her hand on Darren's shirt as he walked past her.
She shot him an incredulous look when he pulled a disgusted face.
'Seriously? You lick my hand and yet you find it disgusting when I wipe it off?'
'Yeah, when you wipe it off on me I do!'
'It's your spit!' Nelly yelled as quietly as possible.
'Quiet!' A deep third voice yelled in a whispered.
The two siblings looked up at their stepfather. Eric's somewhat short hair was unruly, each blond strand sticking up in its own direction. His brown eyes were tired and it was obvious he was fighting to keep them open. He was shivering lightly. He was always cold in the first thirty minutes after he got out of his warm, comfy bed and away from his warm, beautiful wife.
The grown man glared drowsily at his adopted children. He loved them like they were his own, however he certainly did not appreciate being woken up at six in the morning on the one day he was off work. Eric worked as a mechanic and he was damned good at what he did. He was the one who had fixed Darren's Impala after the accident. The truth was that Eric and Darla's deceased husband had been the best of friends before the crash. The two of them had both loved Darla at some point. However, Darla had made her choice and Eric had stepped down. Then the love birds left town and Eric found himself moving on. Unfortunately Eric's wife, Veronica, had left him for reasons he never quite understood. Then the Hales moved back into town. The two best friends had finally reunited and Eric had gotten attached to the kids. He'd been like an uncle to them.
That had been when Darren was around ten years old and Nelly was thirteen. But then, nearly a year after the family had moved back, their father, Randy, got in a car accident. Randy hadn't died immediately. Eric didn't know whether it was for better or worse. Yes, Darla and the kids had managed to say their goodbyes. However it must've been torture to see Randy, a strong and loving father, in such a fragile state. When Randy fell into a coma, the doctors had tried to explain to Darla that it'd be better to pull the plug. She hadn't listened. Unfortunately, Randy had left that decision up to his best friend. Eric, after having the doctors explain to him that Randy's brain was no longer functioning, had decided to do it. Darla couldn't stand to look at him after that. However, when she had seen just how broken up Eric was at Randy's funeral, she'd forgiven him. From then on they comforted each other and soon, their feelings grew.
Eric knew Darla would never love him as much as she had loved Randy. Nobody can ever replace your first real love. He respected that. As long as he had his own special place in her heart, he'd be satisfied.
Eric was pulled from his thoughts when he felt something hit him square in the face. An apple fell on the floor in front of him and rolled away. Eric turned his wide eyes at Darren and Nelly. Darren was munching at his cereal and Nelly was in the middle of preparing her own breakfast. Both teens were looking at him as if he had lost his mind. So maybe he was exaggerating a bit. But come on. They were teenagers. Every expression of theirs looked exaggerated.
'What was that for?' Eric yelled, throwing his hands up. He realized his mistake when both his children shushed him. And to think he had come down to scold them for being too loud.
'Just … keep it quiet. Okay?' He whispered and climbed up the staircase, trying to hide his reddening face. The last thing he heard before he got to his and Darla's bedroom was giggling.
'Well that was amusing.' Nelly said as she set her breakfast on the table.
'It certainly was.' Darren, once again, tried to imitate her 'posh' language.
'Shut up and eat your cereal.'
Darren snickered but did as told. Nelly always gave him a ride to school as long as he was ready before she left. Otherwise, well, you could say Darren knew just how long a walk it was from his house to his school. He never brought his Impala to school because he was scared someone might steal it. It's not that the school was in a bad neighbourhood. It was far from it. But the students of Clearwater High pulled quite the extreme pranks. Bring a shiny car at school and you might never find it again. Most students used their parents' cars. And others just rented some crappy looking car that could get them from point A to point B.
Usually Darren and Nelly were neither. Since their stepfather was a mechanic, they got to use the cars he was working on. It was crazy how many people had super expensive cars. It was even crazier that they took it to a mechanic when there was nothing wrong with it. It was almost like they were leaving their child with a babysitter. Unfortunately Nelly and Darren never got to take the 'Vipers' to school. Oh no. Instead, they had to take some beat-up old car that was from multiple brands, if you know what I mean. Yes, it was crappy but it was safe too. Then there were those brighter, happier days when their mother let them use her car.
The siblings ate their breakfast quickly and went outside to the car. They were happy to see it was one of those happy days. A magnificent red Ford Flex was parked outside. It was their mother's pride and joy. Even though she didn't know the first thing when it came to cars, she still loved her Ford. But that was mostly because it was red and big and could fit her whole family in it plus three more people. Now you might be wondering why Nelly and Darren weren't afraid of taking such a cool car to school. Well, once in the past, someone had tried to steal Darla's Ford. I'll spare you the gruesome details and just say that they didn't get away with just a warning. In other words, the big, red Ford Flex was off limits for all except Nelly, Darren and, occasionally, Liam.
Darren and Nelly threw their bags in the back seat and took off. Then Nelly remembered something.
'Hey, weren't we supposed to pick Liam up on the way there?' It seemed even her brother wasn't sure.
'Let's swing by, just in case he's waiting for us.' Nelly said after a few minutes of Darren's silence.
'Yeah, that's good idea.'
'Of course it is. It's my idea we're talking about here.' Nelly snickered when Darren smacked her lightly on the shoulder.
'Shut up and watch the road.'
Nelly started driving in the direction of Liam's house.
Even though Liam's family wasn't the richest one around, their house was really big. It's been passed down for generations and Liam will be its rightful owner once he turns 18. Although he never liked big houses he was going to keep it for his parents. And who knows? Maybe when he reaches his forties he'll appreciate it a hell of a lot more.
Liam's house was big and white. There was a beautiful garden in the front and a mini pond in the back. They had a gorgeous fluffy white dog with the most adorable brown eyes. The dog's name, as cheesy as it may sound, was Snow for obvious reasons. She was playful and friendly. So what if she was kind of dense? She had her way of protecting her territory. And nobody got to mess with her master Liam on her watch! She loved the boy to death and she was also quite protective. Snow was a good judge of character too. If she thought of anyone as a threat to her home and pack, she did her best to chase them out.
Said dog was very happy to hear the familiar growl of an unknown creature. Mostly because a Hales usually entered the yard right after the growling stopped. And even though Snow had never seen the creature that emitted the growling, the sound never scared her for she knew that it wasn't a threat.
The 'growl' of the engine came to a stop and the big white gates that lead to the front yard opened. Excited, Snow bolted outside to greet her human friends. Her tail wagged furiously as she barked happily at Darren and Nelly. She ran a few circles around them and suddenly went back inside, as if to inform her master of his guests. The siblings couldn't help but laugh at the dog's antics. She was one hyperactive blur most of the time. But, then again, she wouldn't be Liam's dog if she wasn't hyperactive.
Darren and Nelly got worried when Snow came back with her tail swaying limply at her legs as she walked to her dog house, ears flat against her fluffy head. They looked up at the entrance to see a woman standing there. She was pure mother material, like the classic mother from those old American sitcoms. She was medium height and a bit plump. She had honey blond hair and warm brown eyes. Her whole aura was welcoming. She was Liam's mother and her name was Tara. She was overprotective and whenever anyone messed with her family she saw red. She even got into a fight with another mother once. But that's a different story.
'Good morning, Mrs. Willson,' Darren said. Anyone who knew Tara Willson respected her. 'Where's Liam?' He asked curiously.
'Liam's sick and in bed with a fever. He won't be coming to school with you today.' That was when Nelly and Darren noticed the medicine in her hands. Even though Tara sounded concerned, the teenagers found it suspicious that she kept glancing anxiously at the sky every once in a while. It was as if she was waiting for something.
'Oh. Well, OK. We'll be going then,' was the awkward reply. Nelly and Darren decided they shouldn't pester her. After all, she was a protective mother, whose son was sick and with a high fever. They thought it'd be better not to set her off.
'I'll see you kids around,' Tara told them as she hurried back inside.
Darren and Nelly shared a confused look and started walking toward their car. They were both curious as to why Snow had come out of the house so dejected. They hadn't heard any yelling and they knew that the Willson family wasn't one to abuse their pets. Darren and Nelly couldn't help but wonder.
The two got in their car and drove off. Just as Nelly took a turn to the right they saw something that made their jaws hit the floor.
