Chapter 4
Seth
really doesn't leave her side. He walks closely next to her, not
talking really, just following her and watching her every move. When
she goes to the bathroom or have to change clothes, he waits in the
hallway patiently.
It's like a toddler following his teacher
around, a chick chaising his mother, he acts like her shadow.
From
time to time he reaches to her and touches her arm or back, like he
wants to check if she is really there.
Rie ignores him most of
the time, though it's hard getting used to this new appendix.
No
matter what she does, he follows her. If she gets out of her bed
because she has to use the bathroom really bad, he follows her there
and back to her bed.
If she drinks some tea, while reading in her
bed, he watches her moves closely. Observing how she turns every
page, sips her tea and puts her hair behind her ear.
The first
time he was doing that, that means: on day 1, she had almost smacked
his face with frustration. ,What…is… it!" she had hissed.
But he hadn't replied, just looked at her.
He doesn't
know any better, Rie thinks. He couldn't communicate with a living
soul before he met me, so he doesn't really know how to now.
But
he does talk to himself a lot, he mutters words to himself when he
sees things or just say them out loud. When her mother came into her
room, he had said out loud that dress looked really sexy on her mom.
Rie had troubles keeping her tea inside and wacked him over the
head, which was only more reason for her mother to keep her in bed
another day.
,Don't you talk like that about my mom!" Rie
had hissed to Seth when her mother left the room. Seth had just
shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her.
Now it is weekend
and Rie claims to be better.
,Are you sure honey?" Her mother
asks, looking worried. ,You were talking to 'somebody' again
last night in bed."
Rie sighs. She wasn't talking to Seth, she
was telling him to shut up his big mouth. Seth has this annoying
habbit to talk to himself when it's night. Probably he gets bored
and just start talking to himself, exposing his thoughts. It's also
hard for him to getting used to somebody actually listening to him,
hearing every word he says.
,Mom, I know for sure!" Rie
hisses. ,I'm not a crazy lunatic with invisible friends."
,Maybe
we should get an appointment with a psychiatrist." Mother mutters.
,Gowd, mom!" Rie cries out and angry she rushes out of the
room, hurrying out of the house, Seth closely behind her.
,Psychiatrist… They dig in your head… Childhoodtraumas….
Rapeing….Losing your job… Bad marriage." He mumbles, more to
himself then to Rie.
,To who are you talking?" Rie breathes,
kinda pissed of, she stops walking and heaves down on the sidewalk,
not wanting to walk further, since she doesn't know where she must
go.
,I
don't know." Seth mumbles, sitting down next to her. ,…I don't
really know."
,Well, I think you were talking to yourself."
Rie says, not on her most politest tone. ,And I also think you
should stop that! It's annoying!"
,You're yelling, you're upset…" Seth says. ,I think you should calm down."
,Don't
tell me what to do! I didn't ask for you to come to me!" Rie
backfires.
,You're really upset, you're cheeks are red."
Seth says. ,I like red."
,Talk to me, you ass! You don't say
things like that! Who cares if you like red!" Rie jumps up again
and walks away, heading to the park.
She hardly comes outside,
why did she go outside? She hates being outside.
,Look at that
ass…" She hears Seth mumbles.
,Why… you!" Rie turns
around and smashes her fist into his face.
Seth, really surprised
by being hit so hard, look at her with a stunned look.
,Not you…
you're ass is just fine…" He mumbles quitely. His finger rises
up to a woman a few feet away, eating icecream, her enormous behind
swinging from left to right as she walks. Rie had never seen anyone
with an ass that big.
,That's still no reason just to flap out
whatever you are thinking!" Rie grabs his hand and drags him along.
,You are a stupid idiot, you know that? You should stop talking out
loud! You're really being a burden!"
Seth
looks at her, not knowing what to say really.
,Well, you can
talk now!" Rie says. One thing is for sure, she loses her temper
easy.
,Ehm…" Seth starts. ,I like you."
,Drop
dead!"
,You yell and get angry really fast, but I like you."
,You like me because I am the only one who can like you
back!"
,Yes, do you like me back?"
,No!"
Looking
slightly dissapointed Seth turns his face away. ,Ow…"
,You're
way to annoying to like!" Rie says.
,People are looking."
Seth mutters, looking around. Several people are looking at Rie
making a scene. She turns around and looks at the people surrounding
them.
,What? Yes, I am crazy! Why do you care?" She cries,
frustrated.
A familiar giggles rises up from the few people
watching her. The blood pulls away from her face.
Just behind the
woman with the enormous butt is the most populair girl with her clan.
The most populair girl in her class, in her school: Fanny Dawn.
Rie doesn't know what to say anymore, she doesn't know how to
hold her arms, where to look or how to breathe. This can't be
happening! Why did she talk out loud to Seth? Why did she even went
outside?
,You really are crazy." Fanny giggles. ,I guess your
brain finally exploded huh?"
Her perfectly manicured nagels
cover her mouth as she laughs at her own joke.
Rie can't think
of any excuse of her weird behaviour. The only thing she can think
about is how they are going to bully her when she goes back to school
monday.
,She looks kinda cute, yelling to her invisible friends,
you know." Fanny's boyfriend, Marten, says. Rie holds her breath.
Why did he have to mingle in?
He had never said anything to her or
about her and now he did. Why?
,Stop it!" Seth now says, really
angry.
Ofcourse the clan of Popular People can't hear him.
But
he is really angry and he stands in front of Fanny, yelling in her
face. ,Stop it! She hasn't done anything to you! Leave her alone!"
Fanny just giggles and laughs. ,Where is your friend now huh?"
She says. ,Why did you stop talking to him when we arrived? Aren't
you going to introduce us?"
,STOP! STOP TALKING TO HER!" Seth
cries out, really angry and trembling all over now. ,GET LOST! GO
AWAY!"
Rie can't hear Fanny talking, because Seth is going
wild.
She is afraid to move or talk too, the tears are forcing
their way out of her eyes.
She tries to hold them down.
,Rie?"
Her father's voice!
She looks up, behind Fanny and her clan
is her father. He is carrying a grocerie bag in one hand. Aye is
holding his other hand.
Fanny stops dead and turns around too.
,Ow Hello, mister Stalker. How are you today?" She says in her
sweetest voice.
,Hi, Fanny." Rie's father says. ,Is
everything alright here?"
,Yes, certainly." Fanny says.
,We
were just telling her how hard the tests were." Fanny's Popular
Friend bugs in.
Fanny nods. ,But I'm sure Rie will do them
with ease."
,She is the smartest in class, you know."
Another Popular Friend says.
Fanny smiles her most cute smile.
Father narrows his eyes. ,I guess so, yes. Well, Rie are you
coming home with me? You can help me unpack the groceries."
,Yes,
dad." Rie mumbles, taking over the groceries, turning around and
walking home immediately.
He showed up to save her, but why does
she feel bad about it?
Why does she wish he hadn't? She is
thankfull he helped her out here, but she just wish he hadn't.
,Are those mean people?" Aye says, catching up with Rie.
,I
don't know. Why would you care?" Rie growls angerly.
,You're
my sister. I don't want people being mean to you!" Aye says,
looking extremly cute with those big puppy eyes. So cute Rie feels an
urge, for maybe the first time in her life, to hug her little
brother.
,You're right. You're the only one who can." Rie
says.
,Yes!" Aye says, looking proud and worried at the same
time.
,I thought it was suprising to see you in the park."
Father says, also catching up with them. ,You never go outside
without a reason. Are you sure things are alright, Rie?"
,Yes,
why wouldn't it be?" Rie mutters, not looking at Seth who is
walking next to Aye, scanning Rie with his big blue eyes.
Later
that night Rie is laying in bed, curling up like a ball.
What are
they going to say to her when she goes to school? She thought she was
safe in school by not being known by many people. By living like a
shadow between all the students. The only outstanding thing about her
are her grades.
Why did Seth help her out? Why did he start
yelling, while he knew they couldn't possibly hear him?
She
hears Seth mumble in himself. ,Stupid…. They….Not ….I hate…"
She turns around to face Seth, who stops talking and focus his
eyes on her.
Seth doesn't sleep, he doesn't need it. He
doesn't need to eat either.
,Seth…"
,Rie…"
,Why… why did you yell at Fanny?" Rie asks in a whisper.
Seth blinks with his eyes. ,Shouldn't I have?" He asks.
,Why did you?"
,…I don't want… I don't want people
to be mean to you." Seth answers. ,You are the only I have now. I
can't efford losing you." His blue eyes are shimmering.
He
reaches out his hand to her arm and touches it for a few seconds.
,They can't hear you, you can't help me by yelling at them."
Rie says, turning her back to him, covering her self up with her
blanket.
,I know they can't." Seth says. ,But… I can't
stand them acting mean to you either."
When Rie doesn't reply,
Seth stands up, walks around the bed and sits down in front of her
face. ,What if they hurt you? Or if they make your life so terrible
you want to kill yourself? I have seen it happen before, Rie. I don't
want to lose you! Not now I finally found you!"
,You don't
even know me." Rie says with a razorsharp voice.
,You don't
know me." Seth replies. ,But I would like you to know me."
,If I would say I like to know you…" Rie says. ,Will you promise me you will stop talking to yourself so you won't distract me when people are around?"
,Do
I talk to myself?" Seth asks.
,Yes, all the time." Rie
snaps.
,I'll try then." Seth smiles at her, patting her head
with great care. ,Do you want me to know you?"
Actually
enjoying the soft patting Rie closes her eyes, not replying his
question.
She doesn't know what she wants from Seth, if he just
keeps patting her head like that, or laying his hand down on her
cheek, it's okay.
Seth doesn't remove his hand from her face,
keeps looking at her while she dozes of in a quite dream.
