Silence

A/N: Thank you for all my wonderful reviews! I'll try to respond to them all within the next few days. So, look alive for a link. Sorry that I'm off schedule. I've had kind of a busy week. Enjoy!



“I want to take you somewhere,” Darwin whispered in my ear during our embrace. We had been hugging for a very long time. I thought it was too long, but my body thought I should stay nestled in his arms for the rest of eternity. He had smelled so good that I couldn’t find a reason to break the embrace.



I pulled back and looked up at him. His cheeks were flushed from either the cold or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell. “Where?” His arms were still wrapped around my waist. There was something humbling about being held. I felt like a real person. One of his hands came up to touch some of my hair. I did not move away.



“It’s a surprise.” He grinned. He looked at me like I was special. He twirled my hair. “How do you get your hair this soft?” He mused.



“Sixty dollar shampoo,” I murmured. I wanted to lean into his touch. I felt so stupid and ridiculous. It felt like there were butterflies flitting around my stomach. It was distasteful. I stepped backwards, breaking contact. “Can we go to your surprise now? It’s freezing.” I complained. I wasn’t lying. Without Darwin’s body heat smothering my senses, it had gotten considerably colder.



Darwin looked disappointed at the break in contact. “Yeah,” he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Come on.”



We walked back to his truck. When we took off we drove in the direction opposite of town. “If you’re kidnapping me you won’t get much money.” I said, nervously. I didn’t think he would kidnap me, but who knew.



Darwin looked at me, eyebrows raised. “I wouldn’t worry about that. I’d end up giving you back right away.”



I crossed my arms. It was freezing. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that? Not your type?” I groused.



“You’re definitely my type.” He turned on the heat. The truck filled with warmth. “You wouldn’t make a very good hostage is all I’m saying.”



I felt appalled and I couldn’t figure out why. Why would I be upset that he didn’t want to kidnap me? “Why?” I asked. I had to find out.



“Well, I imagine a normal hostage would do anything to make sure they stayed alive. But you’d probably give me shit about the floor being dirty,” He chuckled. He gripped the steering wheel tightly. “You’re too fiery. I’m not sure if I could handle that, even with oven mitts.” He gave me cheeky grin.



“You think you’re so clever,” I groaned. I wasn’t really that spirited. It was only around Darwin that I became quick-tempered.



“I really do.”



We were quiet for a long while. The thought of being kidnapped by Darwin wasn’t horribly unappetizing. I didn’t like being home. I didn’t really like my parents. I merely tolerated Darwin and I almost wished he would hug me again. He turned into a residential area. “Where are we going?” I really hoped he wasn’t going to kill me.



“It’s a surprise,” Darwin hummed. “I don’t know how much you’ll like it, though.”



I gave him a look. “What kind of a surprise is that?”

 

“I’m not very good at surprises,” he explained. He smiled at me sheepishly. “It’s more about me, actually.” He parked near the curb in front of a home.



I looked at him, confused. “You?”



“Yeah, I want to share something with you.” He looked uncomfortable for a few moments. He sighed. “You shared something with me. I want to share with you. It’s not really a thing, though.”



“Is it a place?” I tilted my head with curiosity. I felt myself flush with pleasure. He wanted to share with me. He found out about me and planned on giving back. He wasn’t just taking.



“I’m an orphan.” He said, slowly. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to look at me. “My parents died in a car crash when I was younger. Luckily, my grandmother took me, and my siblings, in. My family is very special to me. You let me in your life by letting me come to your appointment. I want to return the favor by letting you into my life.” He rubbed his hands against his jeans. He was apprehensive. He thought I was going freak out or something. “I want to show you that family is not supposed to be that way.”



He was referring to my absentee parents. My mouth was dry. I was skittish. He wanted me to meet his family. How weird was that? Wasn’t that something you did with your girlfriend after like four months of dating? I thought I understood. Even though Darwin forced himself into my life, I didn’t have to let him in. I looked at him.



He had turned back to the steering wheel. He was blushing. He nervously tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. I didn’t really understand why he wanted to get to know me. “Why?”



“What? I just explained why.” He looked at me, perplexed.



“No, not that. Why me? Why are you doing all of this? Why have you been protecting me?” It didn’t make sense. My mother said that nothing was for free. Why was he doing this? I could live my life without his help and he knew that but he was still bugging me.



“Isn’t it obvious, Cyrus?” He croaked with embarrassment. There was some weird emotion in his eyes. He was blushing even more. “I like you.” I could barely hear what he said.



He was probably having some sort of mental breakdown. Maybe my parents had paid him to keep an eye on me, that made sense. He was really weird anyways.



Wait.



“What?” I whispered, horrified. He liked me? Liked me how?



He shrugged. “I like you. I want to be there for you.” He smiled at me. “We should go inside. They know we’re here.” He looked at the house. He killed the engine and threw open his door. He jumped out of the truck with out another word.



I tried to pick my jaw up off of the floor. How could he just say something like that and just leave? He liked me? I scratched the back of my head. He liked me in a sexual manner. I watched him walk up to the front door of the house. He was attractive. I often found myself appreciating his form. I knew that. He was a bit older, though. I guessed that it made sense. Normally, you take care of the people you like, right? That was why Brad broke my nose when I ran into Tiffany. He liked her and wanted to protect her. Right?



I didn’t know. I was practically hopeless when it came to other human beings. I had never really gotten close to other people. I didn’t know what you were supposed to feel when you liked someone. I knew that I found Darwin annoying. Was annoying synonymous with like?  No, that couldn’t be it. Maybe he was confused. He didn’t act like he liked me, right? I dug my phone out of my pocket. I clicked onto the browser and typed in How do you know when a guy likes you?



That was a good start. Google had yet to fail me. I clicked on the first link.

1. He smiles at you a lot.



I frowned. Darwin did that.



2. He defends you.



He did that, too.



3. He uses any excuse to touch you.

I grimaced and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I was hopeless and it was starting to get cold in the truck. I looked at the home Darwin had disappeared in. I knew I had to go in there. I thought about staying in the truck until Darwin came looking for me but I didn’t want to die of hypothermia. I groaned and opened the door. I slid out of the truck. Every home on the block looked the same. This one had chimes hanging in the doorway. There were cars parked in the driveway.  The place looked well taken care of. All of the leaves were raked in to a big pile. There were children’s toys in the grass.



I walked through the grass and up to the front door. There was a sign hanging by the door. Home is where you are. I swallowed. That was… weird? I shook it off and pressed the doorbell. There was a part of me that worried the thing was busted. It would be just my luck to be stuck outside all night because I was too afraid to knock after I rang the doorbell.



Darwin opened the door. There was a smug look on his face and a beer in his hand. “Took you long enough. I was beginning to think you’d run off.” He smiled at me and took a swig of his beer. “Come on. You’re probably freezing.” He stepped aside and I walked in. It was warm. The place smelled like food. My stomach growled in response.

 

“Don’t feel pressured to talk to anyone, okay?” He said in that soft tone. He leaned close to me. His breath smelt like beer. “If they ask you anything, and you don’t respond, they’ll get the hint.” His hand rested on my back. He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. It made me think that he had told them not to pressure me in to responding. I blushed. That was very considerate.

I didn’t want him to think that I was appreciative, though. I gave him a dirty look. He let go of my shoulder. I followed him down a small hallway. There was another sign hanging on the wall. Please excuse the mess… We live here. How ghastly, I shuddered. People could live somewhere and keep it tidy. At least, I could. I followed Darwin out into the living room. He looked completely at ease. It made sense, though. I stopped to look at the pictures on the wall. I saw a teenage Darwin standing next to a lake. He was holding a fish and smiling. He looked proud of himself.



There were three men sitting in the living room around the TV. One of them seemed bored. He was wearing glasses and glanced down at his watch when we walked in.  The other two were arguing about the game.

“Hey, will you idiots stop fighting for a second?” Darwin called out to them. He stepped aside to allow me to come into the living room. They stopped their fighting and turned towards us. “This is Cyrus.” They regarded me coolly. I stepped closer to Darwin. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder.



“I’m Sam.” The one with the glasses said. He looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes. “Nice to meet you.” He was thin. His hair was dark black. He didn’t look related to Darwin at all.



The other two were twins. They had the same boyish faces and shaggy brown hair. “Mark.” Said one. “Thom.” Said the other.



They looked like Darwin. I could see it in their eyebrows and messy hair.  “Nice to meet you,” I muttered. Darwin squeezed my arm. He was pleased. I told myself that I had only talked because I didn’t feel like I had to.



“You made him stay out in the truck?” Sam asked. He glanced at Darwin.



“He wouldn’t come in.” Darwin explained, shaking his head.



He directed me to the kitchen. The smell of food flooded my senses. I was starving.



A blonde woman bounced a baby next to the fridge. She had the same dark circles under her eyes as Sam. “He cries all night,” she moaned.



“Honey, that’s what babies do.” A woman, who I assumed to be Darwin’s grandmother, was kneading dough on a counter. There were various dishes around her. She shook her head at the other woman. “It’ll get better as he gets older. I promise.” Her dark hair was streaked with grey and pulled up in a bun. When she saw us, she ginned. Her smile looked a lot like Darwin’s.



“Hello!” She exclaimed as she brushed flour from her hands. “You must be Cyrus.” She rushed forward but hesitated a small distance in front of me. “I’m Darwin’s grandmother. My name is Sandy.” She grinned but I could tell she was nervous.



Darwin stepped closer to me. I held my hand out to her, hoping she would shake my hand and then leave me alone. I was silently thankful for the long sleeves of my sweater. I hated when people could see my scars. “Good afternoon, ma’am.” My voice was barely a whisper. Instead of taking my hand, she came forward and embraced me. I stiffened and pulled away. I could see where Darwin learned how to be overly affectionate.



“I’m sorry, dear!” Sandy exclaimed, frowning. “I’m a hugger and I forget that people don’t really like people touching them.” She laughed nervously.



Darwin turned to me and said, “We’ll be right back.”



“Okay,” I murmured. Where were they going? Darwin gave his grandmother an indescribable look. He turned and she followed him out a door at the back of the kitchen.



The other woman was sitting on a barstool. Her baby was staring at me with one hand shoved in his mouth. He giggled when he caught me looking. His mother smiled at me and said, “I’m Kat, Darwin’s sister.” She gestured to the stool next to her. “Come sit down. You look exhausted.”



I sat next to her. I was very tired. What did normal people do in situations like this? “I didn’t sleep very well last night.” I offered. I hoped that was the right thing to say. I almost cursed myself when I realized that she had just been complaining about a lack of sleep.



Instead of being angry, she looked empathetic. “I understand how you feel. This little bundle of joy keeps us up every night.” She patted the baby’s stomach in emphasis.



“It must be hard to love someone who causes you so much anguish.” I deadpanned. I tilted my head at the child.



Kat looked surprised. She spoke and all the words fell out of her mouth like she had to prove her point right then. “No, honey,” She said, adapting the same pet name her grandmother had used minutes before.  She sagged with exhaustion. “I’m not anguished over the fact that my baby keeps me up all night. I know it’s just a fact of life. I love George. He’s my son. I could never resent him for doing what he’s supposed to do. Babies cry.” She looked at me like she pitied me. She had soft brown eyes. She had to be around the same age as Darwin, maybe a little younger.



“Oh,” was the only thing I could manage to say. She loved her son even though he kept her up all night. I drew circles with my finger on the counter top. “Sorry,” I murmured.



“Are you fucking kidding me?” Someone screamed from the living room.



Kat rolled her eyes. She leaned forward and plopped the baby in my lap. I gripped him tightly. “Time for me to do some damage control,” she winked.



How could she just leave me alone with her kid? The baby looked up at me with large, blue eyes and giggled. He drooled. “You’re gross,” I whispered. He screamed with laughter and reached out. He gripped my sweater with a saliva-covered hand. He began to babble with excitement like he was telling me some riveting story. “Is that so?” I murmured. I didn’t attempt to dislodge his grip. I feared I might drop him in the process.



Darwin took that moment to return. He stamped his feet against the rug in front of the backdoor. “Sorry about that.” He apologized. When he saw the baby in my arms, he smiled. “Aww, wook at wittle Georgie with wittle Cywus.” The baby let go of me and held his arms out for Darwin. He swooped in and pulled the baby from my grasp. The baby screeched with laughter.



I resisted the urge to plug my ears. “Why are you talking like that?” I questioned, my tone was full of distaste.



He looked up from the baby and gave me a confused look. “What do you mean? That’s how you’re supposed to talk to babies. They’re adowable.” He giggled. The baby was clearly enjoying it.



“It drools.” I groaned, staring down at the slobbery mess that the baby had left on my sweater. I looked up at Darwin with irritation. “I am not ‘wittle’, you asshole.” I hissed, remembering what he had said.



“Maybe,” he hummed. He held the baby in one arm and stroked my hair with his free hand. He was trying to comfort me. George laid his head on Darwin’s shoulder.



“Pedophile,” I grimaced. The butterfly feeling had returned.



“Hey,” he exclaimed. “Don’t say that while I’m holding a baby!” He teased. “It’s not my fault that you’re cute.”



“I’m not cute. I’m seventeen.” I felt my face flush. I guess he really did like me. Now I had to answer a different question. Did I like him?



“Is there an age limit on cute? Do you reach a certain age and have to be described by a different adjective?” He said, lowly. The baby had fallen asleep on his shoulder.



I refused to respond to his questions. I changed the subject by asking,  “is it some holiday?”



Darwin recoiled with shock. “Cyrus,” he said slowly. “Tomorrow is thanksgiving.”



“What? That can’t be right!” I declared. Was it really?



He looked nauseated. “Didn’t your parents mention it? Don’t you celebrate with your family?”



I shook my head. I felt weak and dizzy. “No. No one mentioned it.” I cradled my face in my hands. It made sense why there were various turkey themed decorations around town. Wasn’t it just Halloween?



When I was younger, Thanksgiving was wonderful. I remember spending time with relatives and gorging myself on food. My parents stopped talking to our family after my mother became famous. My mother insisted that our family was greedy for our time and our money. After my grandparents died, everyone else stopped trying to contact us.



“Did you assume you were just skipping class today?” He questioned, his lips were pressed together in a thin line. He sounded so angry. George let out a small cry. Darwin made a shushing sound in hopes to soothe the baby.



“I don’t go to class on Wednesday’s. I have appointments every Wednesday.” I muttered, defeated. I rolled my shoulders. “Why are you guys having thanksgiving on Wednesday anyways?”



“My siblings have in-laws that celebrate on Thanksgiving Day.” He looked so concerned. “Hold on for a second.” He went into the living room.  When he came back, the baby was gone. He sat next to me.



“When are you parents coming back, Cyrus?” He questioned. He seemed really concerned. “Where are they?” His tone was gentle.



“I don’t know,” I stared down at my lap. “They’re in France. They said they’d be back at some point. I just don’t know when.”



“How often do they fucking do this?” He demanded, leaned forward, and grabbed my shoulders. He turned me towards him and stared me down.



“Uh.” God, why were we always having story time? Why couldn’t he just leave me alone?



“Okay,” he sighed. He realized I wasn’t going to answer. He tried again. “How often have they been home in the last year?”



I thought about it for a moment. I shrugged his hands off my shoulders. “Like six times.”



“Six times? And how long did they stay?” He pestered. I wished he would stop.



“I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t want to be that person that constantly whines about being lonely. I’ve taken care of myself up to this point.” I hated him for asking so many questions.



“It’s not right.” He cursed. “Fuck your parents.”



“Darwin!” Sandy called from the doorway. “Honestly, it’s like I haven’t taught you anything!”



Darwin blushed. “Sorry, grandma. I was jus-“



She cut him off. “No excuses! Get out of the kitchen. I have things I need to finish.” It was funny. I never imagined seeing Darwin get yelled at.

 

She banished us from the kitchen. But instead of going back to the living room, Darwin led me to the backdoor. It was freezing when we stepped out on into the fenced backyard.

“Is that a swing?” I could see my breath in the air as I spoke. There was something hanging from a tree at one edge of the backyard.



“Yeah, wanna swing?” Darwin’s question was soft, like he was still subdued from the scolding. He didn’t wait for my answer. He brushed passed me and headed towards the swing. I followed. It was one of those makeshift swings made out of a piece of plywood and rope.



He gripped the swing with one hand and gestured with the other. “Sit down. I’ll push you.” I complied.



It was amazing. I was horrified and excited at the same time. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been on a swing. I felt like my stomach was going to come out of my feet. The air stung my face. My hands were numb as I gripped onto the rope. I ignored the way it burned my palms. Darwin almost launched me off the swing with each push. There was no way that swing was safe, but I didn’t care. I felt like I was flying. I screeched. At some point, he stopped pushing me but I didn’t really notice. I continued to swing for a few more minutes.



“Darwin!” I exclaimed as I dug my feet into the ground. I stopped swinging. Darwin came to stand in front of me. He looked bewildered.



“Are you okay?” He asked, gripping onto the rope tightly. “You look scared.”



“It was so much fun!” I cried. I was really excited.



“Then why’d you stop?” Darwin inquired. “You looked like you were having fun.”



“I don’t know.” I said. I really didn’t. “I guess it was because I was really cold.” I kind of wanted him to know that I was having fun.



“That’s because you’re only wearing a sweater. I’m sure it’s warm inside but it’s too light out here.” He shrugged out of his jacket. And before I could protest, he put it around my shoulders.



It smelled just like him. “I didn’t know I was going to be going on an excursion today or I would have dressed the part.” I muttered, defending myself. I pulled the jacket closer to me. It really was cold out. He was the one who had brought me to his grandmother’s place. He was the one that tried to say that he liked me and that he wanted to share with me. I shook my head. “You’re insane,” I told him. I glared up at him.



“I know,” he whispered. His tone was low and breathy. He cupped one side of my face with his hand. There was that emotion shining in his eyes again. His cheeks were flushed and his lips were parted. He leaned closer to me. “You’re something special, too.” His voice had gone gravelly.



He leaned in closer. He was going to kiss me. I knew it but I couldn’t pull away. I was so conflicted. The warmth of his coat smothered my senses. I closed my eyes because I couldn’t bear to watch. His scent invaded my nostrils. I exhaled.



He kissed me. His lips met mine softly, as if he was testing my response. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t move. His hand gripped the back of my head. I kissed him back and he groaned.  He pulled back and looked at me. I stared at him, absolutely horrified. He licked his lips before dipping in to kiss me again. This time it was harder. Our lips smashed together. In my eagerness, we bumped teeth. I felt so stupid. It was so new. I wound my arms around his neck. It was so nice, almost perfect, that I didn’t want it to stop. His lips were so soft. I moaned around his tongue.



“Darwin!” Sandy called from the doorway. Darwin pulled back, cursing. “Come inside! Your sisters are here.” The door slammed closed.



Darwin pressed his forehead to mine. He breathed heavily.



“She saw us.” I hissed, detaching myself from him. I was so embarrassed. I wanted to run home and bury myself beneath the covers.



“Nah, she’s near blind.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.



I scowled.



“Come on. Let’s go meet my other sisters.”