23. Holden

       Josh tried talking to Mom and Dad for me but, like I thought, he didn't have any luck. They listened to everything he said, but there only reply was, "We'll talk to him again once he and Shaw break up."

       I just didn't get why they weren't okay with me and Shaw dating. Mom loved Shaw, and both Mom and Dad helped him out when he was going through a dark time in his life. They promised him they would always be here for him, and now they were breaking their promise.

       And because of that, it was like they didn't even care that I was injured from the explosion in city hall.

       I was starting to feel too bored sitting in the house all day, and since Shaw was at work and it would probably be best if I didn't go outside alone since my vision still wasn't the best, so Julian offered to walk around the village with me.

       My vision was quite blurry, but at least I was able to see shapes and figures, and I could tell what it was. I just couldn't see more defined features, like who exactly I was looking at, and I definitely couldn't recognize anyone standing in front of me.

       "How's Noah?" I asked Julian as we were walking around the village. I really wished I could go visit Noah because he was injured a lot more than I was, but it was kind of hard with Mom and Dad not talking to me.

       I would go when neither of them were home, but I bet they made sure at least one of them was to take care of Noah and his injuries. I would know. I've gone through it.

       "He's getting a lot better," Julian said. "He's still really sore and it's hard for him to move, so he only leaves his bed when he has to go to the washroom. He is getting annoyed because Mom and Dad are basically being too overprotective with him. They check up on him every ten minutes. Literally. And in the middle of the night, it's every half an hour. They actually wake him up to see if he's going okay."

       "That, I figured," I said. "I know they care and all that, but they're going about it the wrong way, and they're both too stubborn to change that if someone tells them."

       "Yeah, I tried talking to them for Noah, but they ignored me completely," Julian said. "They're just going to keep babying him."

       "And I bet when he's all recovered, they're going to be really strict on him and rarely let him do anything," I said.

       "To be fair, you do have short term memory loss because of it," Julian said.

       "I know, but there is so much they're not letting me do because of it," I said. "They won't let me go out alone when it's dark, even if it's still early. They didn't want me getting a job even though Josh, a doctor, said it would be good for me. Face it, I'm their least favourite."

       "They don't have a least favourite," Julian said.

       "It seems like it," I said. "They don't even want to talk to me. Besides, why else do you think I moved it? It's not like they would miss me. They sent me to boarding school. Me moving out isn't any different. And if I didn't move out, they'd probably lock me in the house to make sure I don't spend any time with Shaw."

       "You really like him, don't you?" Julian asked.

       "Yeah, I do," I said. "But for some reason, Mom and Dad don't care at all. Do you think it's the age difference that's bothering them?"

       "I don't think so," Julian said. "Grandma and Grandpa are eight years apart. They shouldn't care if you and Shaw are seven years apart, even if Shaw has kids. You're really good at caring for them, and I know you won't get into a relationship that involves kids if you weren't ready for that."

       "Exactly," I said. "I basically gave up on Mom and Dad though. Josh tried talking to them about it, but they said they weren't going to talk to me until Shaw and I break up, which isn't even going to happen. You know the worst part? Shaw risked his life and headed into the city hall when it was in flames to help you find me and Noah. It's like they don't even care about it."

       "They don't," Julian said. "Yeah, by the way, they grounded me for a week since I went back into the building."

       "You're kidding," I said.

       "I wish," Julian said. 

       "They're so unbelievable at times," I said. "Apart from all of that... Have you decided what you're going to do about McGill University?"

       "I did," Julian said. "I'm not going. Noah and I made a deal to go to the same university, and I need to live up to that promise. Mom and Dad kept saying that we have our whole lives ahead of us, but we really don't. Noah almost died. I want to spend as much time with my twin brother as I can, and that includes going to post-secondary with him."

       I smiled. "Well, I'm glad you decided that on your own since a lot of people were telling you that you should go. Really, it's your choice in the end and if nobody agrees with you, screw them."

       "I haven't told Mom and Dad yet," Julian said. "They're not going to be happy."

       "Who cares?" I asked. "They shouldn't force you to go to a post-secondary you're not happy in. You'll be a lot happier going to school with your twin brother, and you'll be eighteen when you start university, so they can't stop you."

       "I just wish I was a lot braver at standing up to Mom and Dad," Julian said.

       "I had a lot of practice," I said. "And trust me, a lot of practice standing up to Mom and Dad shouldn't be a good thing."

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Aww my babies. <3

lol so I'm hoping i can finish this soon so i can get back to work on repress. I haven't updated in a while because it would have been too complicated with this going, so it's just going to continue off with the short story ending.

Ooh, and fun fact: The third victim isn't dying in this book. They're dying in the next book, and it is from explosion-related injuries. hahaha oops.