She Can't Read Minds

Markus
“I like you.”

Miranda sat there for a moment, staring at me before she shot up and walked away as fast as she could. I watched her back. You can turn around anytime now, tell me you were kidding or you needed to think, but you’d come back, I thought.

Cal came and took her place, giving me a weird look. He’s been acting strange lately, mostly whenever the subject of my sister would come up or she would appear suddenly. “What happened, Marky?”

“She left.” I told him, sounding like a ghost. He sighed, watching me look over his shoulder toward the hallway she went down. I couldn’t see her anymore. “I told her and she just stared at me, then left.” Finally I met his gaze. This was a horrible feeling; the feeling I was hoping to avoid. “Why the fuck did you tell me to tell her? You’re my best friend! Next time fucking talk me outta it instead of setting me up to feel like complete crap.”

“You know why I did it! You know what I thought she’d say!” Cal argued back.

“Obviously she’s a great liar,” I told him, “’cause she fooled you, she fooled me, and she fooled Leslie all into thinking she felt anything towards me.” Cal shook his head no, a determined look in his eyes. He was gonna prove me wrong, or at least as best as he could.

“No, she feels the same way about you.”

I sat in my bed the whole evening, just me and the television. My blankets were so comfy and warm it was like heaven compared to the temperature my mom was keeping the house. Leslie was in her room by now, listening to some girly music at full blast. No longer with Miranda, who-at the moment- I wasn’t sure how I felt about. Sure I still cared about her, a lot, but I don’t know.

Brown ringlets; tied back elegantly. Hazel eyes; shining from the grin inches below it. Freckles; splattered on cheek bones like someone flicked a paintbrush at them. Pale skin, verging on white; at the moment, flawless. Orange, my favorite color; the shade of her dress that clung to her frame. She was breath-taking in my eyes, like pure gold.

She’d laugh at my words. Smile up at me, capturing my eyes forever with hers. But she’d never speak a word or close her eyes. Just gently sway as I did with a song humming in our ears.

She was mine.

And all I felt was love.

“What the hell?” I groaned, rubbing my forehead as I sat up in bed. Her music was still coming through the walls into my room. By now she herself was singing along with the girl’s voice. I shot out of bed and stormed over to her room. Her stupid music caused me to dream about Miranda; her stupid music made me have such a girly dream. “Leslie, turn that shit off.”

She lifted up her head from her spot on her bed doing homework. “Why?”

“Because it’s crap.” I shouted, trying to get over the music.

“Actually it’s amazing music,” Leslie said, reaching over to her iPod dock and checking on how well the battery was charging, “what you listen to is crap.” I rolled my eyes and made a move to get the iPod but she got there easily before me. “Give me a good reason as to why I should lower my music.”

“I said turn it off, not lower it.”

“I’ll lower it, if you give me a good reason to.” Leslie bargained, standing between me and the blasting music with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. Testing me. Suddenly she smiled, “I know why you want me to turn it off. It made you think of Miranda, didn’t it?” I stared off at the window beside her head, feeling my face go slightly warm. “Ah, it did. You know she feels the same, right?”

“Everyone says that. If she did, why would she run?” I asked, meeting my sister’s gaze no matter how much I wanted to look away.

“She was nervous?” Leslie said, like it was something I should have just known.

“She never came back.” I mumbled. “I had no problem with her running off, sure it made me feel slightly like shit, but if she would have come back I wouldn’t have been mad. She never came back though.”

“Miranda wants to talk to you at least.” Leslie tried.

“This time, she better come to me then. I‘m not doing all the work here.”

Leslie turned and lowered her music before telling me, “She will. She’ll talk to you tomorrow when she comes over. Jenna and Bridget are bringing a bunch of movies and we’re having a movie night. Andi will talk to you, I know it.”

She seemed enthusiastic; I didn’t want to ruin it so I nodded my head.