Glass House, Amberlynn

Chapter 4

“Who was at the door?” I asked, peeking around the frame of the dining room and looking at Daniel.

                I watched as his slouched posture straightened and he gave me one of those smiles that never reached his eyes. Was the way I felt when he did that similar to the way Cindy felt?

“It was your uncle. I told him you were sick.”

“What?” I exclaimed, “Why would you do something like that? He might send Cindy over to nurse me.”

“Is that bad?”

                Instead of answering him, I groaned and turned to walk away. I couldn’t blame him in the end. He was new to a lot of things and had never seen me around my uncle or cousins. I was sure that he didn’t even know why I was living alone in the farm house of all places.

                When I turned back around to apologize, he was gone. I blinked in surprise. I wondered how he could have gone anywhere without me noticing.

The box, I thought, deciding that I could spend my time with Glass House while I waited.

                I made my way back to the kitchen, my bare feet hardly making a sound as I walked against the floor boards. The slightest sound it did make seemed to echo in my ears. When had the house become so quiet? Was it Daniel’s doing? Had he somehow managed to make the most out of nothing?

                I shook my head. What was with me? Since when did I think about that man so much? My walk to the kitchen continued. I had yet to open the box I had received and when I reached it, I remembered why I had gone in search of Daniel in the first place. To think that he had unwrapped the pale pink ribbon from my box made me just the slightest bit furious. I ignored the feeling though. After all, it was just a ribbon.

                Reaching the counter which held the small box, I lifted the lid and peered inside. There were two letters which definitely held my curiosity. I picked up the first one and read it.

Dear Amy,

                It’s been a whole week since the last letter we sent to you. We know you can’t exactly reply to us, but how are you doing? Things have definitely changed even if you can’t see it yet. Anyway, the second letter in this box is for Daniel. Make sure he reads it. Remember to trust him. You two are, after all, family.

Sincerely,

Glass House

                Just as I finished reading the letter I heard footsteps trailing into the kitchen. I had told Daniel several times that he needed to practice hold hard he walked before he ran a whole into the floorboards. I picked up the second letter and turned to face the brunette. I stopped mid-turn when I saw how warn he had appeared.

“Are you okay?” I asked, setting the letter next to the box before rushing to help hold him up.

“I’m just a little…Tired.”

                Tired was not the word I would have used to describe how Daniel seemed, but I was a far cry from saying it to him. Instead, I kept quiet and placed his arm around my shoulders and wrapped one of my arms around his back. With small steps I forced him to walk out the kitchen and into my room since it was the closest one. He was heavy and I was surprised that I had enough strength to help him to my bed.

                Just as his head lay against my pillow, he fell asleep. I stared at him as he slept so easily. What had he been doing in such a short amount of time that made him so tired? As I eased myself off the bed, I felt Daniel’s hand wrap around my wrist.