Behind The Veil - Daniel Seavey Fanfic

Chapter 7 - Back track

The moment I got home, I was exhausted. Without thinking, I threw my bag off to the side and carefully set Xavier on the floor in his little carrier. Then, I began to look for something to eat. It wasn't long before I heard yelling in the living room, letting me know that I wasn't alone in this house.

"Ha ha ha! Stop it, Tommy!" A light voice giggled.

"Nuh uh, not until you give me back what you took." Another voice responded.

"You kids are just silly." A third voice chimed in.

I peered into the room to see what was happening. On the couch, was my older brother, his arms were wrapped tightly around my younger sister as my dad was admiring the scene. I sighed. Dad was never really fond of me. My parents adored my brother and younger sister. Tom and Becca were the "golden children". My older sister was our "role model" and me? Well, I was last on their list. The "forgotten" child. On Tom's 15th birthday, he got 3 tickets to his favourite band. Last year, my dad got me a $10 dollar gift card to KMart. Sure, it was somewhat useful but I've had the same pair of sneakers for the past 3 years. It would have been nice to get a new pair. As for Becca, she got a hot pink motorized Ride-on car, a tablet and an I-pod.  I got an Etch-A-Sketch for my tenth birthday and nothing else for the next two years. In my mind, my dad didn't see me as "important". I believed that they thought I could take care of myself and that my siblings needed their attention much more than I did. But it still hurts, being a little bit neglected by your parents kind of sucks. I didn't grow up with the support of my parents as they enrolled my older brother into a baseball league, my younger sister into a gymnastics and soccer team and my older sister into beauty pageants. While my older siblings were doing their things, I was stuck at home to look after Becca. Then when I had complained about it, my dad enrolled her into a gymnastics class so I didn't have to complain about taking care of her anymore.

I finished pouring myself orange juice and making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I turned with the sandwich in my hand and orange juice in the other when I spot my siblings standing at the doorway, our mother behind them.

"Oh! Y/n, thank you for making your siblings something to eat and drink!" Dad smiled.

Becca happily trotted over, snatched the sandwich out of my hand and sat at the table. Tom sauntered towards me and slowly took the cup of orange juice from me. He looked at me in the eye, smirked, then proceeded to go back to the living room, sipping my orange juice. I frowned and stared at the empty carton of orange juice on the counter.

"But, I was gonna eat that-"

"Oh, don't be so selfish. You're siblings have been working hard today with their chores and deserve a snack break." Dad snapped at me, interrupting what I was about to say.

I quickly shut my mouth, not wanting anymore trouble from her. She looked towards the floor, surprised to see a large baby carrier and a fake doll sitting in it.

"Um, who's our little guest?" He asked.

"Oh, that's Xavier. He's part of my assignment in career class. I have to take care of him for a week."

I eyed my sister carefully.

"He is not a toy. If anything happens to him, I could potentially fail."

Becca chewed on MY sandwich thoughtfully and showed me a toothy grin. I cringed at the bits and pieces of peanut butter and jelly on her teeth. Sure, she was 9 and knew a little bit of common sense, but she's still a child. And anything plastic, colourful or shiny is considered a toy in her eyes.
She smacked her lips as she finished eating and got out of her seat, immediately bending down to admire the doll.

"He's cute. Can I play with him?"

She looked up at me and pouted her lip. Oh god. I know she's doing this just to get at me. My dad smiled at her action and I scoffed, receiving a quick glare from my father.

"Did you not hear what I said? I told you, he's not a toy!" I say, quickly picking up the carrier and heading to my room.

"Don't be rude to your sister. She just wants to play with it." Dad defended.

I groan loudly and frustratingly. Ok. I am literally sick of this. I ignore their calls and continue my journey upstairs. I head into my room and shut the door, placing Xavier at the foot of my bed and I throw myself on my unmade bed. No one in this family listens to me. If anything, Erika and Juniper are more of a family to me then they are. I turn to my side. A small item reflecting the sun light in my direction caught my attention as I got up to go inspect it. Like I've mentioned before, my curiosity was a sin. From behind my black veil hanging from my window, was a necklace. It was hanging still on the wall, untouched for years. I stare at it in awe, completely forgetting I had this. Ok, maybe not completely, but wanting to completely forget about it. I hold it in my hand carefully, but not removing it from the wall.

It was a simple necklace, with the letter L and a heart beside it on an iron locket. I pry it open and find a small picture of two little girls, smiling in the frame. Their innocent smiles and shining eyes could make death smile for a moment. I sigh. I remember my childhood best friend. She gave me this necklace, about 7 years ago, on my 9th birthday.

• Almost 7 years ago •

"Ok, don't open them yet!"

I giggle. My eyes are shut as tightly as I could make them as I could feel my friends hands hold my hair back. Suddenly, I feel something cold around my neck and someone fumble behind me. Then I hear a click and my hair is let loose again, falling on-top of my shoulders and I can't help but take a small peek. Her glowing blue eyes squint at me playfully.

"Hey! You're peeking!" She pointed an accusing finger at me.

I shut my eyes again.

"No I'm not!" I say.

After a few quiet seconds, she sighs.

"Ok, now you can open them." She laughs.

I open my eyes and look down to see a pretty necklace around me. I lift the locket with the first letter of her name in the front. I stare at it in awe before I look up at her.

"You're the bestest friend, ever!" I giggle.

She laughs and pulls me into a tight hug.

"Happy birthday, Y/n!"

I hug her back, just as tightly.

"Thanks, Lia"