OUTCAST - Marionette Fantome (best romance books of all time .txt) 📗

You can interpret it in many ways. I-I personally found it heartwarming. Maybe something by Neruda? O-Or Lord Byron? Emily Dickinson is good. Hmm…’The Torso’…oh, dear no! That one may be a little…risqué for this project. Ah, how about—oh, Christ…I’m rambling.”

Was she rambling? I had to admit, it was pretty cute. That was the first time I’ve ever seen her be so animated about anything. “I don’t mind. At least you’re talking. Hey, how about something with a grittier background to it?”

“Hmm…I like that idea. War poems are good. If we work on it, we could do something really cool with it. Maybe some type of visual interpretation? Ah, but I understand if that may be a little out there for you.”

“We’ll work that out later. First, the poem.”

“Okay. What do you suggest?”

“‘Le Déserteur’ by Boris Vian. It’s in French, but the meaning behind it is actually really good.”

“I know of the poem. It is very good. We can use that.”

“Cool. So…where do you wanna continue?”

“Wh-What?”

“Where are we gonna meet for the project? Your place or mine?”

“I don’t know if your place would be okay because of Myra, and my home is a little out of sorts at the moment. Not to mention that I may have visitors, but I doubt that they would remember to actually come by and--”

She stopped as soon as I placed a hand on her shoulder. I didn’t expect her to react by turning beet red. Maybe nobody ever touched her much. It was endearing, actually, to know that she’s simply very pure. “My place. If you’re worried about Myra, then I can deal with her.” I had to anyway. I needed to know what she has been doing to Indigo.

“O-Okay…okay.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine, I promise. All you have to do is come over.”

“Oh…um…I don’t know where you live.”

“Yeah? Then, I’ll drive you. Today sound good?”

“Yes, it’s perfect.”

“Great.” At that, the bell rang and she got up with her things. “Oh, your fourth period?”

“Orchestra.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you there.” She nodded and I watched in awe at how quickly she was able to disappear in the crowd, becoming invisible to the eyes of the cruel society of this school. I turned back around to find David coming up to me with a knowing smile plastered on his face.

“Well?”

I sighed in defeat. “Alright, I admit she’s cute.”

“How cute?”

“Pretty cute.”

“‘Pretty cute’? Scott, Myra is nowhere to be found. I think you can be honest now.”

“Fine…she’s so cute that it should be a sin. How the hell is she single?” Did no one seriously ever think to ask her out? Was it because she wasn’t part of a major clique?

“I’m not sure, but I’m gonna change that. I’m gonna ask her out.”

I blinked at him. I wasn’t expecting that. “What?”

“I wanna ask her out. She’s easy pickings and super sweet. Not to mention that killer body. That’s something I wanna do all night long.”

I felt my eye twitch. He really was a pig. “Really? That’s why you want her? Just for sex?”

“And she’s sweet.”

“Wow, David, you’re an ass. She’s too good for you. She deserves someone who could make her feel better about herself, and you’re just gonna make her feel cheap. You’re no better than the rest of the football team.”

“Ouch. You’re that offended?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.”

“Then, do something about it.”

“What?”

“Act on it. Do something. You’re probably the only one that could get through to her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think she’s suicidal.”

“David, don’t say stuff like that.”

“No, I’m being serious. I was talking with her yesterday after Myra harassed her again—which Indigo confirmed, by the way—and she got all depressed. She said some really messed up things like she should disappear and that nobody would care. I told her not to say that and that her family would miss her, and she completely shot that idea down. Dude, she wasn’t joking around with that. She was really contemplating it. And I’ve noticed that she had been wearing longer sleeves. She always wore short sleeves. They covered her hands, and don’t tell me that she was cold because the temperature hasn’t even dropped yet. I’m worried, Scott.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.”

David scoffed at that. “Why does everyone say that? I know when a person’s thinking about throwing in the towel. My sister did it, Scott. Remember?” I remember. I wished I didn’t. “I just don’t want another person to do that, especially when I could’ve done something. Now, I want you to take care of her, and make sure she feels loved because I think that’s what she needs.”

“Dave, you know I can’t do that. Myra--” 

He snapped. “Fuck that whore! She’s been sleeping around behind your back!”

“What? No, she wouldn’t do that?”

“Oh, my god, Scott! How fucking stupid are you?! She would do that! She did that! She got half the soccer team—you can ask them—the entire basketball team, and she’s working on the football team! Why the hell do you think that guys keep asking her out?! I’m tired of you constantly siding with her even when you’ve noticed that she’s not who you think she is! Dump her!” He sighed, taking a moment to collect himself. “Myra isn’t worth your time or affection. Indigo is. Since you won’t let me date her, then you do it. Love her like you’ve never loved before because it may be the last time you ever will.”

It was my turn to sigh. “David, it’s not that easy.”

“Do it for Indigo. Think about her. If you date her, you could stop whatever bullshit is going on in her life. It doesn’t have to be right away, but start with today and getting to know her. Be slow about it.”

I growled. Him too, huh? “I know. Why do people think I’ll hurt her?”

“Because you’re her last hope.”

 

<><><> 

 

She was playing the cello when I found her. She looked so at peace and serene, it was too pretty for me to look away. I hope she didn’t mind me listening. Not so sure about the staring. It was astonishing how talented she was. She was in AP Physics and took AP Calculus with the rest of us. Not to mention her vast knowledge of English Literature. Even Statia didn’t know as much as she did. What was she playing? It sounded so familiar.

Once she ended, I clapped and she dropped her bow. Oops. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. That was beautiful. I thought you played the violin. I never expected you to play cello.”

“O-Oh…thank you. I do play violin, but not often. I’m the first chair cellist for the orchestra.”

“I figured. What were you playing?”

“Cello Sonata No. 1 in E Minor, op. 38.”

“That was beautiful. I should hear you play more often.”

“Oh…well…I’ll allow it for you only.”

“Really? Wow, I feel honoured.”

She giggled at that, which made my heart tremble. What I would do to make her make that sound again. “I guess I should pack up and get ready.”

“Yeah.” I watched her do that and sighed. David was right. She was wearing longer sleeves. She didn’t even bother to roll them up to play her cello. She must be hiding something. Once she was ready, we set out to my car and drove to my place. I hoped Myra wasn’t there already, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to face her. Maybe Indigo knew about it. I could ask her. She wouldn’t lie about it…would she?

 

Chapter 4

 Scott's house was nice and comfortable, however, I didn't expect it to be so large, which made me feel even more inferior. My home was nothing to scoff at due to my parents' occupations, but it was nothing compared to this. He opened the door and led me inside to one of the sitting rooms, which was lavishly furnished, yet still held that simplistic charm.

"Make yourself at home. Mi casa e su casa."

"Th-Thank you."

"Do you want anything to eat? Or drink?"

"O-oh, I don't want to intrude."

He tsked at me and gestured for me to sit. "You're not intruding. Besides, I've got plenty of food that my mom and sisters won't eat because they're on a diet. You can have whatever they're not eating."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Tell you what, let me get you some snickerdoodles that my brother baked earlier. You can eat that. Do you want some water?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright." He hurried to thee kitchen and I waited patiently for him. As I did, I looked at the various pictures of a young Scott and his siblings, all laughing and smiling. Did we have any photos like that? I couldn't recall a time a where my entire family was happy. He came back with a plate of cookies and water and set them on the coffee table. "Go ahead and dig in. Don't worry about me, I'm not that hungry."

"Okay." I took a cookie and ate it slowly, and my eyes widened as a blush painted my face. These were...

"They're that good, huh?" Scott chuckled.

My face grew darker at his response. I nodded. "They're fantastic. I don't recall ever having snickerdoodles this good."

"Well, my brother would be happy to hear that."

"Um...forgive me for asking, but how many siblings do you have?"

"Six. I have an older brother, Leonard, two older twin sisters, Allison and Mikayla. Then, I have two younger brothers, Lucas and Mark. Last, is the baby of the house, Jessibelle. She's four years old."

"Aw, how precious. So, you're the middle child?"

"Yeah. It's rough, but I love them. How about you?"

"I have four older siblings, two brothers and two sisters."

"That sounds fun."

I looked down at my lap. It was never pleasant to talk about my family. "Not particularly." I didn't realise I said it until I was met with only silence. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Hey, it's okay, you can tell me. Why not?"

I looked at him, my beginning to water. "Because...Because they don't love me."

He blinked. "That's ridiculous. Of course they love you."

"No, they don't. Ever since I was young, they had always treated me like I was not their child. I was the odd one out. I didn't hold the same talents as them, and they saw me as an outlier. The ugly duckling, so to speak. Everyone was a prodigy, but I wasn't. I didn't hold such a knack for science or math like they did. My parents surgeons. The eldest, Matthew, is a mathmatician. The second one, Alice, is an astrophysicist while the next one, James, is an anthropologist. Lastly, Danica...she decided to follow in my parents' footsteps and became a surgeon, and is as famous as them. And here I am. A complete waste of genetic material. I am nothing."

"You're not nothing."

"They have told me that I will never compare. I wasn't as smart as them, and I never will be. My parents forget me, and I'm always left alone. Always. It never helped that they always jabbed at my weight. I remember I was left at a store, and no one came back to get me. I walked home. Walked. Do you know what it's like for a seven-year-old to walk alone in the dark? And they didn't care."

"Indigo..."

"I try to please them, but they never noticed. It's come to trying to get their attention. I dyed my hair for them to yell at me,