Sounds of Silence: A Contemporary Romance

by Candace Wondrak

  I could not roll my eyes enough. What the hell was she going on about? Why would I shower? It wasn’t like I had any hot plans tonight. No more dates for…well, ever, for me. No more dates. No more handsome men. No more dimples or cute smiles or warm, strong chests—

  I should really stop my mind from wandering before it went too far.

  My plan was to sneak back into my room after flushing the toilet and washing my hands, but I found Michelle standing just outside the door, her arms crossed. She did not look too thrilled, seeing me trying to weasel my way out of whatever the hell this was.

  “Shower,” she repeated herself, “now. Don’t make me say it again.”

  A sigh left me, and I knew it would be easier to just go along with it for now. The last time she’d taken such interest in my looks had been before the blind date with Calum.

  Calum…

  No, I wasn’t going to let myself think about him.

  I shut my mind off as I showered, undoing the rat’s nest that was my hair and, like she’d said, scrubbing every part of my body until I was squeaky clean. When I got out, Michelle was still waiting for me, only now she had something else in her hands.

  A tube of pink dye? Why did she suddenly care about my faded hair?

  My roots were about an inch long, but she paid no attention to them, instead making a few bowls of pink dye. Three of them—one held straight dye, the other held some dye and some condition, and the last was full of mostly conditioner with a bit of dye.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, eyebrows together. She’d made me sit on the toilet, facing the tub to give her the back of my head. A towel was draped around my shoulders to protect my clothes from the dye. She had gloves on, and she was busy drying my hair before parting it and sectioning it off.

  I had no idea why my sister was giving me an ombre of pink hair, but I said nothing as she did it. Michelle dyed the top few inches the darkest, purest pink, the middle of each strand with the half and half mixture, and the tips with the lightest.

  Apparently my faded mop of hair bothered her? That was a first.

  While the dye sat on my head and stained my hair, Michelle plucked my eyebrows. I tried to push her off, because forcing me to do my hair was bad enough, but it didn’t work. She would not leave me alone.

  “Just let me pluck your eyebrows, Bree,” she hissed, giving me a frown. “I’m not going to overpluck, so you don’t have to worry about having pencils for eyebrows. You’re in good hands.”

  I wasn’t so sure I was in good hands, but I knew, at this point, there was no reason to argue with her. She had me cornered in the bathroom, my head wet with dye, so I might as well sit still and let her act like I was some doll she could practice on.

  As I tried not to wince as she went to work on my face, I muttered, “Why are you doing this?”

  Michelle hummed out, “You’ll see.”

  You’ll see. What the hell did that mean? I really hoped she didn’t think I had any dates planned for tonight. She knew I wasn’t seeing Calum, but I hadn’t told her that I’d broken things off with Mason, too. Then again, I never even yelled at her for texting Mason and making him come over last night.

  I just…I just want to move on, not think about it. Was that so bad?

  After my eyebrows, it was time to bend over the tub and rinse my hair in cool water. Michelle bent over the tub, running her fingers through my hair as she worked the color out until the water ran clear. She grabbed a towel and helped me up, rubbing it along my messy hair before brushing it and drying it yet again. She did not, however, let me stand in front of the mirror.

  Did I look that bad?

  I stayed quiet, biting the inside of my cheek as I let her do whatever else it was she wanted to do to me. Once my hair was dry, she straightened it. No outrageous curls tonight, I guess, which was a good thing. I wasn’t sure I could handle a curly head on my own. My natural hair was kinky, but not straight-up curly.

  Once my hair was done, Michelle grabbed my wrist and tugged me out of the bathroom and across the hall, into my room. She sat me down on my bed as she started going through my closet. It wasn’t too long before she pulled out a pair of leggings I wore more often than not and an oversized beige sweater.

  “Put these on,” she said, a command I could not deny. Mostly because I wanted this, whatever the hell it was, to be over with, and going along with her was just the easiest way. Michelle turned her back to me, but she didn’t leave the room.

  I took off the somewhat smelly clothes I wore and changed into the outfit she’d picked out. Not sure what she was doing now—if she wanted me to look like a Barbie doll, she kind of missed the mark. When she dolled me up for that blind date with Calum, I’d hardly looked like myself.

  “Sit,” she said, gesturing to my bed once I was done, and I did so, running my palms on my leggings, wondering just what the hell this was about.

  Michelle disappeared for only a few moments, retrieving a small makeup bag. She did not plaster my face with makeup as she did before; this time she only focused on my eyes—hiding the black circles beneath and lining them with waterproof eyeliner. Then mascara. No eyeshadow, no blending and contouring. At least she’d learned how to take a step back.

  With my makeup done, she went to get my shoes. My normal black Vans. “Here,” Michelle said, “put these on, then go look in the mirror.”

  I let out a huff. “Why?”

  “Just do it.” Her tone told me she wasn’t going to take any shit from me, so I heaved a sigh and did as she said.

  I slipped my shoes on, then moved to stand before the mirror on top of my dresser. When my eyes met the bright-eyed reflection staring back at me, my breath caught in my lungs. I looked…I looked good, with my hair newly-dyed and just the barest hints of makeup on my face. The concealer covered up any sign of tiredness on my face, and the black around my eyes made the green pop, along with my eyelashes look a hell of a lot longer than they normally were.

  But, beyond that, I looked liked myself, if only a little extra done. I didn’t wear overly fancy clothes; my face wasn’t hidden behind two layers of makeup. I didn’t look like I was Instagram worthy, but I looked like me.

  And, what was even weirder than that, was the thought I had—just for a split-second—as I met my reflection: I didn’t look bad.

  I would never go so far as to say I looked pretty or anything, but…I guess, occasionally, I cleaned up okay.

  I must’ve stared at myself for a while, because I didn’t notice that Michelle had left my room. Mom and Dad were still at work, so the house was quiet…until my sister stood beside me, her reflection checking mine out. She swung a set of keys in her hands. Mine?

  What the hell did she think she was doing with my car? Granted, it was an old thing that Mom and Dad had bought me when I went to SCC, but still.

  “Ready to go?” Michelle asked, and I had no idea what she was talking about. We were going somewhere? Where? Why? A thousand questions rang in my head, but I found I could ask none of them as she hooked her arm through mine and forced me along with her.

  Down the steps we went, out the front door, to my car. Michelle got in the driver’s seat, which led me to sit in the passenger’s side, totally confused as to what was going on. Once she turned the engine on, she flipped through my radio as she buckled her seatbelt.

  “Man,” she whined, “you got nothing good in here, huh?”

  Finally, I found my voice, “What’s going on?”

  She gave me a smile I did not fall for, saying, “You’ll see.”

  I sighed. “Michelle, the last thing I want to do is go out tonight. I…I’m not seeing Mason anymore, either. I just—I just want to sit at home, okay? I don’t want to go out and do anything.” My hair looked good, but I would never give Michelle the satisfaction of knowing I liked her handiwork.

  My little sister let out a chuckle. “Oh, you have no idea what’s about to happen, do you?” Michelle shot me a look, a small smile, as if she knew so
mething I didn’t.

  I might not know a lot of things, but I did know being kept in the dark on purpose was not something I appreciated. Michelle was tight-lipped the rest of the drive, and I stared out the window at the passing scenery with a frown. This sucked.

  But then things started to look vaguely familiar, as if I’d been down these roads before. We drove for a solid twenty minutes, and it was then I wondered if Michelle was somehow taking me to Mason’s place. No, no way. No freaking way. How would she know where he lived? Why would she…I literally just told her that I wasn’t seeing him, didn’t I? What the hell was my sister’s problem?

  It was when she turned into the parking lot of his apartment building that I truly felt like being sick. “Michelle, no. No, take me back home. I—” My voice halted the moment she pulled up along the sidewalk, near the front door. It was a fire lane, so no cars were allowed to park there.

  More specifically, my voice stopped when I saw the cute guy standing with his hands shoved in his pockets near the front door, a small smile on his face, familiar dimples on his cheeks. Mason stood there, his light brown hair being blown by the cold wind, and he came up to the door, causing Michelle to hit the unlock button.

  I threw her a look, my heart nearly beating out of my chest. No. No, no, no. This wasn’t fair. “Why would you bring me here?”

  “Because,” Michelle said, leaning to unbuckle my seatbelt for me, since I made no moves to do it myself, “your boyfriends want to talk to you, and I’m not going to let you screw this up. You were happy before—I saw it. Mom and Dad saw it. You need to get out of this car and face your fears, Bree.”

  I wanted to be sick. “What? No, I—”

  Mason opened the door, offering me his hand, and I swallowed, both wanting to take it and wanting to somehow force Michelle to drive me back home. Shouldn’t Mason be working or in class or something? I mean…what the hell was this?

  Glancing back at my sister, she nodded, giving me a tiny, supportive smile. “Go get ‘em, tiger.” At that, she fully grinned, chuckling at herself.

  Even though it was the scariest thing I’d ever done, I took Mason’s hand, let his fingers curl around mine, and allowed him to lead me into the building as Michelle drove off in my car. Well, now I was stuck with him. Not sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

  As we walked up to his floor, to his apartment, I tried opening my mouth and speaking, tried to ask him just what the hell was going on here, but I found I could not say anything. I had no idea what was going on, if he and Michelle had somehow planned this. Maybe I was dreaming, and this was my mind’s pathetic attempt at making everything right.

  His apartment was unlocked, and he released my hand after he’d opened the door, allowing me to step inside, first. I did, and what I saw was the last thing I expected.

  Or, should I say, who I saw.

  Calum was there, too. He’d been sitting on the couch, but the moment I walked in, he leaped to his feet, staring at me with an expression I could not read. Behind me, Mason came in, shutting the door and locking me in here with the both of them.

  What was going on? Why was Calum here? And Mason…none of this made sense.

  Calum wore a nice button-down shirt, its black color in sharp contrast to the lightness of his hair. His blue eyes radiated a warmth that made me squirm, and I found myself taking a step back, backing myself up into Mason’s chest. That only caused me to jerk away, to put distance between me and Mason, to move to a place in the apartment where I could stand and stare at them both.

  “What is this?” I asked, my voice shaking, trembling with each and every word.

  “This,” Calum spoke, moving to stand beside Mason, “is us not giving up on you, Bree.” He gestured between them, as if they were now friends, or something equally as ridiculous.

  My heart hammered, and I wanted to turn around, to run out of this apartment. My nerves made me want to rush to the bathroom and get sick. My body didn’t know how to react.

  It was Mason’s turn to talk. He glanced at Calum before saying, “Basically, this is us telling you that we don’t accept what you said last night. We’re not done. Neither of us are going to let you push us away—and neither is your sister.” He looked at Calum again, adding, “Remind me to thank your brother for that.”

  So Calum talked to his brother, who then asked Michelle to help? What the heck…did everyone go behind my back to set this up? Why? I really wasn’t worth it.

  My emotions warred inside me, threatening to burst. “Why?” It was all I could say, the only word that would come out.

  The two men met eyes, something unspoken between them, and I stood there, dumbstruck, wondering how the hell this was happening. Surely this had to be a dream. Surely. This couldn’t be real. No frigging way.

  “We’ve discussed that, actually,” Calum spoke, bringing that blue gaze to me, drowning me with the seriousness there.

  “Short version is, we’re both falling in love with you,” Mason said, though his words earned him a scowl from Calum.

  “Dude, I wanted to be the one to tell her—”

  Mason shrugged. “Too late now, isn’t it?”

  They went back and forth for a little while, and I could not believe it. Literally, I couldn’t. Was this some kind of weird joke? Mason didn’t really mean they were both actually falling in love with me, did he?

  If he did…what then? I couldn’t handle this.

  Could I?

  Michelle had told me to face my fears, but this—this might be asking too much of me.

  “Anyway,” Mason went on, waving Calum off, much to his chagrin, “after last night, we came back here and talked. Neither of us want to give you up, Bree, so as long as you’ll have us, you’ll…have us?” Mostly to himself, he added, “That last part I should’ve rehearsed better.”

  “Or let me say it,” Calum muttered. “You talk so much you’re bound to sound stupid eventually.”

  Mason thought on it. “I don’t think that’s how talking works, but maybe I’m wrong—”

  Neither one of them wanted to give me up? What exactly did that mean? I swallowed down my trepidation, gathered my courage, and asked, “What do you mean?” Surely they couldn’t mean what I thought they did.

  This wasn’t a movie, or a TV show. This was my life, and my life never turned out good. Good things didn’t happen to me.

  It was Calum who spoke as he took a step closer to me, “I want you. We both do. We’ve both agreed that we wouldn’t force you to pick between us. We’ll work on any jealousy that arises, but we’ll do it together.” He was so close now, he could reach out and grab one of my hands—and that’s exactly what he did.

  I couldn’t speak, mostly because Mason had started to: “It’s not going to be easy, but the good things in life never are—or so I hear.” He grinned, moving to stand on my other side, gently reaching for my second hand and holding onto it like I was the most fragile, precious thing he’d ever encountered.

  They were falling in love with me. They both wanted me. They wanted to date me at the same time.

  “You look beautiful, by the way,” Calum whispered, reaching up to touch my newly-dyed hair, the ombre of pink. “But you always do, and I know you don’t believe that, so I’ll keep telling you until you do.”

  “And if I never do?” My voice came out in a bare whisper; I felt like my body was shaking. This couldn’t be happening. This…this was a dream; it had to be.

  “Then I guess we’ll have to be extra persistent,” Mason spoke with a grin.

  “You’re not joking?” I asked, afraid that they were. That this strange, beautiful dream would shatter any moment now as I woke up. Could I be happy? Could I date both these men and actually get what I wanted for once?

  Mason gave me a funny look, his dimples softening as he whispered, “Why would we joke about this?”

  “Well, I know why she’d think you were joking,” Calum deadpanned, “but I’m one hundred percent serious.”

>   “So am I,” the other said.

  Both men squeezed the hand they were holding, and I stood there, lost in my thoughts, wondering what the hell I should do. What could I do? I’d tried to put up walls, tried to push both of these men away for their own good and mine, and yet here we were, as if fate itself had bound us together.

  Dating two men would be hard. I’d feel like giving up a lot. Hell, I hadn’t even dated one before. Two…two seemed like an awful lot, and yet, besides being confused as I stood there, beside being frightened beyond all belief, I wasn’t uncomfortable with them. I liked them.

  I…I was falling for them, too.

  Love. I never thought I’d ever love anyone. I’d always assumed it wasn’t in the cards for me, not with my lack of a social life. Could I do this? Could we do this?

  “So,” Mason started, causing me to glance at him. “What do you think?”

  “Yeah, don’t keep us in suspense,” Calum said, giving me a small smile when I turned my eyes upon him.

  What did I think? What the hell could I say? I was scared, terrified that I’d get hurt, that these two would eventually grow to hate me and become tired of constantly reassuring me about us, but…

  But my little sister was right. She’d been right all along. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me live with them forever. Life would change as I got older, and things would refuse to stay the same. My life would be full of terrifying things, new experiences and mistakes, and that was something I couldn’t change. That came hand in hand with living.

  This, them, us—I didn’t know whether we’d last forever. I didn’t know if this could be a forever thing, or if we would crash and burn, but you know what? Surrounded by the two men I cared about, faced with their feelings laid bare and mine wanting to explode from my chest, there was only one thing I could say to them.

  “Yes,” I said, nodding along with the word.

  The atmosphere in the room changed drastically once I spoke, and I could feel the tension leave both men’s bodies. Mason all but leaped for joy, pulling me against his chest as he hugged me, thereby pulling me from Calum.

  “Thank God,” Mason murmured. With my head against his chest, he added, “Can you feel my heart? I thought it was about to burst from my chest.” Just as he said, his heart beat loudly, the steady thumping of it a low melody I could get used to.