Don't Wait Up
By: Erica
Benji rubbed the small ornament that laid in his palm.
“Hey Joel.. You remember this?”
Joel looked up from his spot on the thin, faded pink carpet. He reached over and took the porcelain piece in his own hand. It was of two small brown mice, sitting together in half a peanut shell. He smiled.
“Aw, where’d you find this? I love this one.”
“I was just looking through the boxes and found it in a corner all wrapped up in paper.” Benji replied.
Joel grinned again. “Mom’s gonna love this. We’re her two little mice in a peanut.”
Benji laughed. “I guess two little peas in a pod is too overused.”
“Yea. Mom’s way too original for that.” Joel cocked his head. “She used to call us her twinkies too.”
Benji sighed. “The good old days.”
Joel leaned back against the couch tiredly. ‘What’s so bad about the new days?”
Benji shrugged. “I dunno. It just seemed like the right thing to say.”
Then they both glanced up as a shadow formed in the doorway.
“Hey Dad.” They both said in unison.
They looked at each other and giggled.
Their dad cleared his throat. “I’ll see you later kids. I’m gonna go to the store for some last minute things. Hurry off to bed Don’t wait up.”
Benji pulled himself up off the floor. “Bye, Dad. See you later.” He went over and hugged his father.
Joel walked over and did the same. “Love you, dad.”
Their dad had an odd sort of sad smile on his face.
“Don’t wait up.” Then he turned around slowly and walked out the door.
They stood there for a moment afterwards.
Finally Benji broke the silence. “Well that was wierd.”
Joel licked his lips. “Yea.. Well, whatever. I’m gonna get on my pajamas.” He started to shuffle toward the bathroom.
“What?!” Benji shouted, “You’re not actually going to bed now are you?!?!”
Joel yelled to be hear through the wooden bathroom door. “Yes! I am! Because I know that you’re going to be screaming at 3:30 and you’re going to wake me u and I’m gonna be really cranky and maybe even be MAD at you!”
Benji made a small squeak. “But but but! You can’t be mad at me! WE’RE TWINS! That’s like clones! And so if you’re mad at me you’re mad at yourself and if you’re mad at yourself you have no self-esteem and if you have no self-esteem you have no self-respect and if you have no self-respect you don’t have anything to live for and if you don’t have anything to live for you’ll kill yourself and if you kill yourself it will be like killing me too!!!!!!!” He finished in one breath, then collapsed onto the floor and breathed deeply.
Joel came out of the bathroom and walked over to Benji. He poked his twin’s stomach with his foot.
Benji giggled. “Stop that!”
Joel moved closer and poked Benji more.
“Poke poke poke poke poke.”
He rolled over and tried to avoid his twin’s relentless poking.
“Joooooe stooooop!” He cried.
Joel made a wierd strangled sound. “Oh.. my... god... YOU CALLED ME JOE!!!” He screamed.
Swallowing, Benji shook his head and tried to speak. “No no no, I meant Joel I’m really so-”
Joel shouted a loud warrior type cry. He pounced on his brother. Benji laughed but tried to stand up, because even though he knew Joel wouldn’t intentionally hurt him, he did get extremely irritated when people got his name wrong, especially if it was his own twin.
He quickly whirled around and threw his lighter brother off him. Joel stumbled for a second, then ran and jumped with a shriek onto Benji and they both toppled to the floor once again.
They both snapped their heads up with a screech as the telephone rang shrilly.
Joel looked down at Benji, then slowly swallowed and pushed himself off. He pointed his finger and mouthed ‘Stay right there!’ The phone rang again and he picked it up .
“Hello?” He asked cautiously.
“Hey Joel.” “Oh, it’s you Mom. Hey, how’d you know it was me?”
“Geez, I’ve only been your mother for 14 years.” He could hear her rolling her eyes, but she laughed. “Listen hon, I’m gonna work the night shift, so I won’t be home till morning. Be good and go to sleep soon. K?”
He nodded by force of habit, then realized she couldn’t see him. “Oh! Yea, sure Mom. Love you. Bye.” Then he heard a click as she hung up.
He gently placed the phone back on it’s cradle.
He turned around and sighed as he said to Benji, “Mom’s working the night shift again. She won’t be home until morning.”
Benji nodded, still on the floor, sitting propped up on his elbows.
“I haven’t forgotten. But I’m really tired. I’m going to bed. Come with me.”
He lazily and quite noisily clunked up the stairs. He turned right and twisted the rusty knob on the door to his and Benji’s room.
He plopped down onto his bed. He glanced around the room, posters covering the unpainted white walls. He sighed and nustled under his soft covers. He listened for the sound of his brother’s footsteps, and when he heard them coming up the stairs, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
---
He blinked his eyes a few times, and stood up. He stumbled forward, then made a loud “Ooof!” as he slammed into a door. He blinked his eyes several more times to adjust to the seemingly ominous darkness. He twisted around, confused. Then he realized he was in a closet type space.
“Hey..” He said. “What am I doing in here?”
He pounded on the door. “Hey, someone open the door.”
He could hear low giggling that seemed to not be far outside the closet door.
He banged louder. “Let me out! Whatever this is, it’s not funny.” The laughed increased slightly in volume. He scrunched up his nose.
“Look I don’t know who you are, but this is not funny at all.”
The laughing just grew louder. He swallowed. He was starting to get scared now. It seemed like all the walls were slowly coming towards him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. he could hear the giggling become even louder, and it sounded like more than one person was doing it. He was definitely frightened now.
“Please let me out!”
The laughing was like hyenas now, and it scared him.
He bit his lip to keep from crying.
The laughing was at an almost unbearable height in volume and it reminded Joel of the roaring of an airplane taking off when you were standing right next to it. He covered his ears but it didn’t work in the least.
He didn’t think it could get any louder but it did, creeping higher and higher and higher. Finally he couldn’t stand it anymore and he let out a blood-curdling scream.
Then all sound ceased, and everything plunged into black.
----
Joel woke with a start. He swallowed, and looked over at the clock on the bedside table. The blinking red letter flashed ‘6:34’.
He sniffed and shuddered despite the warm comforter still surrounding most of his lower body.
“Well that was freaky..” He whispered and looked over at Benji who was shockingly still asleep in the bed beside him. He sighed and pulled his legs over the side of his bed, and stepped onto the cold wood. Shaking his head to fully rid himself of sleep, he opened his door and looked out the picture window at the bottom of the stairs. Only his mother’s car was parked there. He scrunched up his nose and plodded down the stairs. He walked on to the kitchen, but stopped abruptly as he came to the Christmas Tree he and Benj has set up. It was real, and pine needles were falling on the carpet, but it was prettier than the plastic crappy one of previous years.
He started again and ran his hand along the wall and sat down next to his mom, who was bent over at the table, sitting on the one cushioned seat.
“Hey mom.. Merry Christmas.” He said, and sat down next to her.
She made a weird sort of whimpering sound, keeping her head down.
He ran his hand through hr dark hair.
‘You ok, Mom?” He asked, concerned.
She sighed and looked up at him. He instinctively moved back as he saw her red, tear stained face.
He swallowed and wrapped his arms around her. “Mom! What happened?”
She just shook her head and wiped her eyes.
“Oh, Joel.. Your father..”
“What?” He asked, wanting to know. “What about dad?”
“He.. He.. Our room..” She sniffled.
He backed away, and then started to run, and he turned and flew up the stairs, but instead of turning right, he turned left and quickly grabbed the knob and opened the door to his parent’s bedroom. He went in and glanced over at the bed. It was made nicely, pillows fluffed. Then he looked at the dresser. The top was bear. He grabbed a drawer handle and yanked it out. It was totally empty. He continued this with the other 5 drawers. Their was nothing in any of them.
A sick feeling was forming in the pit of his stomach. He screamed and ran out of the room.
He saw Benji in the doorway of their own room, wearing a puzzled expression.
“Dad left!” He screamed.
“Huh?”
”Dad left! He’s gone! For good! Go look in their room!!”
Benji’s mouth opened, and his chin hung down. But he hastily walked over to the bedroom, and shortly after he came back out. He was biting his lip and looking as if he would cry.
“But.. But he couldn’t have just left! I mean he wasn’t the greatest but he wouldn’t have just left us with nothing!” He shouted, and his voice cracked.
Joel tried to speak, but instead he just ran down the stairs, and again stopped at the tree. It somehow reminded him of the relentless laughing, and he had a sudden urge to knock it down. That was what he did. He walked over to it and whacked it hard, and it fell onto the small glass coffee table, which shattered with the force. The flashing angel’s light flickered, then went out. Joel stared at it for a moment, then turned around panting heavily. He was startled to see Benji standing there, and he thought his heart would break at the pained expression on his twin’s face.
He ran over and hugged his brother, then ran over to the bathroom and grabbed a razor.
“I love you Benj, but don’t wait up.”