"So are you saying that because we were born dead Mykah, Stef, and I are connected to each other?" Shennan asked as Isaac and her walked back into the living room where her father was still talking to Stefani, Taylor, and Mykah.
Mr. Launders looked up at her and nodded. "Yes, that's what I've been saying."
Shennan nodded her head also and sat down. Isaac sat next to her.
She smiled at him and then turned to her father. "Then why didn't Mykah and I have the nightmares before? Why now? What's so special about this certain time and place?"
"Well, I think that it's because when you saw Stefani that it jarred some memories. But with Mykah, I think that with you the connection wasn't really strong enough to get to you both since you don't have the same mother. But when you two came near Stefani and got close again it made the connection too strong for your minds to handle." Mr. Launders tried to explain.
"So for this to stop, one of us has to be gone?" Stefani asked cautiously. Fearing that she would lose a member of her family.
Silence filled the room, giving them the answer.
Shennan jumped up. "That's not right!" She shouted, looking angrily at her father. Pain was clearly evident in them. "Tell me that what Stef said is not true." She begged.
More silence, the answer right there.
"Father, please?" She pleaded in a hoarse whisper. Tears were threatening to spill over any second now.
She looked at Stefani and then at Mykah. He instantly clung to her leg.
Quickly she picked him up. A lonely tear ran down her cheek, and she wiped it away before anyone noticed it.
"Okay, Father." She said calmly and slowly. "If that's the way it's got to be. Choose." She stated simply.
"What?!" Everyone asked at the same time. They all stared at her waiting for an explanation.
Shennan shrugged uncaringly and set Mykah down. "If one of us can't be around the other two Father, choose one of us to leave." She said simply, as if it didn't mean a thing to her.
"Do you honestly think that it's that simple?" Stefani inquired, her lower lip quivering slightly.
Mr. Launders eyed Shennan. "She knows it's not, Stef. She's trying to be brave for everyone. " He explained gently.
Stefani got angry and marched over to her. Standing face to face she said, "You are a part of this family. So is Mykah, and so am I. It does not work without one of us here." She said sternly.
Shennan looked at her twin sister. In her heart she knew that she was right. She couldn't imagine her family now without Mykah or Stefani in it. But in her head she knew that they couldn't stay together.
"Okay then Stef," She said coolly, crossing her arms in front of her and staring back. "Do you want these nightmares? 'Cause I don't. Do you want to be doing stuff without realizing it? 'Cause I don't." She said calmly.
She looked at her father accusingly. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? Why didn't you think of this before you brought Mykah and I here? Why are you doing this? You knew we'd get attached, and you knew we'd have the nightmares. Yet you wanted us to so that you could get re-married. How selfish are you?" She asked harshly. Her eyes were cold as ice but she was at her boiling point.
Staring at her, Mr. Launders replied, "What parent wants to admits that there is something wrong with their child?" He asked hoarsely. "I know it was wrong of me to bring you three together. But I needed you to meet."
"There may be a way that all three of you to be together and not have any nightmares. Or the nightmares might not happen all the time. Or you doing things without realizing them."
Stefani looked at him. "Please continue." She said as she turned back to Shennan.
"Well, you still will have the nightmares, but you may not have them often. But you will have them periodically. Maybe like once or twice a month. Maybe not even have any one month, but the next month you might have them everyday, and then like two the next month." Mr. Launders said as he fidgeted with the zipper on his sweater.
Shennan sat down next to Isaac with Mykah on her lap. Instantly Isaac wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Smiling weakly at him she replied, "You don't need to be strong for me." She said softly in his ear. "I need to be strong for them." She said motioning to Stefani, Mykah, and even her father.
Mykah got up and went to Stefani. He gave her a hug and a tear slid down her cheek. She hugged him back and knelt before him. Kissing him on the cheek she whispered something in his ear that no one caught.
Leaning into her, he replied to her, "I know I don't need to be strong for you. But you can't always handle all of the load." He whispered into her ear. "Share the load with me." He ordered gently.
She nodded her head as Isaac held her now with both of his arms around her. Almost like a barrier. She thought to herself as she placed a hand on his arm.
He's trying to block out all the pain. She smiled to herself at the thought of not having to carry the entire load this time. Relieved that she didn't, because she was afraid she might not be able to even lift it up.
After a few moments of silence Mr. Launders spoke up again. "Your girls' birthday is coming up, and you get your permit soon. So what do you want as presents?" He asked.
Shennan stared at him in awe. He was talking of birthdays and presents when one of them might have to move away so that they can rid of the nightmares. She looked around her. Everyone was silent.
Am I the only one here that thinks that that is wrong? She asked herself.
Stefani shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know yet. I think I need some more time." She said as she got up and left.
Taylor stared after her. Debating or not if he should go after her. He decided that he should and he did.
Mykah left also. He trudged upstairs with Shennan in wonderment about him.
Mr. Launders looked at her and Isaac and then he left also.
"I wonder who's going to be picked to leave." Shennan said as she got up and left the room quickly too.
Isaac was too shocked to move. He wondered who it was going to be too. His guess was Shennan, since she seemed to be the one to give up almost everything, and devote her time to make sure that she had kept her family safe and protected and happy.
"Shennan?" Stefani called out. She woke up an hour ago and couldn't go back to sleep. So she decided to see if Shannon was awake, and if she felt like talking.
No answer came. Hmm. Weird. She thought, as she stood up and went over to her bed. "Shennan?" She whispered loudly.
Still no answer, she pulled the covers back on Shennan's bed and Shennan wasn't there. Panicking she fumbled around and noticed that her stuff was still there.
Still, Stefani was scared, and she went downstairs and looked around for her sister.
Shennan wasn't down there so she went outside to have a look around. She wasn't in the hammock, the tree house, or anywhere in the back yard.
At this point Stefani was getting more scared by the minute.
She went back inside and up to her room. Picking up her phone she dialed the familiar seven digits of the Hanson's number. Mr. Hanson picked up the phone. He had to have been up because he didn't sound like he had just woken up.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Hello, Mr. Hanson." Stefani said a little uneasy. "Can I speak to Taylor? Its very important." She said urgently.
"Yeah, hold on." Mr. Hanson said as he called for Taylor.
Stefani checked her clock for the time. It was almost midnight And they are still up? She was startled out of her thoughts by Taylor's hyper voice.
"Yea?" He asked.
"Taylor, quick is Isaac there?" She asked frantically.
"Yeah, he's standing right here. Why?" Taylor asked slightly confused by the question.
"Is Shennan there?"
"Why would she be here?" He asked only getting more confused.
"Because she's not here!" Stefani said loudly. She slapped her hand over her mouth to quiet herself. She didn't want to wake her parents and have Shennan get caught.
"Are you sure she's not in the back yard somewhere?" Taylor asked growing concerned.
"I'm positive." She whispered fiercely. "She's not here, and she's not there. Where is she?" She asked him.
Taylor sighed. "Like I know. Wait, let me ask Ike. He might know."
Stefani was silent as she heard Taylor ask Isaac a few questions.
"Stef?" Taylor asked a few minutes later.
"Yeah, I'm still here." She said trying to calm herself down. She saw lightening strike in the distance. Then the thunder rolled after.
"Ike said he didn't know where she might be exactly, but he does have an idea. He's going to go look for her now, okay?" Taylor asked.
"Okay. Thanks." She said softly. She didn't even wait for a reply; she just hung up and stared out the window. "Please be okay." She said softly.
