A/N: So sorry for not updating my other stories! This story is just something light; something to keep my preoccupied. Hope you like it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rain hit hard on the glass window, and my hazel eyes watched as it trickled down the pane. We were caught by another bump, and I was shoved forward, and my hands automatically reached out and pushed. "Sorry 'bout that," Pops said from the front seat, his dark eyes flickering towards mine in the rear view mirror. I gave him a quick smile, just to show him that I was okay. "Lookie! The trees are SO green!" I smiled at Hunter beside me, who looked genuinely amazed by the greenness of the Orlando forest. I reached over and fluffed his sandy brown hair, and he gave me a toothy grin. Before I could reply on how the green indeed looked spectacular, we lurched forward again, and my seatbelt caught in my throat. Pops didn't seem to notice his lack of driving skills, he just grinned out the window, "We're home," he said in his Southern accent. I looked out the window, past the now fading rain, and saw the house I hadn't seen all summer. The blue paint looked the same, and the door was still brown as ever. The grass was growing longer by the minute, but I liked it like that. The small tree house Pops had set up a few years back was still standing. I could see it's wooden structure from the car, it peeping from the back of out house. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy," Hunter jiggled with his seat belt, trying to get it unlatched. I unbuckled it for him, and in a moment, the boy was running straight to the house. He pounded on the door, and gestured for Pops to hurry up and open it. Pops laughed and took out his keys, making a huge show of inserting it into the brass lock and twisting, while Hunter looked like he was about to pee. I smiled, still inside the car. Hunter had now vanished into the house, and Pops was gesturing for me to come. We seemed like a normal, typical, happy family. That is, until night would settle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What do you think?
Thanks y'all! :3 I felt like it. .-. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He would enter our home quietly, and it was a nice gesture, I'll give him that. But no matter how silently he would creep up the wooden floor, my eyes would always fly open, my heart thudding in my chest. I would lay there, not even bothering to breath. Slowly, I would hear the door open and close, and the sound of him falling senseless into his bed would sound. I would shut my eyes, pleading and praying that this was all a dream. It never was. The night we arrived back from our trip held hope and faith in my heart. Maybe things were different now. He had stopped doing so our vacation. No sounds of the wood panels creaking from a long night out bothered me the whole summer. I had almost completely forgotten about it, too engrossed in my game of Monopoly. Hunter was exceptionally good in this game, and he yelled, "HOTEL ON BOARDWALK!" that night. Pops then laughed, a good, hearty laugh, and I placed the little red plastic toy on the property. Five minutes later, Hunter had us all in ruins, and therefore, he won the game. "Great game, kiddos," Pops stretched out on the cotton sofa, before standing up. "Look, I said I would meet a couple of friends for desert, you wouldn't mind being alone?" he said, casually. My heart froze. No no no no. My smile slowly dropped and I saw him staring at me, waiting for an answer. I knew he would go even if I said no. "Sure," I said through gritted teeth, and I glanced to see if Hunter was listening. He wasn't, thank God, he was too busy counting all the money won. "Thanks Kaiy," he shot me a smile, and I resisted the urge to glare at him. Hate bubbled inside of me as I watched him practically skip to grab his jacket and his keys. "Bye, dears!" he said rather cheerfully, and my eyes narrowed. The door slammed shut, and within a few moments, I heard his car revving up. I sighed, taking a peek at Hunter. He was now playing with the different mini figures. I smiled a sad smile, and walked over to him. "Hey Hunt?" I said, squatting beside him and picking up the small hat piece. "Yup?" he said, playing with the dog figurine. A pang of agony shot through me. I couldn't tell him. I couldn't tell him not to wake up in the middle of the night, because he would be scarred of what he would see. "You wanna sleep in my room?" I suggested instead. It was easier to keep track of him if he was in the same room as me. At least I could keep track if he awoke. I guess I wouldn't get any sleep tonight. "Sure!" I helped Hunter keep everything up and prepare his bed. I made him a peanut butter sandwich, like Mom used to make for us. It was about 10:00 when we finally crashed, and I lay in bed, hearing Hunter's breathing echo throughout my room. Suddenly, the breathing ceased, and I heard him sigh. "Kailey?" he whispered. I crawled to him and leaned in, all ears. "Where's Dad?" My whole body stiffened ad the question, and I prayed the darkness eveloped me enough that he didn't see my horror-struck face "He-He had something to attend to," I said as innocently as I could. "He isn't home again. Like he wasn't before," he said softly. So he had noticed. I closed my eyes and tried breathed normally. I couldn't tell him. It was too much for an eight-year-old to bear. "He's been really busy. Paying for bills and food," I trailed off, the lies getting to me. Pops never did any of these things. I've seen the papers piled up in his study, demanding the payment of bills. I've heard the voicemails from companies threatening all sorts of things. I've seen our lights flicker occasionally, about to disperse at any moment. "Yeah," he paused for a while, "I wish Mom was here." I shut my eyes. I would not let him see me cry. I would not let him see me cry. "I wish that too," I whispered back a few heartbeats later, but Hunter had already fallen back to sleep. Finally, I allowed the tears to flow. I was sixteen, turning seventeen in month. How was I supposed to live like this? Dad gone every night, the bills piling up every day. The whole thing was so STUPID. He spent our money of that stupid vacation, when I could have stayed home and gotten a part time job, maybe paying for a few bills, at least. I was graduating this year. I was a Senior now. When I graduate, who's going to pay for college? What's going to happen to Hunter when I'm away? I can't leave him like this.. The door slammed open and shut, and I froze, as usual. I checked my watch. 11:39. He was earlier than usual. But this time, his façade was different. I heard the slamming of cabinets and the breaking of fine china. This was normal- him breaking things, but it seemed..angier this time. More vicious. I prayed that Hunter couldn't hear him, that he would be well deep in his dream land. The crashing continued, and I was there to hear everything. The cuss words, the sobs, everything was ringing clearly in my ears. It was about 1:15 when he finally stopped screaming and thrashing. I heard the creak of the steps and I heard him pass my room, seeing his shadow from under my door. Then it was silent. School began the next day, and I didn't know what to expect. Another addition to my already stressful responsibilities, maybe. I fell asleep with one question probing my mind: were we going to live like this forever? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And I won't let you go, Now you know, That I've been crazy for you all this time, I've kept it close, Always hoping, With my heart on firee, That song has been stuck in my head. Ever since I watched LOL <3 *fangirl*
Because I'm happy. :3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My eyes popped open, and I was greeted by the warm stream of sunlight shining through my curtained windows. My fists were clenched at either of my sides, and my whole body felt stiff and rigid. A vibration woke me up even more, and I found that it had come from underneath my pillow. I reached under and grabbed my gleaming cellphone, where it buzzed and sounded noiselessly in my hand. Groaning, I answered it, "Hello?" "KAAAAAAAAAILEY, DARLIIIIIIING!!!!!!" A voice went off in my ear, and I held my phone an arms length away, wincing. After the noise ceased, I returned the phone to my ear and replied, "Yes, Sophie, I can hear you." She giggled on the other end, "What're you wearing today?" Today? Oh right, first day of school. I stood up, my legs groaning and stretching in protest, and moved to my closet. Clothes from over the years were littered around, and I knew that I couldn't fit in half of these clothes. I picked up a stray hoodie and fiddled with it's cloth, "I dunno. Probably a hoodie and jeans." I could imagine her face as she would wrinkle her nose in disgust at my lack of fashion sense. "Come ON, Kaiy. Wear a dress or a a spaghetti or a tank top or heck, lingerie!" she cried. I rolled my eyes, "You know I'm not girly," I scoffed for effect. She groaned, "So? At least wear shorts with that hoodie. God, no jeans. We aren't in a freaking convent." With that, she clicked off, and I was left staring at my phone. Shrugging, I decided, why not? Throwing the blue Abercrombie hoodie over my head, I dug around for a bit for some nice shorts. I eventually found some decent pink shorts, which I knew Sophie would be please to see me wear. It fit perfectly, and I threw in some All-Stars to finish the look. I wouldn't go that far to put on make-up, but I fixed my hair a bit and sprayed my Gap perfume from a few years back. As I walked over to my bed side table to grab my bag, I stepped on something, and a sharp pain jolted through my body. "Stupid--what the--holy--" I swore, hopping on one foot, and rubbing the swollen place. I bent down and retrieved the culprit: a small silver mini figure of a dog, like the one Hunter was playing with last night. Hunter. My eyes darted to the other bed, where only a tangle of blankets lay. I used my colorful language again, rushing out of the door. I bolted down the stairs, hoping and praying that he wasn't- "Kailey." I froze, and turned slowly to the man standing in the middle of the living room. His eyes were red and his mouth was twisted into a frown. "Where's Hunter?" I blurted out, suddenly terrified of this unstable man. "He's upstairs, I assume. I have not seen him yet," he said formally. Praise the heavens for that, I thought as I stared at the mess before me. Glass shards were strewn all over the place, even a few reaching to where I was standing. Beer, water and some mystery juice, was spilled all over. Pictures were crooked, sofas were upturned, and-are those rats?! I slowly met my eyes back to my so-called father, who stared at mine with seemingly mock amusement. "Wind?" he suggested cockily. We both knew what happened. At least, he knew I had my suspicions. He was taunting me. Taunting me to something. To protest. But I didn't. My mind was too warped up in my worries that I didn't say anything. "I-I'll go to Hunter," before he could say anything else, I bolted up the stairs, and dashed directly to Hunter's room. There he was, playing with the mini figures, much like the one I had stepped on. I rushed to him and gave him a hug. He was already changed for school, with his hair neatly combed and his shoes shiny. I checked my watch. I had thirty minutes before first bell rang. Twenty minutes till Hunter's school started. "Hunt? Wanna stop by Taco's? For breakfast?" maybe I could dig up some spare change somewhere. His face lit up, "Sure!" God, I'd give anything to see that face light up. I'd give him all the Taco's in the world for that look. I disappeared into my room and came back with some money for Taco's and my lunch. Hunter's lunch had been prepared by his school and bless their souls for that. I stuffed the change into my pocket and lifted Hunter off the ground. He had grown heavier over the summer, but I still was able to carry him. He grab his small knapsack and we left his room. "Why're you carrying me?" he asked, puzzled. "Uh-" what could I say? Because I'm afraid that you might step on one of the glass shards Pops left around last night? "Let's play Peek-A-Boo," I changed the topic quickly, as I travelled down the first flight of stairs. He didn't seem to notice my subject change, "Okay! Peek-aaaa" I sprinted towards the door and opened it with surprising ease. "Boo!" We were out. Hunter would not need to see that horrific scene in the living room. I laughed, carefree at last, and brought him to Taco's, where he bought a taco and some Coke. He used half of my lunch money, but I didn't mind. I was too happy seeing that look on his face. We made it to his school on the dot, and I quickly dropped him and gave him some candy I found free at the doctor's office in our vacation last week. "Here you go, champ," I said, handing him the candy and kissing his forehead. I waved good-bye and saw him disappear into the crowd of grade schoolers. Once I was free, I took off, passing a quick shortcut. My insides sighed with relief as I spied the familiar red brick building I hadn't seen in two months. I slammed into the doors and was greeted with the familiar smell of papers and newly opened textbooks. And no people. "Ms. Miller," a voice echoed. I checked my watch. ****. I was late. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eh. What do you think? Critique is welcomed. :>
HEY BER! I READ YOUR STORY NOW, HAPPY? Love itt Oh, and HAHAHHA I REMEMBER HARRY'S TAC-O'S WHEN I READ THATT BUMP THIS