Scott pushed into the kitchen. It was blessedly empty. Thank fucking God. His head throbbed; his vision flickering with spots of bright white with every intake of breath and every beat of his pulse. Nausea was just starting to burn the back of his throat. Wonderful. Yet another migraine.
He decided to name this one Wolverine.
He crossed to the sink, pulling a glass from the drainer. He paused, running his thumb across the scratched yellow sunflowers etched around the glass. One sunflower was missing half its petals.
*scrit...scrit...scrit...*
"...pass the green beans..."
"...could you hand me the Pepsi?..."
"...yeah, and then she said..."
"...and he totally fell and..."
Six voices, five young and one older, mingled with the smell of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, the sound of utensils clinking against dishes, and-
*...scrit...scrit...scrit...*
Scott glared over at Bobby. The fourteen year old stared off into space, thumbnail idly picking at the design on his drinking glass...filled with grape Kool-Aid that was rapidly clouding, ice crystals spreading like lace though its grapey depths.
Geez, couldn't they get through *one* meal without *something* happening?
Scott hooked his toe around the leg of Bobby's chair and gave him a solid jerk. "Hey. Your glass."
"Hmm?" Bobby blinked and looked at the glass of half-slushy Kool-Aid in his hand, "Oops...sorry." Shrugging, he picked up a spoon and took of bite of his drink. Scott rolled his eyes and stabbed into his meatloaf.
There were only five sunflower glasses left. There used to be about twenty or so, back when it was only them. The years had whittled the number down until only a few had survived the growing years of five teenagers. Five.
Scott suddenly felt oddly protective of the drinking glass in his hand as he filled it with water from the tap.
He grabbed the Econo-sized bottle of Advil from its home above the sink; it rattled promises of relief from his headache as he shook out four...then six. He tossed them back, chasing them with a swallow of water, then setting the glass carefully into the empty dishwasher.
There were only five left after all.