12 years ago

A teenage boy and a bulky, well-muscled man sat at a small round wooden table in the middle of a dingy little kitchen. It was small, with old brown cabinets, a dirty sink, and little counter space. The lights were not on, but the grey light that came through the window seemed to fill the bleak room. The rain hit the single window over and over again, creating a nice soothing background noise, as the two talked.

"I can't,"

"Come one kid, you have to,"

"I can't just leave them here with them."

"They will be fine. Your brother is out of the house. It's just your parents."

"That's what I am worried about."

"Look. Sooner or later you're going to have to start doing things for yourself. You can't just sit around here all your life and protect them-when they don't need protecting. You got potential Grant. What you got shouldn't be wasted."

As the teenage boy was about to give his reply, a young girl rushed into the kitchen. She was small with brown hair that was tied into a messy loose ponytail. Her clothes were loose as well, and did not seem to fit her quite right.

"GRANT!" She squealed, running to the teenager.

As the young girl reached the boy's chair he lifted her up and plopped her on his lap. "You said you would play." She pouts, looking up at her older brother.

"I will in a few minutes," he replies.

"You said we would play superhero now!" she whines.

The older man smiles and gives a little laugh as he watches the two interact.

"What's he doing here?" The little girl asks.

"I'm trying to get your brother to be a real life superhero Cee." The older man says to the girl.

"My brada is going to be a superhero?" The little girl's demeanor immediately changes from pouty to elated.

"If he wants too." The man replies.

"Agent Garret, I don't think-" Grant begins to say but is quickly interrupted by the little girl Cee.

"I want to be a real superhero too!" Cee yells. "I want to help fight bad guys!" the girl makes little fake guns with her hands. "pew…Pew..Pew..I can fight em! I can be his sidekick! " She says, a smile plastering her face.

"Maybe when you're a little older kid." Garret tells her back. "And you're a big strong kid like your brother."

"awwwww…I just…Granty you're going to become a superhero right now though right? Will you Granty? Pwease? Cause then you can take me on adventures and we can go places and-" She says looking up at her older brother.

"You know if you're going to go on adventures with him, you're going to have to practice your own super hero sidekick skills first. Why don't you go do that now. The more practice the better."

"Ok!" Cee hops off her brother's lap and races out of the kitchen, pretending to shoot things with her imaginary hand guns. Grant's eyes do not leave the little girl until she is completely out of view, then he looks back at Agent Garret.

"I'll do it. I'll become an agent."

The sun wasn't even up yet, but Grant was. He slowly made his way through the small dark house, duffle bag over his shoulder, heart beating out of his chest with nerves, hoping his parents wouldn't hear him leaving. He slowly, and carefully walked down the creaky staircase that led straight to the kitchen and back door. He stopped at the bottom and took in the last views of his childhood home. A childhood home he was completely done with. It had been filled with pain, sadness, fear, anger, and more pain. The only thing that had kept him this long was his younger brother, Joshua, and his little sister, Constance. Those would be the only two things he would miss. Everything else, he could part without.

Grant turned towards the door and slowly began to turn the door knob, when he was started by a slight tug on his shirt. For a moment his heart stopped, feeling as if he had been caught by his parents, but then realized his parents wouldn't be tugging at his shirt. He slowly turned around simultaneously placing his bag on the ground. Staring up at him was Constance, Cee for short. She held a ragged old stuffed animal dog in her and her expression was a mix of confusion and tiredness. Grant gave her a weak smile and crouched down to her level, placing a finger to his lips, signaling her to be as quiet as possible.

"Where are you going?" Constance whispers, her little voice echoing through the kitchen.

"I'm going to go be a superhero, remember?" Grant says quietly.

"But, I thought I was going to go with you? I was going to be your sidekick. " She whispers back obviously hurt.

"Not right now you can't. You have to get big and strong first."

"But…but..I am big and strong."

"You have to be even bigger and even stronger."

"but….what…but…I don't want you to go." A small tear rolls down the girl's delicate little face and when Grant sees it he almost wants to go right back up stairs and stay with his sister forever.

"Hey. It's ok. Don't cry," he says wiping the tear off her face, "when you get really big and strong, I'll come back, and we can be superheroes together. You can be my sidekick and we can take down all the evil villains together."

"Really?" Constance whispers becoming just a little happier. Grant nods yes to the young girl.

"I just have to get big and strong, and then you'll come back?" He nods again.

"And I'll be your sidekick?" He nods again.

"You promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay, but take Daisy with you for now." Constance says holding out her ratty stuffed animal dog to her brother. "Daisy can be your sidekick for now. She'll protect you."

"Are you sure?" Grant asks, knowing the dog was quite special to his sister. She nods and he takes the dog into his hand.

"You have to go back to bed now okay?" Grant says.

His sister nods and gives her big brother a nice long hug. She turns away and heads back for the stairs. Before she begins to go up them, she turns back around and whispers to her brother, "Bye Granty," and then begins her slow ascent of the stairs.

Grant smiles and takes his bag of the floor and opens the back door, the little stuffed dog in hand, and leaves without looking back. He was on his way to becoming something important, an agent.

In the story I am thinking Constance, Cee, is about 5 and Ward is about 17 /18. His brother Joshua would be about 13/14 and his older brother Maynard would be in his 20's. Agent Garrett is probably in his 30's. Just letting you all know.

So how did everyone like it? Is it possibly worth continuing? Comment below please!:)