(A/N - Welcome to Fight or Flight! Just a note before we get started - This whole story is told from Race's perspective. Happy reading!)
I pushed the cereal around in my bowl, watching it get soggy.
"Race, do you need a ride to school?" Katherine asked, packing a lunch for Crutchie.
"No, Spot is picking me up." I responded.
"Ok." She said halfheartedly, putting Crutchie's lunch in his backpack, and running out of the kitchen. She called up the stairs from the living room, "Crutchie! Hurry up or I'll be late for work!"
Katherine worked at the New York Sun. It's one of the oldest papers in the state. She has to commute into the city every day from Jack, Crutchie, and my parents old house where she lives with us in the suburbs every day, but she never complains. She loves her work, and she loves us even more.
"Coming!" Crutchie called down the stairs as he started the balancing act he miraculously did with his bum leg multiple times a day. I never understood how he did it.
He got all the way down the stairs and came into the kitchen, sitting down in the chair across from me at the table.
"Do you want some breakfast, Crutchie?" Katherine asked, still running around the kitchen like a maniac.
"No, I'm fine with an apple." He responded, picking one up from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table and taking a big bite.
"Do you need me to pack you a lunch, Race?" Katherine asked.
"No, I'm fine, Katherine. Thanks." I responded, not wanting to add to her work load.
"Come on, Crutchie. We have to go." She said, picking up her purse from the table and heading towards the door, Crutchie following close behind. I heard the door open, then close, and I got up and dumped my soggy cereal down the sink. Katherine insisted that I eat before school, but I just couldn't eat in the morning.
I heard a car horn honk outside the house, so I grabbed my backpack and ran out the door, locking it behind me. I ran down the driveway to Spots car, finding the passenger door already open when I got there.
"Hey, babe." I said, climbing into the car and pulling the door closed behind me, leaning over the console to kiss my boyfriend.
"Hey." He responded after I pulled away. "How are you?"
"I'm ok." I said solemnly. "Today is the anniversary of my parents death, so it's going to be a tough one."
"I'm sorry, babe." Spot comforted, putting one of his hands on my shoulder.
My parents died five years ago today. They were in a horrible car accident that killed them both instantly. So, since Jack was eighteen, he decided to take care of us himself instead of putting us in foster care. But, about a year ago, he decided to join the Air Force, and he left for his first tour in Iraq a few months ago. So, his girlfriend Katherine moved in with us and takes care of us. We love her, but it hasn't been the same without Jack.
"And I have finals this week, which makes everything worse." I groaned.
"That sucks." Spot responded.
"Your lucky." I said. "Juniors had their finals last week. Sophomores have them this week."
"Babe, I love you, but if you keep complaining about finals, I'm kicking you out of this car." Spot laughed.
"Ok, sorry. I'll stop." I said, still mentally complaining about finals.
"How's Crutchie?" Spot asked. One of the reasons I loved Spot was because he cared for my little brother like he was his own little brother. It was so sweet.
"He's good." I responded. "He's so excited to get out of middle school and start freshman year next year."
As I finished my answer, Spot pulled into a parking space outside our school, and we got out of the car. I walked around to where he was standing next to the driver door and took his hand, and we walked into school together, ready to brave a new day.
~
I walked past Katherine's bedroom after school, hearing faint whispers coming from under the closed door.
"Yeah." She said, and then there was a pause. "Crutchies home. I don't know if Race is yet. Spot was supposed to drop his off." Another pause. I could tell she was on the phone with Jack. I'm surprised she was getting a connection. Normally he could only hold it for a few minutes.
"Yeah." She continued. "I miss you, too. I love yo... Jack? Jack?" And there was a crash.
I knocked on the door, and opened it without even waiting for a response.
"Katherine? Are you ok?" I asked. She was sitting in her bed, head in her hands, and her phone was on the floor on the other side of the room, the screen cracked. I guess that's what the crash was.
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She responded, and I went and sat next to her on her bed.
"I miss him too." I said, hugging her.
"I just miss him so much! He's only been gone a few months... I don't know how much longer I can do this." She cried.
"He'll come back." I promised her. "He always does."
"But what if he doesn't?" She asked. "What if..."
"You can't think like that." I said, cutting her off. "He'll come back."
I looked up at the wall behind me, where Katherine hung all her pictures Jack has drawn over the years. Of her, of Crutchie and I, of my parents... They were all so beautiful and life-like.
"He'll come back." I whispered again, trying to convince myself this time. "He'll come back."
(A/N - I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Fight or Flight, and new chapters should be coming out soon!)