Sleepless

by Aviaries

Wren tried to take everything in. She tried to live life to the fullest, even if she knew it was all self-destructive. But drinking? Drinking was her way of coping, and at the end of the night, Wren had nothing but a distant sister, a drunk roommate, and no way out of Nebraska.

Wren was tired of this.

She was tired of thinking about her mom, and Cath, and her dad. She was always the cool one, the collected one, the one who didn't cry. Right now, she wished she were Cath.

As mean as it was, Cath cried a lot. No one thought it was out of character because Cath had acted inwards. She was the one who had had the slow start, the disadvantage from the very beginning. Cath was the one who had to be dragged around. And Wren had to be the other, the independent, the one without the brains her sister had.

Why were she and Cath so different? They had both grown up the same way. Was it their brains? Did Wren inherit too much of their mom? Of Laura? Their dad needed help, but their mom? She had walked out on them when they were kids.

Wren lay under her warm blankets, which in the moment, felt like a burden on her chest. Courtney was passed out on her own bed, snoring somewhat.

Wren ignored her.

If Cath and her were really so different, why did Wren have to be the not crazy one? Wren was crazy. But Cath was hurt more. Wren wouldn't let things get to her, even if they did. They tried to crack her foundation, they tried to catch her off guard. But Wren knew better. She knew that letting her mom back into her life was something she didn't have to do, but she did it anyways. She did it because she believed that maybe their mom had changed. Laura wasn't like that. She had walked out on them, and any moment now, she could walk out on Wren. Why? Because she was fancy and had a new family. But Wren couldn't forget the mom she had once loved, even if Laura snapped at them all the time. Even if Laura was her own brand of crazy, Wren would try to love her.

Wren tried to take everything in. She tried to live life to the fullest, even if she knew it was all self-destructive. But drinking? Drinking was her way of coping, and at the end of the night, Wren had nothing but a distant sister, a drunk roommate, and no way out of Nebraska. One day, this would all be behind her, but until then, she was a danger to herself. It was no wonder Cath was getting along in life and she wasn't. It was because Cath was stronger than she thought, and Wren was just as strong as she knew she was.