The town of Jasper lay still in the autumn evening. At 10pm on a Thursday, not much really went on anyway. Not even the stores of the sleepy town ere still open. Which meant no escape for one particular person and her terrified sister.
The eldest daughter in the household pushed her much younger sister into their shared bedroom, locking the door behind them. The 18-year-old turned to the big, brown watery eyes of the five-year-old. The child let out a quiet whimper, to which the oldest shushed gently.
"Keep quiet," she hushed, stroking the mess of dirty blonde hair behind her. "We don't want them to hear us."
The child nodded, clinging to the tattered old teddybear in her arms. Both girls winced at the muffled sound of yelling and fighting from down stairs. Cautiously, the eldest ushered her sister to the bed pressed by the window. Tucking her in, the eldest barely heard the terrified whisper of her sister.
"Why do they fight so much?"
She could list may reasons to her sister; their dad lost his job about three years ago, and was caught on an alcoholic spin. When he was drunk, he often forgot where he was, or who he was with, resulting in these fights. Their mother also played a role, however, and wasn't without blame. She worked long days at the hospital just trying to keep the family afloat. Stress from the job and raising a family was taking it's toll. There had been few times the teen had snuck into the kitchen for a glass of milk and found her mother awake at the table, in an absolute mess while taking some crazy looking pills. The teen didn't want to know what she was on, but what ever it was caused her mother to go out of whack. The teenager looked back ar her sister, seeing a small tear running down her cheek. The teen sighed. How do you answer a question so complex to an innocent little girl, to afraid to go to sleep?
The eldest gently ran her fingers through her sister's curly hair in an attempt to soothe the child's fears. "It's hard to explain, Chloe," the teen sat on the edge of the bed as she continued to pet her sister's head. "There are many reasons why people fight."
"But why do Mommy and Daddy fight so much?"
The teen hesitated before answering with a small smile. "Because they are having a contest to see whose loudest. I think Dad's winning."
Chloe giggled quietly and snuggled deeper into her bed. The teen gently kissed the child's Chloe's forehead.
"Sleep well, Chloe."
"Night, night, Piper!" Chloe murmured, falling into a deep, restful sleep.
Piper sighed and brushed her sandy-colored hair out of her bright green eyes. She rose from her sister's bed and toward her cluttered desk and sat down. Snapping on a dim desk light, Piper began to tinker with the metal scrap and tools that covered her work area. She had always had a knack for mechanics, even when she was Chloe's age. For years, Piper would take apart action toys that made noises, lit up, or moved and put them back together. She was often enlisted to fix other household appliances. It was a gift, her father always said.
But then he turned to the bottle.
Now a days, all Piper ever heard from him was how worthless she, and her mother, were. Many things came into the light after drinking began, including the fact that her father had wanted a son. Instead, he got Piper.
The teen sighed and sat a wrench down, gently pinching the bridge of her nose. She listened to the light of breathing of her sister and closed her eyes. After both of her parents went "crazy" as Chloe put it, Piper had taken to caring for the younger child. Because of this, the two were very close. Piper was the one who taught Chloe how to talk properly, spell her name, and simply to be a child, which meant sacrificing her life as a a teenager. Chloe being in Kindergarden was a lot easier now. Piper didn't have to worry about leaving her kid sister home alone. With a drugged up mother and a drunken father.
The teen snapped her eyes open and stared at the solid cube she had been tinkering with. When finished, she hoped to be able to sell it, maybe make a few bucks to help out around the house. All she had to do was screwing a couple of bolts, attach some wires, and she should be done.
Piper reached at her desk for her small screwdriver, only to discover it missing. Despratly, but quietly, she began to search for the tool with no avil. Then it hit her; she had to repair the blender tonight. And the tool was left downstairs.
Where her parents were still yelling.
Piper hesitated. Was her project worht rsing another run in with her cranky parents? She was so close to finishing the cube she could feel it. Glancing back at the project before her, a feeling of anger began to burn. She shouldn't be afraid of her yelling parents. After all, if she stayed out of their way there wouldn't be trouble. Quietly she rose from her seat and opened the door, winceing when it creaked a little bit. When Piper heard her parents continue to argue, she slipped out quietly and down the stairs. Catching a glimps of her father, she sighed. His dark brown hair was shaggy and a mess. He sported a five o'clock shadow also. Swaying as he yelled, he swung a bottle toward her mother, who was thin, blonde, pale, and sporting angry, bloodshot eyes. What ever drugs she had been taking had clearly worn off. Another flash of anger struck Piper when she heard her mother screaming back. How could her family come to this?
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Piper slowly slipped into the kitchen, grabbing the yellow-handled tool in a flash. As she crept out of the kitchen she ran smack dab into her father. It was then she realized that no yelling had occurred for at least a minute. Angry dark eyes glared at her as she tried to simply walk passed him. Piper quickly found herself grabbed harshly by the arm and pulled back into his face.
"Where are you going?" slurred words growled, the smell of booze heavy on his breath. Piper suddenly felt fear building up, but answered calmly.
"Dad, it's me, Piper. I just came downstairs for my screwdriver. I'll be heading to bed now."
In his disoriented state, her father flung Piper backwards. The teen landed on her side She tried to sit up, but the instant she did she was kicked in her ribcage, sending her back on the floor. Piper hissed in pain, tears prickling her eyes.
"You think you can just do whatever you want, don't you?!" her father's voice roared.
Piper supressed a whimper. Swallowing her fear, she muttered, "I'm sorry."
"You damn well ought to be," her father took another ssig of the Whisky. Piper slowly rose to her knees, trying to catch her breath. Just as she was about to stand, her father whipped around and landed a powerful punch to Piper's right cheek. The teen was down on the floor again, vision blured with un-shed tears.
"And let that teach you some respect," her father spat harshly. He stepped around her, heading toward the door. No doubt he was going to the bar again.
Piper waited until she heard his truck pull out of the driveway and speeding down the road before she made a move. Once she could no longer hear the vehicle, Piper tried to get to her feet, pausing briefly on her knees. Her head was swimming from the force of his fist, and she felt like she had a busted rib. Using the wall, she supported herself as she made her way toward the livingroom. Peering in, she discovered her mother had passed out on the couch. Sighing, Piper eased her way back upstairs and toward the bathroom. When she got inside, she noticed a nasty red mark on her face. It was already starting to bruise. Piper deiceded she didn't want to look at her chest, for fear of what she might find. Quietely, she crept inato the shared bathroom, being careful not to wake Chloe, and snapped the desk light off. She placed the screwdriver she had worked hard to retrieve on her desk before crawling into bed. As she struggled to get comfortable, Piper began to listen to the light breathing of her sister.
"This is no place for her," Piper thought sadly. Not knowing what to do, Piper shifted a final time before wiping a tear that threated to fall. She couldn't break. Chloe needed her to be strong.
God knows her parents wouldn't be. And with that, Piper drifted off into a restless sleep.
Piper's eyes snapped open. She could tell it was early morning; light barely shone through the window. The teen groaned at the pain in her chest and head, last night's events making its way into her memory. Wincing, Piper eased herself on her side to look at her clock. She groaned again when the red numbers flashed 5:30. She willed herself to slowly sit up, wincing at the sudden pain in her ribcage. Piper glanced at her sister, finding the child still asleep in her bed. Sighing with relif, the teen slipped her feet out from her covers and shuffled toward the door. Noticing the bathroom epty, Piper walked and and started the shower. As she cast her pajama top off, Piper caught a glimps of herself in the mirror and supressed a shriek. Her right cheek and eye had turned dark purple-black left ribs were also the same shades. Piper's right upper arm sported five small bruises, right were her father had grabbed her. The teen took a moment to take in the batter sight. It was going to be hard to explain this to Chloe, if she saw. Or anyone in school for that matter.
Slowly, Piper eased into the warm water, wincing the moment the water touched a bruise. As she gingerly bathed she tried to think of something to tell her sister when she saw it. Finding no sutible answer, Piper thought of the next best thing. Hid them. Snapping the water off, the teen quickly dried off and dressed. Wearing a long, light green long sleeved shirt, Piper added a short, loose, gray T-shirt over that. Black leggings and a belt with a pouch completed the look. Now for her face.
Piper stared at the sad reflection in the mirror. Carefully, she opened the medicine cabnet and took out her makeup. She normally reserved makeup for special occasions, but she could make an exception for today.
Dabing foundation all over her face, she tried to cover as much of the bruise as possible. Cover up, powder, her flesh-colored eye shadow, she worked for ten minutes to perfect the look. When she was done, she was pleased to see that it look like nothing had happened to her. Though to be safe, she decided to keep her long bangs over the right half of her face for today, the rest held back by a black headband. Smiling at her work, she cleaned up her mess and went downstairs.
Her mother was gone; she started work much earlier than this. Piper felt her blood run cold when she saw her father passed out in his large chair snoring loudly. Sighting, she snuck into the kitchen and quickly set out supplies for pancakes. It was Chloe's favorite breakfast, and Piper wasn't about to let her sister's mood be spoiled by the events of last night.
It was 6:30 when Piper had finished and once done she went up to wake Chloe. The five-year-old opened her eyes the moment Piper opened the door. Smiling, Chloe jumped out of bed and tackled her sister in a hug.
"Morning, Piper!"
Piper bit her tongue at the pain she felt in her ribs, but didn't deny the hug her sister gave her.
"Morning, Chloe," Piper forced a smile. "Hurry and shower up. I've got breakfast made."
Ten minutes later, a dressed, wet-haired child bounded to the kitchen table. The sister ate together, Piper listening to Chloe's chattering. Saddness crept into the teen; she wished her whole family could be here for this.
After breakfast, Piper did the dishes up while Chloe got her back-pack ready. Piper then helped brush her sister's curly hair, Chloe complaining that it wasn't straight like the teens. Then Piper finished getting her messenger bag ready before the girls left the house, their father still snoring in his chair.
Chloe held Piper's hand and skipped most of the way to the elementary school. Piper kissed her sister's forehead, saying she'd pick her up after school. Once Chloe was inside, Piper sighed before trudging across the street to her highschool.
Students crowded the halls as Piper entered the school. Taking a deep breath, the teen gathered her courage and trudged to her locker. Five minutes before the bell, Piper grabbed the books she needed for her first two classes before weaving her way through the cluster of teens and teachers. While she had no friends here, she knew the school bullies liked to linger in the halls. And today, she wasn't in the mood to tangle with them.
Her first two classes passed slowly, Piper barely hanging on to the lessons of the day. She was too engrossed in her thoughts of the previous night. She knew Chloe couldn't stay there any longer. It was one thing to have her parents yelling around the child. It was another for potential violence to break loose. Pretending to write down notes, she listed possibilities she could do for Chloe. By first break, she had a solution, at least for the weekened.
A camping trip.
While not the most elegant solution, she knew it would be best for Chloe and her to get out for a while. But where would they camp? Racing her brains for a solution, she was jolted from her thoughts when a loud bang of the locker next to hers rang through her ears.
"Where are you going, princess?"
Piper silently swallowed, blood turning to ice as the school bully, Vince, grinned at her, an evil glint in his eye.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Well, I'm thinking that you and I should hang out," he replied smoothly. "I was thinking you and I could chill after school for a while."
"Can't. Sorry," Piper quickly shut her locker and turned to leave. The teen suddenly felt her back pressed hard into the lockers as Vince pinned her there, anger burning in her eyes.
"Look, princess," he snarled. "I don't just ask anyone out you know. So you and I will be having a date tonight. Dinner, a movie, and maybe a drive into the desert."
Piper's heard sank. She had heard rumors of Vince taking girls out and having his way with them. Masking her fear quickly, she glared at him.
"I said, I'm busy, Vince."
Vince slammed his fist into the locker by her head, causing Piper to jump.
"I said, you are going to be there. End of -."
"Leave her be, Vince."
Piper turned her head to see a boy walk up to them. Black shaggy hair and blue eyes glared daggers at the bully. Vince released his pin on Piper and walked up to him.
"You stay out of this, Darby."
The boy scoffed and crossed his arms. "I will. As long as you leave her alone. She already said no; don't make me get the teachers involved again like last time."
Vince snarled at the teen before turning toward Piper. "This isn't over," he growled quietly before pushing past the boy. Piper let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and straightened herself away from the lockers. Before she could turn to leave, she heard the boy speak.
"You okay?"
Piper glanced at him. Nodding silently, he heard her chuckle. It wasn't evil or threatening. It was a warm, true chuckle. It made Piper uneasy.
"I'm sorry about Vince. He can be a real pain sometimes. You're Piper, right?"
Piper nodded again, clinging to the books in her arms.
"I'm Jack. Jack Darby," the boy extened his hand out. Flinching briefly, Piper lightly shook it, mentally kicking herself for being frightened of the guy who had saved her from a bad night on the town.
"Thank you," Piper finally found her voice as she gripped her books tighter.
"No problem," Jack smiled kindly. "Hey, I think we have Algebra 2 together. Mrs. Lewiston, right?" Piper nodded. Jack grinned. "Let me walk you there. Just to make sure Vince isn't just waiting for you."
Piper smiled at the kind offer, glad to finally find a friendly face. While she was sure he would ditch her when the entered the class, Piper was surprised to see he sat next to her. The passed notes back and forth all class, silently getting to know one another. It turned out Jack rode a motorcycle to school, lived only with his mom, and had no siblings. Piper recalled seeing Jack many times hanging out with the japanese exchange student with pink hair. Her name was Miko, she found out. They also hung out with the youngest kid in school. Some genius kid named Raf. Piper told Jack of her family, leaving the abuse and yelling out of the picture. They "talked" about cars, mechanics (Jack claimed he had no idea what she was talking about), and about Jack's "exclusing" science fiction club.
Piper didn't even realize the class had ended when it did, the bell for lunch ringing loudly in their ears. Walking out together, Jack spoke up.
"You know, I think Raf and Miko would love to meet you. If you're not sitting with anyone today."
Piper's eyes lit up, but then remembered it was Friday. She had senior release; only study halls for the remainder of the day. Which meant she could leave and go home early. She always went home early on Friday's; Her father was at the bar, mother at work, and Chloe at school. She'd have the house to herself for a couple of hours.
"I'd love to, Jack," Piper offered a small smile. "But I'm afraid I can't. I've got to get home and get some things done before picking up my sister."
Jack looked a little disappointed but nodded. "Okay. Well, I'll see you around then."
"See ya," Piper said as she turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, she heard Jack calling her.
"Piper, wait!"
Piper whipped around as he came running up with a small, folded piece of paper in his hands.
"This is my cell number. Feel free to text me if Vince gets after you again. Or, if you just wanna talk." he said with a smile.
Piper was touched by his gesture. Taking the piece of paper, she quickly plugged in his number into her contacts and sent a quick message. Jack smiled as he saved her number and they parted ways.
Leaving the school yard, Piper sighed as she started her walk home. Just for an hour, she had a glimps of what it was like to have a real high school life. Happy she made a new friend, her heart sank as she walked up to her house. Empty as always, she let herself in with the spare key. Too much negativity hung in the air. And Piper had had enough.
She didn't know where she would take Chloe, but she knew the child couldn't stay here. Setting her bag by the door, Piper quickly began getting to work. After all, she only had an hour and a half to pack for her sister, and herself.