Author's Note:
Today was kinda hectic. I plan on writing chapters in advance, and post them each day, or one every few days. I'm planning on fixing the description, 'cause I was really rushed this morning. I wrote the description while I was getting ready to leave for the day. I was writing, and I looked up, and, suddenly, it was thirty minutes before I had to catch my bus, and it takes me about twenty minutes to do my hair and blah blah blah. Sorry for the pointless ramble. :)
So. That's the first thing I'd like to accomplish before tonight. I'd also like to work on drawing a decent cover photo. I can't draw very well, sadly. But oh well. At least I still have my personality :')
xxx
"How long are you gonna be gone, Sadowey?" Everett asked, standing in the doorway and watching her older brother throw clothes into a bag. The thick, heavy silence in the room could be cut with a knife. She huffed, her cheeks puffing when she did not receive an answer. "If this is about me spillin' my apple juice on your pants this mornin', then you're a bigger kid than I am. Poutin' for no reason." She scowled, her pearly whites glinting in the lamp light.
"Get to bed, Everett. I ain't gonna tell you twice." He said, pointing towards her room, his face flushed with anger, his sandy hair swept up against his forehead. Sweat had started to bead under his eyes. His voice was hoarse from yelling. She stomped her foot and crossed her arms in frustration. "C'mon, Sadowey, you ain't gotta be so mad. They're just some old pants." She hollered, her small hands clenching into fists. Again, he ignored her, flipping through some old, dusty books before placing them in his bag with his clothes. His room was simple and surprisingly organized. Had it not been for the faint, yet familiar, scent of cologne, Everett may have never noticed that her brother stayed in such a room.
His bed was made and his clothes sat either folded in his dresser, or in the hamper near the door. An old pile of school work sat abandoned on the desk. It was the middle of July. School wouldn't start back up until August. The curtains were parted, revealing the early morning sky. Grey clouds splotched against the vast indigo stretch, and the stars were starting to fade. Sadowey's dim lamp lit the room, sending shadows across the walls and floor. Everett stared into the shadows, her heart quickly starting to flutter at the thought of invisible creatures lurking in the shadows. She danced from foot to foot. Her little dance made the floorboards creak. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a little hummingbird.
Her brother strode over to her, and he took her shoulders into his hands roughly. His face was lined with stress, and his shoulders were shaking.
"You'd better go to bed, or I swear to God," He threatened, his fingers gripping at his sister's shoulder bones. She grit her teeth, trying to push his hands away. Tears of frustration had started to form in her eyes. "Y-You'd better tell me where you're goin', or I swear to God!" She screamed, her cheeks rosy. Sadowey relaxed his grip, and he stood, running a hand through his hair. Everett trembled, her lips quivering. "I..I don't even know, Everett. But I can't stay here." He sighed, turning his back to return to packing his bags, his boots thumping against the wooden floor in a grave rhythm as he walked.
Everett wiped at her damp eyes and nose. The painful silence filled the room, again, and Everett found it hard to breathe. The T.V. down the stairs hissed static, and Fetch was asleep on the worn, vomit green couch. His snores shook the house. The clock in the hallway ticked ambiguously, clicking away like a heartbeat. It was two in the morning. Two hours since Sadowey's big fight with Fetch. The fight had woken Everett, and she had galloped down the stairs like a race horse, screaming and stomping until she was heard over the drunken yelling and angry slurs. She didn't understand what they were fighting about. But they fought an awful lot.
Her throat was starting to hurt. She vaguely remembered her mother brewing warm mint tea for sore throats. Everett's mother would make the strong tea for her, and promise to add lots of sugar. It worked better than any kind of cherry lozenge or bitter medicine. Everett absentmindedly rubbed her throat, the thought of her deceased mother weighing her stomach. It had been two months since her mother passed.
"S-So I ain't gonna see you ever again?" she asked softly, looking up at her older brother as he pulled his leather jacket over his broad shoulders, his long arms tugging at the jacket until it fit just right. He looked up. The sweat was gone, and the redness in his face was starting to fade. He smiled gently towards his sister. "'Course you're gonna see me, stupid." He said, brushing his hair with his fingers. "Can't leave you behind. Not with the wolves runnin' around."
He returned to his sister, and he embraced her. She wrapped her slim arms around his neck, inhaling the smell of his cologne and soap. She sighed, never wanting to let go. His body was warm and his hold was gentle."I got a plan, kid. You and I are gonna go fly around the world, and we're never gonna live in a single place. Just you and me." He whispered into her hair. He scooped her into his arms, grinning. "Someone's gotta take you to the rain forest. That's where all the other chimps live. Gonna drop you off so you can live with your own kind." He laughed, throwing his head back. Everett grinned, clinging to her brother's legs when he broke the embrace. He turned to walk down the stairs, his sister releasing his legs.
"When are we gonna go?" She asked excitedly, following him down the stairs. He slung his back across his shoulder as he stomped down the creaky steps. His shoulders lifted and fell. "When I come back, I'll take you with me." He said, looking around. The hallway was dark, the white glow of the roaring T.V. shining through the living room doorway in the hall. Everett sat down on the bottom stair, her chin resting in her palms, and her elbows resting on her knees. "You better hurry back." She mumbled with a yawn, watching with droopy eyes Sadowey flashed her a last smile. He held out his hand, and he locked his pinkie with hers. He held it for a moment, before he released it. "I pinkie promise, kid." He turned his back and he continued down the hall, his boots thumping. The screen door squeaked opened before it clattered shut.
