Thanks for the review!! I would REALLY appreciate more... (hint hint) If you're reading, there's no reason why you can't review...
And sorry I haven't updated in so long. I love this story. I just haven't had the inspiration to keep writing, haha.
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The moment Eve turned 18, she left.
It was summer. She had just graduated from high school, and I had just made it through 10th grade. She barely scraped by with Cs, I had all As. Our parents had pressured her to apply for college. She had applied to one college. She was rejected, but it didn't bother her. She didn't want to go to college.
She had been counting the days for awhile, packing up her stuff. She had tried to leave earlier, but she wasn't a legal adult yet- she couldn't get very far. She had a fake ID, of course, but our parents would have hunted her down. There was no doubt about that.
She packed up her stuff the night before her birthday, shoving clothes, money, and pictures into suitcases. The next morning, she was gone. She left a letter to my parents and a letter to me. She didn't say where she was going, only left her cell phone number, which we already knew.
My parents were shocked. They didn't admit to anyone that Eve was gone. They didn't believe that their perfect Christian daughter would do this.
My mom read the letter to her and my father and cried. I read my letter and didn't say anything.
"Honey, what does your say?" she asked me, wiping her eyes.
"Nothing," I said, folding it up and tucking it in my pocket. "Just that I was a great sister, looked out for her... that sort of thing."
"That was sweet of her," my mother said, breaking down once again.
"What does yours say?" I asked.
"Nothing," my dad answered roughly, his arm around my mom. "Nothing helpful. Why don't you go to bed, Eden?"
It was only 7:30, but I nodded and went upstairs.
I shut my door tightly, pressed blankets against the crack underneath. I looked at the wrapped box on my desk. Inside the pink wrapping paper was a little necklace with a topaz, Eve's birthstone. It was her birthday present. I didn't have a chance to give it to her. I smoothed out my letter, reading it again.
Dear Eden,
I'm sorry I screwed up our family so much. I'm sorry you had to put up with me. But I hate what we believe and I hate how we have to act all the time. I needed to get away from it all.
You were always an amazing sister and you always helped me out. You never seemed mad at me, although I knew how I was affecting your life.
If you ever want to come out and live with me, just call. I will always answer for you. I'll be glad to send you bus ticket, just let me know.
I really am sorry.
Love, love love,
Eve
I folded up the note and put it under my pillow. I was 16.
All summer, I kept myself busy.
My parents fluttered around me like butterflies. They never let me leave without interrogation, never left me alone. "What are you doing, Eden? Where are you going?" they would constantly ask me. "Do you need help? Can I do anything for you?" I wished they would just leave me alone. Without Eve to worry about, they didn't know what to do with themselves. They had to fall back on me, the other daughter.
I had a job. That kept me out of the house 5 days a week for a couple hours. I worked at an ice cream place downtown. It was nice, and friendly, and it paid well. I liked handing a cone of chocolate ice cream to a little boy and watching his face as he smiled.
In that summer, I stopped going to Church with my parents. They would wake me up at 9 for breakfast, then tell me to get ready for 10:30 mass. The first time, I said I was sick. Then it was that I had work, and I couldn't change it, even though I'd arranged for the shift during mass in the morning. I told them I would go at a later mass, but I never did.
I never called Eve. But I thought about her all the time. I missed my sister, as distant as she had been.
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One day at work, a group of kids came in. They were typical stoners from school, everyone knew them. Jason, Kyle, Michaela, and Julia. These were my sister's friends. I knew Julia the best. Sometimes when they weren't doing anything bad, I would sit and watch movies with Eve and Julia, listening to them talk.
Julia grinned at me. I half waved, smiling back. Maybe I would talk to her after work.
Jason, came up to the counter, a half smile on his face. "Hey."
"Hi," I said cautiously. "Can I help you?" I stood at the counter, ice cream scoop in hand.
"You're Eden's sister, right?" he asked lazily. A family with two twin girls got in line behind him.
I nodded. "Yeah. What kind of ice cream do you want?"
He shrugged. "I dunno... where is Eve?"
I shrugged back. "She left." The family behind him rolled their eyes, getting impatient.
"Well... since she's gone, do you wanna hang out with us? We need another Taylor sister for some... special stuff, if you know what I mean."
I didn't know what he meant. I said nothing.
"Mommy, I want rainbow!" The little girl said, tugging on her mom's sweater.
"I want rainbow too..." her twin pulled on the other side of the sweater.
"Look, I'm at work right now. If you want ice cream, order it. If you don't, leave." I said. I was surprised that I'd managed that.
"We'll see you later, then." He walked away, back to his table of friends, rolled his eyes.
They sat at that table for the rest of my shift, watching me work. They goofed around, making inappropriate gestures and cursing. Parents gave them rude and annoyed looks, upset at them for using bad language around their children.
It made me nervous, them sitting there.
When I wasn't helping a customer, I would watch them, wondering if they missed Eve. Were they even that close? What did she tell them? What did they know about her? Jason caught my eye and winked. I turned away quickly.
After my shift, I hung up my apron and shot out of the door, hoping I could get to my car quickly.
They were waiting for me outside the door.
"Hey," Jason said, standing in front of me.
"Hi..." I said, yet again cautious.
"So. Back to Eve," he said. "Where is she?"
"I really don't know."
"Aren't you her sister? He said, incredulously.
"She... left. She didn't tell us where she went," I said quietly, trying to edge past them.
"Aww, poor little Eden Taylor." He smirked, wrapped an arm around my shoulder. It felt gross, sitting there. I tried to shrug it off.
"Whatever," he said "She just promised me something and she never gave it. Maybe you could repay it?"
"Leave her alone," Julia said, rolling her eyes. She shoved his arm off my shoulder. He put it back.
I didn't want to repay it. I didn't have that much money. But I was curious. "What did she promise you?"
"A blow job."
I was shocked. I must have looked it, too.
"Face it, Eden, your sister was a slut. Probably still is. Maybe she's at least getting money for it now."
I pushed his arm off my shoulder forcefully, and slapped him across the face.
"Shut up. Eve wasn't your sister." I pushed him out of the way and went to my car, got in, and pulled out of my parking space. I watched him standing there on the sidewalk, touching his face as the car rolled by.
"BITCH!" he yelled at me. "You're worse than her!" I ignored him and kept driving.
When I got home, I ran up to my room and jumped in the shower, the water blasting full force. I sobbed the whole time, sitting in the tub, water splashing on my face and my hair.
God damn it, Eve. I thought. God damn you.
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Okay! So hopefully another update soon.
