Emma slung her school backpack over her shoulder and nodded to Adrian. Adrian grabbed Emma's old white backpack that was covered in black sharpie pictures. Emma's black hoodie, ripped up skinny jeans, sports team backpack, and old black converse made her fit the part of a runaway. Adrian shared the look: black jeans, red and black hoodie, red sneakers, and sharpie backpack.
"Emma? Can we switch backpacks? This one… not my style." he looked a bit sheepish as he spoke.
Emma rolled her eyes. "I know, my old backpack is uncool. Fine." they switched backpacks and continued on their search for objects. Adrian emptied the contents of his duffle bag into his backpack, and Emma threw in two of her concert t's, an extra pair of pants, and some others clothing essentials. After the cloth packing was done the teenagers quietly crept out of Emma's room.
It was four in the morning, early enough that the sun hadn't come up. Cash wasn't in sight and Emma hadn't the faintest idea where her mother went. As Emma and Adrian walked through the living room (a place Emma rarely went) they were greeted by a rather disgusting sight. A plate of half-eaten nachos had fallen onto the hardwood floor, the old couch was signed from previous fires and it had jackets piled onto it as if her family had forgotten that they had a coat closet. Beer cans and junk food wrappers littered the floor, crumbs and stale chips coated the coffee table, the tv had a large crack in it, the remote was pushed between couch cushions, and an empty pack of cigarettes sat atop the tv stand. The room was an utter mess! What had Cash done to the place? Adrian looked on with wide eyes. Emma motioned for them to keep going into the kitchen.
Emma opened the cheap white fridge. A few sticky notes of her mom's appointments and work hours, a second-grade drawing of a rainbow from Emma, and cheap football magnets covered the front of the refrigerator. The inside of the food holding device was packed with takeout foods, leftover pizza, string cheeses, beer and soda cans, and some weird mystery meat that was beginning to smell bad. Trying not to touch the mystery meat container, Emma grabbed a handful of cheeses, two bottled glasses of water, the container of leftover fried rice, and four apples from the counter. Emma grabbed two pieces of white bread and tosses one to Adrian. "For breakfast" she whispered.
Walking over to the far corner of the kitchen where the phone was, she opened a drawer and pulled out a glass container filled with spare change and spare dollar bills. The teenager dumped the contents into her backpack's front pockets., next to her green notebook and pack of pencils.
After double-checking their supplies, the two teens exchanged nervous glances and headed for the front door.
"Where are you two going?" Cash's gruff voice rang out in the dark hallway. The lights flicked on and Emilia saw her father, standing in the doorway, with the front door wide open. Emma's eyes widened and she saw Adrian jump. "It's not even five in the morning!" he rolled his eyes and shut the door.
"Why were you outside?" Emma asked accusingly. "Reevaluating your life choices, I hope."
"I went away for a while. Didn't think anyone would care or notice, seeing as none of you want me here." cash's usually harsh and accusing tone was lower pitched and slow, lacking it's usually hurtful blows to one's ego. His whole body was swaying slightly and, Emma noticed with a hint of disgust, He reeked of alcohol.
"You went to that bar again, didn't you?" Emma glared at him for a bit, then turned to Adrian. Common, let's go.
"I asked you a question, Girly. Where do ya think yer going?" Cash grunted and folded his arms, his tall form stood menacingly in front of their exit.
"None of your business, you miserable thug!" she raised her voice just below a shouting level and glared daggers at the man ahead of her.
"You're not trying to leave are ya?" Cash's arms unfolded and he dropped his keys. His once piercing eyes were glazed over and looking wide-eyed at the two teens.
"We are. Hopefully for good, but I'm not usually that lucky." Emma lost her anger as well. Her threatening stance was given up on. "We're running away, Cash."
The man looked stunned. "After all, I've done for you… you're leaving?" his voice suddenly got harder, his accusing tone riled up Emma. "you've messed up my life, Girly! I'm not letting you run off and act like nothing ever happened!"
"Ruined YOUR life!?" Emma gasped in disbelief. The nerve of this guy! "Lemme get this straight… I messed up YOUR life?! I didn't ask for you to run away, or fight with mom, or hate me! That was YOUR choice!" Emma yelled the last sentence.
"And I didn't ask for you to show up on my doorstep! But there you were! And that's the reason yer mother and I started fightin'" Cash swayed a bit and rose a fist up. "I-'ll fight you *hiccup*, Girly! I'll-fight!" the older man started teetering on the balls of his feet, swaying so much Emma was worried he might fall on them.
Adrian's timid voice came softly from behind Emma, "Mr. Waylon? Are you… doing alright?"
"IM FINE!" Cash bellowed. Emma and Adrian jumped and they heard a 'THUMP' from upstairs, followed by hurried footsteps.
Emma growled agitatedly. "I think he woke mom up." she ground out to Adrian.
The hurried footsteps grew louder and louder while the father and daughter glared at each other. "Emma?" the tired voice of Skylar Waylon whispered from behind the teens. When Emma turned around to face her she winced inside. Skylar looked distraught and sluggish. Her dark and sunken features were enhanced with fatigue, and no makeup to hide behind she looked like a zombie. Her eyes were red and puffy and it was easy to tell she'd been crying. Her faded purple bathrobe clung loosely onto her shoulders and she only had one sock on. Her usually groomed hair was a tangled mess.
"Emma, what's happening?" Skylar's gaze shifted from her daughter to Adrian, and finally to cash's wobbling form. "Are you Drunk?" her tone cut through the air, it's accusing tone making the older man wince.
"C- Course not-Sky…" he belched at the end and had to put a hand on the wall beside him to steady himself.
"Can you two have this upcoming argument later? When Adrian and I are out of the house?" Emma said impatiently.
Skylar turned to Emma. "Are you going somewhere? It's not even light outside!"
"We're getting out of here! Away to find out the truth about where we came from!" Emma nearly shouted, her patience wearing very thin now.
"Emma Waylon, Don't say such ridiculous things!" Emma rolled her eyes at the motherly tone. "I gave birth to you, you didn't come from anywhere. And you're NOT running away!"
"LIES!" Cash shouted. Skylar gasped and gave her husband a half warning half pleading look. "We didn't have you!" cash's voice still bellowing throughout the house. "I DIDN'T WANT YOU!"
Skylar's look at Cash turned murderous. "CASH WAYLON YOU HAVE BEEN DRINKING!" the blond stomped towards her husband. "I WANT YOU OUT OF MY HOUSE! OUT!" Skylar opened the front door and started forcefully pushing Cash outside. "YOU'VE has NEVER BEEN THERE FOR ME AND EMMA! ALWAYS RUNNING OFF AND GETTING DRUNK! I WON'T HAVE IT ANYMORE! GET OUT!"
Cash-backed out of the house with his hands up in a placating gesture, tripping over his own feet and falling back down the remaining steps.
Emma and Adrian covered their ears to try and block the screeching. With an almighty 'SLAM', Skylar blasted the door shut and spun around to face the teens. At the sight of them, with their hands over their ears, her gaze softened. "Emma dear," Skylar whispered. Slowly the teens put their hands down.
"How did you find out?" the tone of her mother made Emma almost feel guilty for knowing the truth. Miss Waylon looked heartbroken and fragile, eyes downcast and a pale complexion. "I've tried so hard to hide this from you."
"Dreams." Emma blurted. "Well, visions sort of. Same ones Adrian was having. And you guys have been dropping hints recently." Emma kept going to patch her answer up a bit.
"I'm sorry, miss Waylon. We have to find out." Adrian sighed. "You knew Emma had a brother, didn't you?" when Skylar nodded sadly Adrian continued. "I'm Emma's brother. Wow, that's weird to say…" Adrian almost laughed. Almost.
"I don't know how you plan on getting this information…" Skylar said sadly. "Are you sure you want to leave?"
Emma and Adrian nodded.
"Alright," the woman sounded to resigned and sad! "But lemme tell you my side of the story first."
~~~~~~TimeLapse~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I used to be Sierra Jones. I had an older sister named Nancy. We lived in a tiny apartment in new york. My father was a worker for a newspaper and my mom worked in a coffee shop. My older sister raised me, as my mother and father were never there." Skylar sighed in remembrance, her eyes glazed over with memories past. "My sister found this guy. He seemed… odd. I was skeptical of him from the beginning. His name was Balen Hanson. A college football fanatic with raven black hair that covered his eyes. He always seemed high whenever I saw him. When my mom refused to let them be married, Nancy and Balen ran off together and I never saw them again."
"Just two months later there was a news story circling the web. A twenty-year-old couple, both killed. Balen came home drunk and killed Nancy, once he woke up the next morning and saw what he'd done he committed suicide. My world had crumbled in front of my very eyes. I didn't know what to do, how to possibly go on. I ran away. I ran off to Brooklyn and legally changed my name to Skylar. Just a month later I met this aspiring football player who was getting his degree in mechanics. We fell in love. Cash Waylon was, believe it or not, quite the catch back then. His tall and handsome stature was a lady magnet and his dreamer attitude made me weak in the knees. We eloped and got married just one month after we meet. We got this very apartment and that night I remember talking about what we wanted in our future."
"Cash said he didn't want kids. It made me a bit sad but I agreed, eventually swaying him on his opinion. He changed his mind to make me happy and said that after a few years we might think of adopting a toddler. He didn't want to deal with a baby. We laughed and talked all night long and slept all day the next afternoon."
"Just a week later, as cash was walking out the front door to get to work, he nearly stepped on something that had been put on our doorstep. A baby, about a year old, slumbering happily on our doorstep. Resting on top was a letter…" after she said this, Skylar got up and went to her room. Emma and Adrian exchanged awkward glances and fidgeted until Skylar came back a few minutes later.
"Dear Mrs. and Mr. Waylon," a single tear slid down Skylar's cheek. "I am Katarina Wright, mother of this child and her brother. I have been watching you and your husband over the last week and I would like you to have my little girl. I can no longer take care of her and I hope you can do so for me.
Her name is Emma. her twin brother named Adrian resides at another fortunate newlywed home far from here. Please take care of her as if she were your own daughter! Please give her the opportunity for her to experience normalcy and family!
Please do not come looking for me, as I will most likely have passed away before you read this. I wish you the best, -Katarina"
Skylar put the letter down and took a few deep breaths. "Cash was mad. Of course, he would be! But we had had a big fight that had still been going on and we were at each other's throats. Now he had spun out of control. Of course, i wanted to keep the poor abandoned baby, but Cash would have none of it. He stormed off and I didn't see him again for a week. I decided to get my degree in nursing and get a job so that I could have a steady income while cash was gone. We fought every time he came back and that's how this vicious cycle started. Cash and I always were gone, cash hating you, cash running away, him coming back weeks later and fighting with me, on and on and on until we are where we are now. I guess the moral of the story is don't run away and make life even more difficult for yourself. Or don't get married to the first guy you date. Honestly, there are so many mistakes I've made in the past I can't keep count."
"I might have kicked him out of the house, but I know Cash will return. He's a parasite! But If you two are gone I might have a chance to salvage our relationship." Skylar's teary blue eyes looked up at Emma's brown ones. "It may not seem like it Emma, but I've grown to have a fondness for you. I can't say I love you, I'm sure you can say the same…. Are you sure you want to leave? Because if you do, you can't come back." more tears slid down.
Emma and Adrian exchanged sad glances and at last Emma spoke, "I need to know who I am." her voice was just a whisper but it was full of emotion. Pain, guilt, sorrow, conviction, curiosity, and determination flashed through her chocolate brown eyes.
With a weary nod, Skylar Waylon directed them to the front door, gifting them extra string cheeses and granola bars. And with that, the teens left.