Shattered. Like a light bulb bursting open.
"Why…" The older sister looked furiously at her brother in disbelief. "Why did you do that, Sunny!?"
Because of you.
"We all worked hard to get you that, and this is how you repay our friends!? How you repay me!?"
It's always about you.
"How do you expect to explain this to everyone!? All the hours I spent practicing for this duet, all wasted because of you!"
It's your fault.
Sunny attempted to escape by heading down the stairs. He wanted out of the house, to be anywhere but near Mari and her perfection.
But she blocked his way.
"Don't try running away from me! I'm not do-"
"Just leave me alone!"
The anger that had built up for weeks got the better of him, his body losing all of its senses. The sister he loved, the one who always protected him, the look she had as her life flashed in her eyes. Regret hit both of them in that moment.
Bruises marked her skin and splashes of red stained every step she hit, tumbling closer to the bottom. Before her neck could split like the instrument below though, she grabbed a hold of the wooden baluster lining the railing, athleticism from her softball days coming back to her, as her arm popped out of its socket by the pause in inertia.
It hurt like hell, both the physical and emotional pain. She could've sworn she was already dead. But she would not give in.
Mari did not succumb.
The pianist could barely see a figure standing above the stairs, Sunny trembling as his wails rang across the corner of their home, and sensing a shuffle behind her. In her peripheral, she swore she caught the glimpse of something beyond the hallway, with a door slamming shut. When she looked back up, her little brother was gone.
Mari slowly ascended the staircase at a crawl, one excruciating step at a time. A thousand thoughts spun in her mind as she got closer to the top, all until one became crystal clear to her.
I caused this.
Minutes felt like hours, but she was finally back where she last stood. She stumbled up to her feet once more, her already-weak knees wincing in agony. She fought through it though, just like the stairs, limping her way to her and Sunny's room.
She needed to be there for him.
"I'm sorry…"
Sunny's voice… but it wasn't coming from their room. No, Mari staggered left against the wall to the next door over, nearly falling over. It was coming from the bathroom.
She gently opened the door. With the dim light from behind her, the darkness inside was illuminated away in an instant. She could now see everything, her disheveled, black and white reflection in the mirror and the boy under it.
"Sunny…" She let out weakly.
But her brother didn't see or hear her, shielding himself under his arms and between his knees against the cabinet sink.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry…"
The non stop shaking of his body, the quivers in his voice, her little brother was broken. Just like that damn violin. When Mari noticed the bloody blisters along his fingers, it brought more pain to her than that near fatal fall ever could.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry…"
She lowered herself onto the bathroom floor, criss crossing her legs in a careful attempt to not cause anymore strain on her damaged body.
"I'm sorry."
"No…" Mari spoke up once more, her voice weaker than before, but enough to jolt her little brother's attention.
"I'm sorry, Sunny…"
Sunny peaked his eyes up slowly from his arms, processing if what he was seeing and hearing was really her, or something else.
"Mari…?" He asked cautiously.
"Yes, Sunny." She replied.
"Yo-you're stil-" He asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Sunny." She answered before he could finish.
The big sister moved closer as she put her good arm around her little brother, hugging him tighter than she'd ever done before.
"Y-you're really here…" Sunny sobbed on her injured shoulder, still aching in pain, without a care in the world.
"Yes Sunny…" Tears streamed down Mari's face, managing to let out a tender smile as she patted his head. "I'm right here."
By your side.