I am an idiot I know, should have triple edited before uploading. Ahh well hopefully this next chapter makes up for my lack of noticing important edits. Things are going to start to get interesting, and hopefully if all goes well we can get to the interesting things soon.
Also I realize that the lack of major character description is messing with people a little. Don't worry though, plenty will be coming shortly.
I wanted to mostly focus on getting major plot points and other things started before I spent some time on details. Sorry but I am terrible at multi-tasking when writing.
If you do enjoy this story feel free to follow or favorite or comment/review. =D
Morning Tease- Hannah
I watch my zombie of a sister nurse her mug, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she slowly begins to wake up. I can't help but chuckle at her inability to truly function as a human being before her morning coffee.
"Still not much of a morning's person are we?" I tease her
"shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I'm getting there" she mumbles back, in between sips of her drink.
"Eight years of living together and I don't think I will ever get use to her morning routine" I mutter to myself, as I slowly go about preparing our meager morning meal.
That thought however was not done with me. It reared its head again, forcing a pause in my current activity. "Has it really been 8 years?" I silently ask, my brow furrowing slightly as I contemplate. Looking back over to my big sister, I stop to watch her again, "Seems like just yesterday we met" I muss.
Looking at her however proves to be much more distracting that I anticipated. Her image creating a small spark at first, one that quickly grew much larger, soon becoming a raging fire, before starting to spread. It swept through my head, flooding my brain with a plethora of memories from our life together so far.
All the happy and hopeful moments we had shared up until this point, the close calls and the rare moments of solitude we had. The day she had found me, the time she saved me from a rabid dog, our nights alone in the street, teaching me to read and write, me taking care of her when she got sick, her replaying the favor a year later when I got a fever, the memories rolled on and on. A small reminder of each individual moment we had together.
I smiled sadly as each memory played by, "Eight good years" I whispered.
Amber looked up from her beverage to catch me staring at her and smiling. She raised a curious eye brow in my direction, silently asking if something was wrong.
I shook my head clear before returning to the breakfast I was supposed to be preparing. "Ohhh nothing, just wondering when the last time we did laundry was." I reply quickly, not wanting to reminisce any longer, shaking my head quickly to get it off cloud nine, and back down to reality.
Her eyes quickly drifted to her clothing and then to mine, examining the dust and dirt stains that litter the articles. Her brow furrowed a little, as she saw the layers of built up grime that had accumulated. "hmmmmm I see what you mean", she mussed quietly.
Amber now sufficiently distracted, I quickly returned to the breakfast I was preparing. Eggs and beans. Tried true and tested, this breakfast would see us through till dinner, or next morning's breakfast, should worst come to worst.
Ducking back into the room Amber was sleeping in, I grab the large black back pack currently occupying one of the corners. Lugging it back out to the "kitchen" I delve into its contents, looking for our cooking utensils.
A few minutes of searching later and the pack yielded a small camping stove top, a can of propane, a worn piece of flint and a small frying pan.
I quickly set up the propane stove, lighting it with the flint and an old piece of metal I had found on the ground, before starting to heat our meal up.
The Sizzle of the food cooking filled the room, the smell quickly drawing out hungry growls from both of our stomachs. Amber quickly cleared the top of the packing create she was beside, before clambering over to the backpack and producing two plastic plates, a jug of water, and a couple of metal forks. Setting them all on the packing crate beside her, she once again flopped back onto the cooler, waiting patiently for the food to cook.
A couple minutes later I shut the stove off and brought the pan of now hot food over to our make shift table.
The moment I sat down next to Amber, we tore into the meal together. Neither of us caring much for manners, and only really taking time to properly split the meal. Hunger having long since over ridden the need for politeness.
Minutes later the pan was polished off and the hunger pains had receded. For the moment anyways.
"Ahhhh much better" I sighed contently, as I leaned back in my seat.
"Agreed" replied Amber, leaning back to join me, a satisfied smile marking her face.
"So what's on the agenda today?" I ask, curious as to her plans for us today.
"Ohhhh this and that, make some money, buy some more food, and probably clean this place up a little" she replied gesturing to the area we currently call home.
I grimaced at the thought of cleaning. While the space we occupied may only consist of two rooms, it was far from clean. Every corner was filled with dust and dirt, cracks filled the walls, and paint could be seen peeling all over the place. Even the small window on the far right wall was stained with dust and grime.
The only furniture that populated the rooms, were the cooler/bench we currently sat on, the packing create we use as a table, a small counter top area where we prepare our food, and our "bed", if you can really call the small pile of blankets we sleep on a bed. Even those though, seemed to be covered in a fine layer of dust. Granted the building had been abandoned for nearly 15 years at this point, so it's not as if we could expect much. If anything we should just be grateful that it was still hospitable.
The building itself was a large two story complex that use to be an office building. 15 years ago though the business that owned it went bankrupt and sold the building to the city. The city originally was going to demolish it and make it into a park or something. Fortunately for us though a recession hit and they didn't have the funds to do it.
Now of days it acts as an apartment building of sorts for homeless people. A small gang runs the building, collecting "rent" or a "protection fee" from the people who live here. While the gang itself is fairly large and known to be quite dangerous, so long as you pay each month, don't steal anything from the other people who stay here, and don't cause to much trouble, they leave you well enough alone.
Our room resided on the far right end of the building, on the second floor, it's not the cheapest room but since there is two of us, we needed a little more space. Plus I'm not one to complain about any dry place to sleep, and hey the view defiantly is a point in its favor.
Amber sighs a little beside me, before standing up and starting to clean the dishes we had used. Slowly preparing herself for the long day ahead. For as long as I can remember this was the way we had done things, I prepare the breakfast, Amber cleans up after me. Though part of this routine, I reasoned was Ambers zombie like morning behavior.
I watch Amber as she works, her eyes glazed over, her mind clearly working elsewhere, while her body just goes though the well-rehearsed motions. Plates are washed down with a damp cloth, while the pan is scrubbed using a small bar of soap and a little water. Soon enough all the items are cleaned and placed back into the bag from which they came.
Coming back over to the bench she sits down before flashing me a bright smile and giving me a quick hug. "Thank you for making breakfast munchkin" She says ruffling my hair a little.
I give her a look of distain at her actions, which she simply laughs off. "Love you to" she says with a wink. Before getting up again and going into our bed room.
She reemerges a moment later with her "work clothes" as she calls them. In literal terms all that means is, an old black hoodie is now slung over her shoulder, her raven hair is now tied back into a tight pony tail, and her runners have been laced tightly up and are ready to go.
"I'm going to go quickly run some errands" she explains to me quickly, "While I'm out, could you feed your kitty and take her outside for a little?"
I pale slightly at her question. Milly! I had completely forgotten about her again!
My annoyingly clever sister gives me a smug wink, followed by a quick hug and a kiss to the top of my head. I allow myself to melt a little into her embrace. Letting the warmth of her body calm my nerves. I know what she has to go do, and while it is a necessity for us to live, that doesn't mean I have to like it.
"I'll be back soon" she whispers quietly into my ear. Slowly releasing me from her embrace, pausing slightly to make sure she didn't forget anything, she leans in again.
"Wish me luck" she breaths quietly.
And then she's gone. Already out the door and on her way out of the building, before I even realize it or have time to respond. Leaving nothing behind except silence, a small amount of warmth, and a small cloud of dust that marks where she was seconds before.
I stand there for a few moments, enjoying the silence and the remnants of her hug, before steeling myself and heading out of the room as well. I quickly lock the door behind me, securing it a tight as it can go, before slowly starting to make my way down the hallway.
"Right" grimace to myself, "that little fur ball is not going to be happy with me".