Ok, sorry this took so long. I went on vacation, which I'm still on, but I got bored and decided to write this. My muse kinda died a horrible death so each chapter's been a major challenge to write. So I'll be writing kinda slow for a while. Anyway, read and review. Hussie is the owner of homestuck and my soul.
When I wake up in the morning, I consider cancelling on Kurloz, even though I'd been so interested in hanging out with him. It's my cheek that wakes me, the dull throbbing telling me that my mom bruised it, and the ache in my stomach when I sit up hints at a similar fate. A glance down at my gut confirms it in my shirtless, boxer wearing state. For such a tiny woman, my mother can hit pretty hard. A dull sigh slides from my lungs as I gingerly shift off of the bed and my feet make a dull thud when I land on the cold tiles.
Eridan is still fast asleep on his bunk, and I smile a little, petting his hair out of his face and fixing his blanket. After I made sure that his feet were covered and he was properly tucked in I went to the bathroom, taking a hot shower and brushing my teeth. I make sure to avert my eyes from the purple blotch on my left cheek. It's barely five thirty when I finish my morning ablutions so I decide to make breakfast for everyone. Mom's always been too lazy to cook and Dad is probably already at work. Aranea's the first one to shuffle out of the room she shares with Vriska, rubbing sleepily at her eyes and mumbling the word 'pancakes'.
I grin at her ruffling her messy hair as she passes, wondering for not the first time how she always seems to know what I'm cooking by the smell. I'm serving the elder of my younger sisters breakfast when the youngest sibling stumbles out of the room, grumbling something roughly along the lines of 'good morning' before she to heads for the bathroom and Aranea emerges from the hallway. "Good morning Cronus!" She says cheerfully, towel draped over her shoulders and preventing her wet curls from getting her clean clothes soaked.
"Morning sis. Pancakes are on the table. Butter and syrup to." She practically hops over to the table, sitting down and saying a quick grace before digging in. I shake my head then return to making Vriska's pancakes. She's out of the bathroom by the time I finish, not saying a word of thanks or even a greeting as she passes me again. I don't mind since Vriska has never been much of a morning person. But that just leaves pancakes for Eridan, and I'm slightly worried by the time I've got them finished and waiting on a plate.
With a sigh I head for the bedroom he and I share, shaking my head slowly when I find him still sleeping peacefully. But he needs to eat his breakfast, and even if it is Sunday he can go back to sleep afterwards if he wants. So I sit on the side of the bed, gently shaking my little brother. "Hey, Eridan. Come one little buddy, wake up. It's time for breakfast." I tell him softly. It takes a few moments but finally his purple eyes slowly blink open and rubs them groggily.
"Food?" He mumbles, barely conscious and I smile. "Yeah little man. Pancakes. I made them the way you like." He blinks at me and rolls over a little, eyes closing a second before a snore comes out. I chuckle and rub his back. "Come on lazy bones, up and at 'em. Mom's still asleep I think, with Dad." He makes a soft groaning sound then pushes himself upright, fumbling around for his glasses. I grab them off his nightstand and hand them to him, ruffling his hair again before I stand and stretch. He's still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he follows me out to the kitchen.
I hand him the plate and pat his head before turning to the stove with a raised eyebrow. There had only been a little milk left, enough to make pancakes for my siblings, but the empty bowl of batter proved I would need to find something else for myself. However, from what I'd seen when gathering the ingredients, no one had gone grocery shopping yet and we were low on edible things. Shrugging I grabbed the cooking utensils and washed them, setting them beside the sink to dry. When I finished I turned to find Aranea holding an empty plate and frowning a little. "What about you?" She asked, a slightly stern look on her expression.
I smile as convincingly as I can and pat her head again. "I already ate before you guys woke up." I don't stay for her to read the lie in my face, walking past her and heading for my room. I need to do the shopping, since there isn't anything for dinner and since I have a bit of time to kill before the lunch thing with Kurloz I figure I can do it this morning. It's after I pull on my shoes and my leather jacket and I'm in the bathroom making sure my hair is fixed up when I notice what's there. Or rather, what should be there and isn't.
I clearly remember getting the crap beat out of me at lunch on Friday, yet Sunday there isn't a trace of the black eye or split lip that should be on my face. For that matter, the only thing that hurts right now is my cheek and my stomach where my mom hit me. After my trip to Kurloz's house. "Huh. Weird." I shrug it off, not particularly caring about it right now since my mind was mostly focused on purchasing food for my younger siblings. Dressed and ready I headed for Dad's and my secret stash, the little jar we hid all the grocery money in so mom didn't spend it on booze.
It had a couple hundred dollars and I grinned as I reburied the jar in the flower garden, then watered the plants. Mom hated the flowers with a passion and never went near them. So she never noticed the freshly dug earth and I always made sure to water right after to cover any traces. It was sad though, that we had to do this to make sure we could feed the younger ones. I'm turning to walk up the road when I hear a loud slam and Eridan comes running towards me, panic in his eyes. "Mom's aw-wake. Can I come w-with you?"
I sigh and nod, ruffling my kid brother's hair and heading up the road. It's a long walk to the grocery store and I figure it'd probably be a good idea to have some extra hands to carry the bags back. The rest of the morning is fun, and quiet. Eridan doesn't talk much, mostly hiding behind his scarf as we shop but that's ok. He's smiling and that means he's enjoying himself so I don't worry about his silence too much. As a bonus, by the time we wander back through the front door of the house, Mom has gone out to see a friend and the girls are watching a romantic movie.
No one comments on the bruise covering my cheek and I'm glad of that, not wanting them to worry about me. I'm almost done putting the groceries away when my phone buzzes. I frown, pulling it out then grinning when I see who's texted me.
Hey there. You're still coming over right? :o)
Yeah. I just have to put awvay groceries then I'll be on my wvay.
Alright brother, see you in a bit then :o)
My mood further heightened I slip my phone back in my pocket and finish putting the groceries away. Eridan has joined the girls with popcorn by the time I'm done and head out to the front door. "Hey, I'm going over to a friend's house for a bit. Aranea's in charge till Dad gets home." They mostly ignore me but I can see Aranea's thumbs up and take it as assent. If asked, I will deny the skip in my step as I walked out the door and headed for Kurloz' house.