Riley groaned and rolled over on her stomach, smacking the snooze button on her annoying alarm clock as she did, then rolled onto her back with a sigh. She stared at the ceiling for about tens minutes, though she wasn't counting, then rolled out of bed with another sigh before heading for her door. As she walked out into the hall, she was glad to find the house was quiet for once in the morning. Usually her parents were downstairs laughing it up with their dealer. A smile crossed over her face as she walked into her brother's room and found him sprawled out on his bed in what seemed like an uncomfortable position. She tiptoed over to the bed, and then jumped on him, butt-slamming him into his bed.
Eli awoke with a start and looked up at Riley, his sister and he surpressed a groan, "What?" He asked groggily. He ran a hand through his bed-tosseled black hair and looked at his sister silently. He blinked and used the tip of his finger to remove some sleep form the corners of his eyes and blinked a few more times before yawing so largely, he almost fell back into the blankets. He turned his eyes back to his sister, penetrating green bore into hers. He blinked again, awaiting her answer. Eli sat there, as he did, he could hear how quiet the house was, there wasn't a sound of their parents laughing it up, like they normally did in the morning, he was grateful though, at least Mai wouldn't have to put up with that this early.
Riley giggled softly kissed the top of his head before stand up, planting her feet on his wooden floor. "It's time to get up and get ready for school Eli. And you better hurry up. I don't want to make Mai late for school again. You know how snippy her teacher gets with her." She said softly so she wouldn't wake up her parents, then walked out of the room. Across the empty dark hall was her little sister's room, filled with stuffed animals and light pink paint covered walls. Riley did her best to make Mai's room as happy and cheerful as possible. "Oh little Mai?" she whispered as she approached her sister's bed. She laughed softly. "Is my little sister in that bed somewhere, Mr. Stuffikins?" She asked the stuffed bear that was on top of the pile of stuffed animals that sat on Mai's little bed.
"Yes, I do know how she gets." Eli said and nodded. He got up and moved sluggishly towards the bathroom, to start getting ready for another day at school. He didn't want to make Mai late, he didn't want her days to be filled with nagging teachers, like his own were most days.
Mai giggeled cutely hearing her sister talk to her bear and she clamped small hands over her mouth, reminding her mouth that it needed to be quiet and not give away her spot under the blankets as she laid there, awaiting Riley's finding of her. She remained still in her little bed, she neither wanted to give her position of hidding away from Riley, or her sleeping parents. She had becomed frightened of them over the years and only trusted Riley and Eli now. Everybody else that was an adult around her she didn't trust, she was afraid they would treat her like her parents did.
Riley struggled to contain her own laugh as she heard her sweet sister's little giggle.
"You don't know, Mr. Stuffikins? Hmm...That's strange."
Riley half turned towards the wall, then smiled and quickly reahced down into the blankets and pile of stuffed animals to reach her little sister.
"Gotcha!"
She whispered and giggled, picking Mai up out of the bed and hugged her tightly.
"Good morning sunshine. Are you ready for school?"
Mai giggled more and put her arms out as her sister picked her up and she hugged Riley back just as tight. "Yes." She said happily and looked into her sister's eyes. She had large crystal blue eyes and she smiled warmly, the sweet innocence of a child etched on her face for a moment, then it faded. "Where's mommy and daddy?" She asked, the worry etched across her small brow.
Riley hated the look of worry on her little sister's face. It pained her even more to know how frightened she was of something that lived under the very same roof. What child should be afraid of her own parents? She sweetly kissed Mai's forhead & whispered against it. "They're sleeping sweetie. That's why we gotta hurry up and get out of here, ok?" She pulled her face back just enough to look into Mai's eyes, hoping her words were comforting enough to dissolve just a fraction of her worry.
Mai slowly smiled when she heard that her parents were sound asleep. The worry faded, still there, but faded behind the bright smile as she looked into Riley's eyes. "Alright." She said and squirmed to be put onto the floor.
Riley wasn't fooled by the smile. She knew her sister would always be afraid, but she smiled back anyway and put her sister on the floor. "Ok, let's go check on big brother Eli." She smiled & held onto Mai's hand as she walked out into the hallway and into Eli's room.
Mai smiled and trotted next to Riley. Her little pant legs of her overalls tredded lightly on the carpet as she followed. Her pig-tails swinging behind her as she kept up with Riley to go and find her big brother.
Eli sat on his bed, slipping on a pair of socks and then slipping and tieing on his black Converses. He looked up at the door, looking at the poster that was on the backside of the door as he tied the last set of shoe laces then he put his feet down on the wooden floor and picked up his bag, swung it over his shoulder and opened his door just in time as Riley and Mai were there before him.
Riley smiled and brought Mai forward. "Eli I need you to give Mai some cold cereal, I still need to get dressed." She kissed the back of Mai's hand before letting it go and heading for her bedroom, not closing the door. Never would she close her door while her siblings were awake for fear of her parents causing trouble for one of them, especially Eli. He always seemed to pick a fight and argue with their mother.
She quickly changed into a pair of black, baggy low-rise Dickies and a black tank top that had a blue butterfly on the front of it. Next came her many black bracelets and black choker chain. Rushing, she grabbed a pair of ankle socks, pulled them on, then slipped into her worn out Vans. But as she grabbed her back off her desk, a picture of herself with her little brother and sister at the zoo fell off and made a loud crshing noise against her wood floor. Riley bent down and picked it up quickly as if that could get rid of the fact that it made a loud noise. She set the picture on the desk without a second glance and walked out into the hallway, cringing as she heard her father's powerful footsteps. He was always the lightest sleeper.
Eli took Mai's hand tenderly in his and smiled warmly, walking with her towards the kitchen. He sat her down in her favorite chair and got her a bowl, spoon, milk and poured some cereal into a bowl for her to eat. He grabbed himself a bowl and ate with her.
Mai sat there and smiled at her older brother. "Thank you." She said sweetly. She began to eat as Eli did and she heard her father's footsteps and it made her slow a little bit. She stole a glance at her brother who had finished and was cleaning up his bowl. She looked back to her own and began to eat again, trying to ignore the sound and hoping that Riley would get to them before her father did.
Her father was a tall man, about six-foot-three, and lean, as if he worked out. As he came down the hall towards her, she noticed he had the same clothes on that he had two days ago.
"Why in the hell are you making so much noise so early in the goddam morning?!" He shouted as he stepped closer, then stopped a few feet from her.
"I'm sorry, dad. I'll make sure to be quiet next time." She said quickly then turned to go but a hand reached out and grabbed her arm roughly. She turned back to him and glared at him. "Let me go or I'll call the cops again and I know where your stash is."
He looked absolutely furious. "You stupid b***h!" He let go of her arm & slapped her hard across the face.
Riley stumbled back a bit, but didn't fall, nor did she cry, she glared up at him again, her lifting her chin in defiance. "I have to take the kids to school." She said calmly then turned to powerwalk down the stairs, but her father followed her. Once her feet hit the downstairs floor, she called for the kids. "Eli. Mai. Get in the car. Now!" She knew Eli knew where the keys were.
"You ignorant whore! You aren't taking my kids anywhere!" Her father shouted, grabbing her arm again when she headed for the living, trying to leead him away from her siblings.
She turned to him quickly. "I need to get them to school because you nevre do! If they don't have an eductation they'll end up just like you too! Shoving needles in your arms, hitting your kids, scaring the crap out of your youngest daughter! You're a monster!"
Her father slapped her again but with much more force, sending her over the coffee table, breaking a cup and landing on it.
"Don't ever talk to me that way! I'm your father!" His eyes were burning with obvious furry and his fists were clenched.
Riley slowly rose to her feet, looking at the blood that covered her hand, then at her dad. "Does that make you happy, father?" She raised her hand, her bleeding palm facing him.
"Yes it makes me very happy. That is what I call your punishment for treating me so badly." Her father stood straight, as if he had won something.
Riley shook her head and let her hand drop to her sides. She picked up her backpack and walke dout of the room, heading into the kitchen to see if the kids were still there.
Her father yelled, though he didn't move. "RILEY ORYAN GET YOUR a** OVER HERE NOW!!! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!!!"
She ignored him and grabbed a white rag, wet it down, and wrapped her hand, not even wanting to know how red her cheeks were.
Eli appeared within the kitchen and moved towards Riley slowly and looked at the blood and his eyes darkened dangerously, "Mai's in the car already, she's hiding like she should be." He told her and glared towards the door darkly, not caring what his father would do to him, it infuriated him that his own father would do this to his sisters, the man's daughters.
Riley looked into his eyes, then put one hand on each cheek, even the one with the wet cloth. "Eli listen to me. I don't want you to go anywhere near dad, today or ever if it can be avoided, understand?" She looked desperate. Her eyes begging him to listen to her.
Little did she know her father was listening.
[******** you! You stupid b***h!" Her father rounded the corner into the kitchen and came at her, pushing the six-foot tall Eli out of the way and wrapping his hands around Riley's neck, strangling her like a rag doll. "How dare you tell him that!" He said through clenched teeth.
Riley looked completely at ease. She taught herself never to show her parents that she was afraid, it only let them win. Even minutes away from death, Riley would not let them win. She looked at Eli, and knew she had to fight back though. Anger flashed in her eyes as she brought her knees up to hit her father in the groin and punched his gut. Once he was bent of in front of her, she kneed him in the face. "Run Eli!" She yelled at him, planning on being right behind him.
After Eli caught himself he glared darkly at his father and went to punch him, but was caught off by Riley's voice, "No." He hollered back to her and stood their angrily, his body was tense and ready to fight. He glared darkly at his father still, waiting on him to stand and he took Riley's hard roughly and pulled her towards the door to leave him there, "Mai's waiting still." He reminded her.
Riley growled and held onto Eli's hand still, dragging him towards the door. "God damn it Eli! Why can't you just listen to me?!" She opened the front door and rushed him out the door, slamming it behind them. She ran toward the car and let go of Eli's hand, praying he would just get into the car while she got into the driver's seat. She grbbed the key, shoved it into the ignition and started the car up.
Eli frowned darkly as he pulled his arm from her and got into the back of the car and sat there, brooding quietly.
Mai poked her head up from behind Riley's seat, "Is everything safe?" She asked, her small voice quivered and her hands gripped the sides of Riley's seat as she got into the backseat next to Eli as Riley drove off.
Riley threw the car into reverse, backed out much too quickly, threw it back into drive and took off down the street as if she was racing. "It's fine now, Mai. Just put your seat belt on." She said as she slowed the car to normal speed. As she drove towards Mai's school, she swallowed the lump in her throat and turned on her rock music, trying to calm herself and take her mind off of everything but the road.
Riley pulled up to the elementary school and put the car into park. She got out of the car and opened Mai's door for her.
Mai smiled up at Riley and she hoped out and looked up at her big sister and smiled softly. "It'll be okay." She said and smiled, her little pigtails framing her face as she looked upwards, "I'm a big girl." She said and trodded towards the trunk to get out her backpack.
Riley looked down at her little sister in amazment at first, then with admiration. She found it harder to choke back the tears but she managed to do it somehow. She walked over to the trunk & pulled out Mai's backpack for her, then crouched down and hugged her little sister. "Have a good day at school, big girl." She smiled, then released her little sister, giving her her backpack.
Mai hugged her sister back and smiled when she turned and slipped into her backpack and then headed off towards the school, knowing where she was going and she didn't look back till she reached the doors and looked back and waved at Riley.
Riley stood up and waved at Mai, then got back into the driver's seat. She put the car into drive and drove off towards school. She pulled into the high school parking lot and parked far away from the other cars. Forgetting her brother was still in the car, Riley broke down and started sobbing, her forehead against the steering wheel. Tear streamed down her face as she hugged her stomach. She hadn't cried in almost eight months and it seemed everything came out this once.
"Riley." Eli said as he leaned forward between her and the passenger seat and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "It'll be okay." He whispered and pulled her close and held her against his chest, his cheek resting gently as he held her there. "We'll figure something out, let's just get through school for now, take our minds off of everything for several hours, then we can talk and get something figuered out before Mai has to be picked up." He said and pulled back gently to look into Riley's eyes, he wiped her tears away slowly.
Riley sniffled and cried into his chest for a minute, but tried to stop. Her poor brother didn't need to see her cry like this. As he pulled back, she looked into his eyes and nodded., still sniffling. "I-I'm sorry E-Eli." She hiccupped between words. She felt so bad for being this way in front of him.
"Oh hush." Eli told her. "There was nights where I'd hear you but I didn't dare move to your room to comfort you afraid that dad would do something to you." He admitted honestly and smiled softly.
Riley sniffled, took a deep breath, then stoppe crying and stopped the frantic breathing. "I love you Eli." She whispered after a moment, Riley looked out the window, seeing everyone head for the school building. "We should get to class." She said softly.
Eli smild hearing her, "Yes we should and Riley, I love you too." He said and smiled, moving out of the back of the car, throwing his bag over his shoulder as he moved to be beside her and handed her, her bag. A soft smile played across his lips.
Riley smiled and got out of the car after grabbing her car keys and took her backpack. She slung it over her shoulders and took Eli's hand, like she did every morning when they walked into school. She didn't care how everyone looked at them, that's just how they were. Even though her brother towered over her, she took his hand like he was still the small child he used to be, and began the walk across the parking lot to the high school building. She sniffled again and looked straight as she spoke, "Maybe we'll just go to Matt's house after school. Wait until mom and dad are out of the house tonight then go back home." Matt was her boyfriend.
Eli cringed hearing Matt's name, "Fine." He said stiffly and pulled from her gently as he walked off towards a group of his friends and stood there with them a moment and then walked off with them silently. He never did like Matt, something about him really got under his skin, reminded him too much of his father, but he'd never let Riley know these feelings.
"Riley." Matt said as he slunk up behind her and purred her name against her ear and smirked. It was easy to tell that he had been smoking again. He smirked and pulled her against him and then with a arm around her shoulders he walked with her. "You gonna stop by later?" He asked smoothly.
Riley watched Eli part from her for a moment. A smile crept on her face as she heard Matt whisper he name against her ear, but it soon faded. "If you keep smoking that s**t, no." She looked at him with a hint of sadness. "I thought I told you to stop with that. You know how I am about drugs, Matt. I don't want my siblings around someone who does that, even if it's you." She sounded a bit more stern.
Matt put his hand over his hurt, "Baby, that hurts. To think that I would." He smiled, "Just because it's on my clothes doesn't mean that I was." He said honestly and smiled. "You're too protective of the, your siblings I mean. If you keep babying them, they'll never grow up." He shrugged, "I need to go." He said and pulled her into a hard kiss, "See you later, you have your key." He said and smiled, storking her cheek a moment then walked off quietly.
Riley could tell he was lying. He always lied when he was on meth. By the end of the conversation Riley was fuming. He had walked off before she got the chance to even defend herself, and that really pissed her off, but she just sighed and headed for class.
The first five periods went by fast, and before she knew it it was lunchtime. She walked into the cafeteria with her backpack still over her shoulders and behind her, and wakled over to thelunch line. She always saved a place for Eli since she was one of the first classes out there.
Eli soon got to the lunchroom and he found Riley with ease and stood with her in the lunch line and smiled softly, his messenger bag rested at his thigh as he worked his way through the line with Riley, “So how’d everything go so far?” He asked her calmly. “With Matt I mean.” He said simply, he’d seen them together and instead of going back to Riley to ask something, he’d chosen to go to class instead.
View User's Journal
a drop of blood holds a meaning
you must discover the meaning for yourself.
 |
