Athena took my hand and led me to her room. She unlocked the door. Navy blue walls and blood red furniture greeted us. Athena ordered me to lay face-down on her bed. I did. Athena was the youngest of the triplets, but was still older than Vladymyr and Autumn (the twins) and Bree, who we adopted earlier in the year. Like mom, she had long black hair and green eyes. Smart and funny, she could cheer anyone up and make anyone feel better. She was the nurse of the family, there was no doubt about that. She was tending to me now, occasionally running her fingers through my brown and black hair to calm me down. I was still crying a little. I never liked crying in front of my parents or my siblings, but Athena I could trust never to tell. Being siblings we fought, but Athena and I were really close. We got each other, and could relate to everything that each other did.
“Now keep calm,” Athena said. “This will hurt a bit.” I groaned. Thanks, I thought. The alcohol hit my back. I cried out into a pillow. It stung like crazy. “You okay?” Athena asked, her eyes full of concern. I nodded, trying to keep back the continually falling tears. Another burst of alcohol. Athena looked at me, then took a towel and laid it across my back. It soaked up some of the excess alcohol and the rest of the blood that was seeping out. My back hurt worse than it had in the guardhouse. Athena paused. “I’ll be right back,” she said. She disappeared for a minute, then came back with a large bowl of mint chocolate ice cream. She handed it to me. “Eat.” I took the bowl and sat up slowly. My back burned. “How are you doing?” I shrugged.
“I’m in pain.” Athena giggled.
“That’s obvious big bro.”
“Then what did you go ask me for?”
“I don’t know. Just figured I’d ask.”
I looked down at my bowl of ice cream. The girl was back in my head. For a minute I was silent. Athena noticed. “Okay bro, spill.”
“Spill what?”
“Who is she?”
“Who is who?”
“The girl you’re thinking about right now.”
“Who said I was thinking about a girl?”
“Roderick…”
“Athene…” I could tell by the look on Athena’s face that she knew this was a touchy subject. I only called her Athene when I didn’t want to talk about something, which, lately, had been a lot.
“At least tell me what she’s like,” Athena pleaded, not dropping the subject. I sighed. Why did she have to know now?
“Fine. She’s…beautiful. She goes to my school – kind of a theatre geek, a math geek, and on the rifle team. She’s got long black hair and blue-green eyes…she’s an army brat. Now will you leave me alone?”
Athena chuckled. “Awww. Roddy’s got a crush!” I blushed.
“Shut it Athene.” I put the dish on the nightstand beside Athena’s bed and laid on my stomach again.
“Whatever Bro.” She poured more alcohol onto my back, making me jump up and around in pain.
“YIPE! What the hell was that for?”
“For being a jerk. Now lay still.”
“Grrr… Fine.” I laid down again on my stomach, wincing as she wiped up the alcohol. I whimpered, but eventually it was all gone. She started bandaging my back, and for a minute I thought the ointment she used stung worse than the alcohol.
When she was through, I went to my room. A knock sounded, and my mother appeared.
“How is your back?”
“Sore.”
“I know you’re mad at me…but…well you have right to be.”
She looked down. I looked at her. Her face was filled with remorse. “You stood up to dad?” I asked. She shook her head and smiled.
“No. I don’t dare go against your father.”
“You usually do,” I said with a smirk. She tickled me and I squealed. “Stop it!” She finally did. I loved my mom, and didn’t think I could ever stop.
“No, I didn’t. But if I do…” She shivered as her voice faded. She seemed to be thinking. I smirked again.
“He would totally thrash you.”
“Pretty much.”
“But you like pain.”
“And from what Athena tells me, you do too.” She sighed.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“In some ways…yes.”
“Why?”
“Well…loving pain was never something I was proud of, exactly.”
“Why? It’s cool! It’s like having a superpower!”
“It’s a lot more than that Roderick. It’s a bind. And if you are like me, pain comes with an extra penalty.” I looked at her and nodded. She smirked. “So you know what I mean, do you?” I nodded again.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“What are you?”
“What do you mean?” She stroked my hair.
“Well…Mellanye keeps saying you…and dad…and…” I stopped. I didn’t know how to go on. Mom looked at me.
Smiling, she said, “She says your father beats me?”
“Pretty much.”
“She’s right.” My jaw dropped.
“Why haven’t you reported him?!”
My mom grinned. “Because I don’t want to.”
I looked at her strangely.
“I’m his slave – his bitch. I don’t care what he does to me. It’s always been that way. That’s how he and I met. You know this story. You know how he and I met. Well…sort of. You know the surface details.” I looked at her.
“Surface details?”
My mother paled and muttered something to herself. “Never mind that…come on, dinner’s on.”
I followed my mother out to the kitchen and painfully helped Bree set the table. Under her breath, Bree whispered, “You okay?”
I nodded.
Bree again. “I’ll help you with the dishes.”
“No. It’s my punishment and if dad catches you he’ll skin you too.”
“Like I care.”
I looked at her, and she looked at me. I was starting to consider it when dad came into the room. I shook my head no, and Bree shrugged. We finished setting the table and went out into the living room until dinner was cooked. I sat awkwardly at the dining room table – not wanting my back to touch the chair. I spooned some tomato soup into my mouth. I felt someone staring at me. I knew who it was but I looked up anyway. My eyes met Mellanye’s. She looked concerned. Our gaze separated and dinner was finished. I started the dishes reluctantly. The normally empty, spot-free marble countertop was now crowded with dishes. I groaned. This was going to take forever. Suddenly I felt as though I wasn’t alone. I knew who stood in the room with me.
“I know you’re here Mellanye.”
“You should. You and I have a somewhat special bond Roderick.”
“What do you need?”
“Nothing. I thought I’d keep you company. Either I can do that or I can bring you your iPod. Dishes suck. Music or talking helps them go by faster.”
“You always were the smart one.”
I could feel Mellanye’s smile. “You are too. You just don’t show it.” I shrugged. “So…Athena tells me you have a crush. Care to tell me about it?”
I got angry. “She what?!” I shrieked, raising my hands out of the sink, soaking the window curtains with soap suds.
Mellanye put her hands on my shoulders. “She didn’t tell me vocally Rod. I read it. She always acts a certain way when she is keeping a secret love.”
I relaxed a little.
“Tell me about her. What’s her name?”
“No.”
“I won’t tell a soul, Roderick. I would have thought that you would trust me by now, especially after your little building jump.”
I blushed. “Fine. Her name is Halyn.”
“That’s a pretty name. What’s she like?” I spent over an hour talking about her – what her interests were, what she looked like…that she ignored me completely.
“Well that explains why you are acting out. I knew it didn’t have to do with your father.”
“You could have said something.”
“Yeah…but I wouldn’t be a good sister if I did that now, would I?”
I sighed.
“What’s wrong? You have your first crush!”
“I see her tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Not my idea of a good day considering I can’t even talk around her.”
“Well, try. Just start small. Say hi. Maybe something will happen.” I nodded.
I finished up the dishes, talking with Mellanye about school and homework until I was through. After that, I unlocked my door and disappeared into my room. I looked around. Black walls and a navy bed. Chocolate brown furniture. Messy. Black carpet. My own world. The walls were covered in band posters and movie posters galore. My bed and floor were covered in clothes I had been too lazy to put up. I quickly changed into a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt and fell asleep.
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