Huh, I thought we had sex for longer than that.
Nash clears his throat. “There’s blood on your hip dude, she bite your dick? The fuck?”
Nok looks down and slams the door when he too sees whatever is there.
I pull the blanket from my lap and chew my lip nervously when I see a few dry streaks of blood on my thigh.
“Did you get your period?” he asks quietly.
I shake my head. “Definitely not, there’d be a lot more blood if that was the case.” I swallow harshly and stand. “Can I get a quick shower?”
“Sure,” he mutters. “It’s downstairs.”
“I remember.”
“Towels are in the closet.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll find you something to wear.” He grabs my arm as I pass and pulls me into his body. We collide and then so do our mouths. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Umm… sorry about the blood. We must have just hit something at a funny angle.” I feel a bit achy and sore, but nothing majorly bad. I don’t feel like I’ve done any lasting damage anyway.
“Does it hurt?”
I shake my head. “Nothing a night of rest and some Tylenol won’t fix.”
We kiss again and then I escape to the bathroom to shower and freshen up, ready for the day.
“You were supposed to be here last night to look after your sister,” Mom yells the second I walk through the door.
Thank God I convinced Nok to stay in his truck. At least he won’t get to witness this dysfunctional family at its best.
I need my uniform; I can’t really go to school without it.
“I texted her this morning, she’s fine.”
“She loses her will to live when you’re not around.”
“And you,” I grumble, brushing past her.
“What was that?”
I turn to face her and stare into her frozen gray eyes that look so much like my own. “I said, and you. It’s not fair that I’m constantly expected to be here. I’m eighteen, I have a life, I do everything for this family.”
“You don’t do enough. Your sister is sick…”
“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get to enjoy myself.”
“But who knows how long she’ll be with us?”
I rub my eyes with the heels of my palms. “Mom. Please. I’m always here when I can be. I’m doing this for her, remember?”
“Are you?” she spits back. “Because she’s fading away, you’re not around, and you seem to be shacking up with the guy you promised her.”
“I’ll find her someone else,” I hiss and exit the kitchen, slamming the door behind me.
I head upstairs and don my uniform, grateful that it has been washed, dried, and hung up since the day before yesterday.
“Hey, I heard you and Mom fighting.”
I sigh when I hear my sister’s voice and turn to face her. She really does look deathly pale. “Oh… Christ. Are you okay? What happened?”
“Nothing, I’m fine. I just miss you.”
“Yeah,” I agree, zipping up my school skirt at the side. “I miss you too.”
“I heard what you said to Mom.”
I look at her and hesitate. This is my sister. My twin. My life. My best friend. “Can we talk about this later? I have to get to school.”
“You don’t have to get anywhere,” she bites back, sounding and looking angry.
“Look,” I say firmly. “I promised four weeks; it hasn’t even been two. Both of you get off my fucking back.”
“Five days,” she answers petulantly. “I’m not waiting anymore. I’m giving you five days.”
“What?” I breathe, feeling angry and shaky. “Do you think this is a fucking game, Willow? This that you’re making me do.”
“I’m not making you do anything!”
“YOU ARE BECAUSE IF I DON’T YOU JUST DO IT ANYWAY!”
We stare at each other, glaring, until she breaks down crying and falls to her knees. She’s wheezing, she’s weak and I immediately feel guilty. I move to her side and pull her frail body into my arms as she struggles for breath.
“MOM!” I yell. “MOM!”
Mom doesn’t come. Of course she fucking doesn’t; I bet she’s gone already.
“Fuck.” I help my sister get in her bed and tuck her in, placing her mask over her nose and mouth. “I’ll be back, okay?”
“Okay,” she rasps, holding the mask for dear life.
I race down the stairs and slip on my shoes, crushing the back of them under my heel. I yank open the door and run to the truck where Nok is waiting patiently.
“I’m sorry, Nok,” I say after opening the door. “I have to stay with my sister. She’s ill and my mom just fucking bailed.”
He looks concerned. “You want me to stay with you?”
“NO!” I panic, feeling my heart race but when I see a flash of hurt in his eyes I quickly calm myself. “My sister doesn’t like new people. You’ll just distress her. You’re hot and she’d hate for you to see her like she is.”
“Okay.” He climbs from the truck and pulls me into his chest. “I’ll see you later?”
I nod and push him against the truck so I can kiss him. “Maybe. If not, it’ll be tomorrow.”
“Damn, I was really hoping for more of this morning,” he jokes and grabs my ass with his hands. “I’ll call you later.”
I step back and give him a wave as he climbs back into his car. Then I head upstairs after searching the house for my absent dickhead of a mother and sink into bed with my sister.
“I’m all yours,” I whisper, and we face each other. “What do you want to do?”
“Let’s watch horror movies?”
“My life is one massive horror movie,” I mumble and her smile fades.
“Seriously?”
“No, I’m kidding… kind of. But… I guess I just don’t want to do this anymore.”
She frowns, her dark blonde brows pull together. “You know we don’t have a choice. I don’t have a choice.”
“Maybe we can stay.”
“No, we have to keep moving… Mom…”
I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling. “Mom can go fuck herself.”
“We need her. I need her.”
“No, we can get you help…”
“I’m beyond fucking help, Lilith, I’m dying, remember? Do you want me to spend the rest of my days locked away? You promised.”
“But… we can’t keep doing this. It weighs so heavily on me.”
She glares at me and sits up, pulling the blanket from my body and letting it fall from hers. “We have to. I have to. And I’m not leaving Mom.”
“Mom doesn’t want to be here,” I grit, climbing from the bed and stomping to the window. “We’re tying her down. She’s shackled to us and she’s miserable.”
She doesn’t respond, because she knows it’s true.
After a moment though, she sniffles, and I turn away from the rain-splattered window to find her crying.