Thicker Than Blood
Mitchell swayed. She was facing the wall now. It wasn’t her first time staring at it. She sighed then turned to the other direction. The plop must have startled Peter, or in any other plausible case, he must have been still awake. Either way, Mitchell only wanted to sleep.
“Having the wakey-wakies, Mitchell?” Peter’s voice was quiet and pitying. On the far side of the room, Riley roared in his slumber.
“Yeah… No biggie. I’m always like this at night ever since the AC broke down. Can’t sleep?”
Silver rods reached through the windows and expelled a somber mood. Even with the sun gone, it was still hot and musky inside.
“Yeah…”
She searched for something in the younger boy’s eyes, but what was it she was searching for exactly? The sweet mellow tune of an idea rung quietly in her head, but it wasn’t enough spirit to jolt her out of bed. “You wanna raid the fridge?”
“I… don’t think that’s a good idea.” Peter had always been a timid animal, but Mitchell was the bold and intrepid tigress, generous enough to guide him.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be quick. We won’t get caught, I promise. I do this all the time.” She got up and carefully snuck towards the door. Peter was wary of putting too much trust in her, but he couldn’t control his will, granted that she might help him achieve his and her sleep.
“Scared? You got nothing to worry ‘cause I’ll oughta cave in their skulls if any ghoul lays a single finger on us.” She wasn’t trying to console, but it could at least solve his worrying pang, which it did.
“Hah ha. Awesome.” At the top of the stairs, he stole a glance at the corridor. Rows of bedroom doors lined the walls. Something resonated with him, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
An ominous whisper pierced through the walls. “Mitchell?”
“It’s just the wind. If it’s anything but, I’m here.” She pulled him closer, his cheek touching the side of her chest.
“You know, yesterday, Riley and I got into trouble with the maintenance crew. We weren’t hunting for trouble, honest! It… it was just a… tiny mistake.
“Right.” She chuckled.
“Mitchell…” Peter whined.
“Alright. Alright. I believe you.”
“Anyways…”
It might have been a long wearying (possibly awkward) trip to the kitchen, but with Peter’s merry words to fill the bleak void, Mitchell was more earnest about raiding the fridge.
~ T ~
Sienna tussled for a while. Then, she swayed left and right. There were times when sleepless nights triumphed over her, but on rare occasions, the nightmares pooled in and devour her.
Now, she was out and about basking in the moonlight, dragging one cigarette at a time. Her pack had nearly emptied by now. She entered Elven Seven, delighted when the bells greeted her and bought three packs worth of lung cancer.
“This is your thirteenth pack, Sienna. I’d be damned if a crap-ton of doctors didn't roll up at your place. You’d get a wonderful closed casket in the ugly cemetery if they did.” Ronin scanned the tag, chucked it aside, then placed her change on the counter.
“If I ever kicked the bucket today I’m the one who’s preparing my funeral. I’m inviting nobody.”
“Well, you might as well. This world’s darned for all the crap happenin’. Heard of Billy?”
“Yeah. Chubby shorty, does a lot of chores. That kid never wreaks sweat even when the sisters tell him to do them his chores. Never seen him in ages, why?” She coughed as plumes ruptured out of her throat, albeit satisfyingly.
“Man, them alley-skulkin’ sons-of-bastards mugged him just in front of their house. Pointin’ guns and knives.”
“Oh no! Is he alright?”
Ronin licked his lips nervously. “Nah man. Dude’s got harmed bad I tell you. And that was just last three weeks and that flabby-ass kid’s still got his ass in the hospital.”
“Sad story.” She blew out another whiff of smoke. Ronin wasn’t startled. “Aight, I’ll be catching up next time.”
“Hey! We’re all on the fence! Everyday!” Ronin chanted.
The walk home wasn’t long, although her muddled thinking was quite a hassle. She looked at the cigarette, fidgeting it with her hands. She rolled it over and then flipped it. She wasn’t studying it, but rather she was savoring every inch of time.
“Life is short, huh?”
She tossed it on the ground. Embers were set alight, redeeming their destructive purpose. She stomped it with her boot before any damage could be done.
She didn’t hesitate for another drag.
~ T ~
“…and then Sienna called me so I could help her dusting out the lobby. And I mean, it’s a damn well gruelin’ chore, but everybody loves Sienna! Okay maybe a little too much for some guys, like Riley. Riley’s just… Ugh. But then there was this big cobweb and I saw this humungous spider, and she just… just snatched it up…”
“You’re a real doozy scoundrel, Peter. Nobody can ever shut that chitty-chit-chat of yours… Oh darn, take a gander at this. Diet Pepsi and Cheesy Whiz.” Soft white light ebbed out of the fridge. For a moment, Peter admired her. He felt strangely tingly.
“Good. That’s great.”
They nearly emptied two jugs of refreshing, cold water and had to replenish the contents. The sisters and the maintenance crew were very mindful of the supplies in the fridge.
“Sometimes, I like to think of the moon as a big pie. Some humungous celestial or whatever eats up one slice, then the other… then another… and another. The moon’s probably big enough to feed the thirty of us.”
“Yeah…” Peter leaned forward, crossing his arms over the railings, and nestling his chin against it. He liked to believe that the starry night entranced him. “Y’know what would be more rad?”
She glanced at him. He snickered.
“What?”
“If the moon was a big cheese.”
“I’m out.”
He doubled over with laughter, and Mitchell threw her hands high, defeated. “You’re… cracking me up, Peter. That joke wasn’t even that good.”
“That’s the best part!”
The night became brisk and ill winds teemed the night. It was this howling whisper that broke the silence. Peter and Mitchell were quiet for a long time, a moment. Neither seemed to admit the drowsiness infecting either of them.
“Thanks for cheering me up, Peter. You’re a rad kid.” Mitchell smiled.
He flushed. “Maybe it’s time we should head back.”
“Yeah, we should.”
He yawned and carefully turned the knob. “Oh, and another thing, Peter.”
“What is it?”
Mitchell leaned down and her lips touched his sensitive cheeks. She pulled away. He could still feel the mark of her kiss burning in his cheeks, or maybe perhaps it was just him.
“Don’t get too flustered now, Peter.”
“Shut up.”
~ T ~
She wore loose-fitting clothes. It was a good idea too. The place was already at a tolerably hot temperature. She wished she had fixed the AC by now, but her will just wasn’t up to it.
Sienna checked each kids’ rooms, mumbling about the heat (again), then stopped. She lingered.
The tenth room.
The door creaked open as she entered. Three took this spot: Mitchell, Peter, and Riley. The grumpiness subsided, and Sienna felt strangely happy.
She smiled.
The AC will be fixed tomorrow.