To The Sun And Beyond

6. TROUBLE IN NOT-SO PARADISE

THEY SAY HOME IS WHERE YOUR
Heart is. Well, to me, my heart is with my mom, dad, and Fin, at our hometown, in our pink house with a leaky roof, with sunburns on our noses and a soft breeze shaking the trees.

But my home on the other hand, is an ugly yellow house with creepy glass dolls and a muddy floor.

I only know the floor is muddy because I was asked to scrub it.

My knees were soaked, and the tiny scrubber didn't pick up anything, it just spread the dirt around.

And the bucket of water didn't help. The water just spread on the wood floor, making a puddle.

Sophie sashayed through the door, staring at her phone, and paused to look at me, sitting on a wet, muddy floor, my hair slimy and my knees soaked.

Sophie didn't say anything, she just glared at me with a disgusted look.

"What?" I asked, suddenly getting annoyed.

Sophie' s eyes glanced quickly at the bucket of water next to me, but she snapped her eyes back to me in a second.

"I just wanted to let you know that, you are dirtier than the floor. And I don't want you to transfer your germs to me. So, if we're going to live together, please stop sitting on the damp floor, and clean yourself up."

I rolled my eyes.

"I was asked to scrub the floor, and Vivian gave me this brush to scrub the floor with. So, I kind of have to be sitting here right now. Sorry."

Sophie glared at me again. Except this time, she didn't look disgusted. A smile crept across the corners of her mouth, and she shoved her phone into her bra.

"You know, I can show you how to make a DIY mop. So you don't have to sit on the floor."

And with one swift motion, she picked up the water bucket and dumped it over my head.

The water froze my scalp and trickled down the tips of my hair, and the dirt that was in the water got in my eyes and mouth. The water spread across my shirt and my arms. I stood up and jolted my head towards Sophie.

"What was that for?" I shouted, raising my dripping wet hands.

"The DIY mop," she explaind innocently. "I think you hair' s wet enough now," She added as she took her phone out and snapped a picture.

I stood there, soaking wet, my mouth hanging open in shock. Anger began to erupt through my body. I balled my shaking fists.

"What just happened?" I gasped.

"Oh, sorry. I should've made it more obvious. I don't like you."

That was it.

I lunged my fist at her, letting it slam against her jawline, and knock her to the ground.

It was then that I noticed the water around me evaporate in a flash, and a large burn mark spread across her cheek.

It was like she was burned with fire.

Sophie's eyes were wide with fear and she stroked her cheek.

"You freak!" She screamed as she got up quickly and sprinted up the spiral staircase.

I glanced down at my shaking hands in fear. My necklace was glowing the tiniest bit.

I dropped to my knees, and just sat there. I don't know what I was waiting for, or how long I sat there, but I stayed there, perched on the ground, staring at nothing in particular.

Fin slid down the railing of the stairs and marched toward the kitchen, but stopped when he saw me.

He trudged over to me, and plopped on the wet, dirty ground next to me.

I felt his arms wrap around me, and he rested his head on my shoulder, his swoopy black hair tickling my neck.

He didn't look at me, and he didn't even ask about it. He just sat there with me, letting himself get soaked.

He sighed, and mumbled, "We have eachother..."

"And that's all we need." I finished. As cheesy as it was, it ment a lot to me.

Because without my brother, I'd probably be dead by now.

I MARCHED INTO MY ROOM AFTER
My well-deserved shower, slammed the door and threw myself face-first into my bed.

Sage just sighed and closed her comic book, setting it aside and repositioned herself so that she was cross-legged on her bed.

"I'm listening. Which one of my sisters gave you a hard time?"

I turned my head to Sage.

"Sophie," I growled in anger.

Sage nodded.

"Ahh, her," She mumbled, and got up to turn out the lights. "Sorry about her. She's used to being the star of the show," She said as she opened the door slightly and crawled into bed. "She'll get over it. You'll see." And with that, she was asleep.

"Thanks." I mumbled, even though I knew she couldn't hear me.

But it wasn't her I was worried about.