Cosmic

Before

At this moment, I could ask my sister for anything in the galaxy and she would do everything she could to get it for me. The lion is begging the rabbit for mercy. A rare sight. I bite my thumb nail.

"Please, Ella, you know how much he means to me. Do this for me." Zennebelle reaches for my hand which flops over the bed. She holds it with both her hands as she crouches to be at eye level with me. Her engagement ring speaks volumes to me. It replaced the simple silver band we were both given when we came here. I blink.

Pulling my hand away from Zennebelle, I reach for my bag of chips. Popping a few chips in my mouth, I crunch loudly so I don't have to hear the next statement she says.

"Ella, you're such a pig. If you want to get into the Guardian program, you have to stop putting that shit into your body." Zennebelle's comments no longer faze me. They used to sting when she first said them but she's just trying to help me.

"I thought you wanted my help Zennebelle." Her face falls. "Hm. I was going to stay in and enjoy myself on this lovely Friday night but since I love you and you asked nicely..." I decide to name my price just to annoy her. "Alright. But only if you bring me back some frozen yogurt from Bailey's. If you bring me extra, I'll ignore the fact that you just insulted me and I'll do my job extra well. "

She pinches the bridge of her nose and closes her eyes. Bouncing on her toes, she agrees. "Fine. Whatever. Get kicked out of training again. I don't care." She stands and rips the bag of chips away from me. A dying animal noise errupts from my throat as I lunge for her. She holds the bag above her head and I jump for it. She laughs. I hang my head and lower my eyes. She holds her head high and she stands up straighter. Her eyes shout "I win."

Then I lunge out and grab her knees, pulling her to the ground. She yanks my braid as we grapple on the carpet. The chips lay in between us and as I reach for them, she twists my arm away. I yelp and pull back. She uses her other hand to grab the chips. I use my other arm to reach for them in vain. She lets go of my arm and forces me into my dresser. I slam my head against the wood. The world is fuzzy and I blink. I find Zennebelle racing down the hall. I stand up and try to find my feet. The world is still spinning. Stumbling through the hall, I see her stuffing the chips in a kitchen cabinet. She jumps down from the chair she was standing on and smirks at me.

"You okay Ella? You took a nasty blow back there." She heads towards me, arms out as if to hug me. I turn away.

"Go away. I want my chips, not you." I head towards my room and slam the door. I hear her footsteps follow me upstairs and her obnoxiously loud knock on the door. I pull out the stash of chocolate that had stockpiled in my underwear and pull out my poison of choice. A caramel and dark chocolate truffle in pink foil. I throw the wrapper on the floor, fully aware that it'd piss off Zennebelle.

She knocks again. Shouting through the door she sighs; "Look, Ella, I'm sorry. But I really need you tonight. I can't lose Jonathan. You know that. Please. Just take over for me tonight and I swear to you that I won't ever mention your eating habits again. Please Ella."

I get up from where I lay on my dirty sheets. I carefully step over the plastic bottles and wrappers that litter my floor. I press my lips nearly to the door. "You got the chips?"

I can imgine her groaning as her feet hit the cement floor. She returns a minute later, crinkling a bag. I open the door, sticking out my hand. She gives me the bag and tries to push past me.

"Na uh. You owe me an apology."I say as I hold the door shut. She could overpower me if she wanted to but she just stands there.

"Fine. Ella, I apologize for being such a bitch." Zennebelle tries again to push past but I don't move the door.