Ginny and Georgia: The Younger Shadow

Chapter 33-Zion Comes Home
Fast into my sleep, a bright light appeared in my dream. So bright, I had never seen anything like it before. Then, I saw myself falling; the light went out and all around me was a pitch black. I felt helpless, like all my senses had been torn from me. There was nothing. All I could do was hold onto my precious body. I tossed and turned In my sleep, holding my body the same way I held myself In my dream. When I reached the darkness, I felt it inside of me. It was in my skin, heart lungs, ripping me out, whispering unknown words in my ear. There was a hand. A bony, skeletal hand. A black figure draped in an ebony-coloured hood. Where there should've been a face was the beauty of nothing. It held its hand out to me, begging me to take it. And I did. I placed my hands, which were surprisingly cold and numb, into it's thin claws. And then came a screaming. I had never heard something like it before. A cry begging for help, for life, for hope- high pitched screams filling the air, drowning my thoughts, and her I could see nobody. There was no hooded figure next to me. Had it done? Why had it abandoned me? A feeling of despair coursed through me before I manage to tune into the hushed voices,
"Charlie? Charlie! Are you ok? It looked like you were running, or haunted by a ghost."
Ginny. My eyes grew accustomed to my creamy white desk, and my bed. I jerked properly awake, trying to keep my uneven breathing controlled and steady. The sheets mom had recently bought were just a sweaty bundle of blankets that I anxiously tried to smooth over as Ginny climbed into bed beside me.
"Gin, don't worry. It was just some weird nightmare." I said. She nodded and turned over to me.
"Charlie. Dad- Zion's here. He just came in the dead of the night on his motorcycle. He never told me he was coming to Wellsbury. But I heard him and mom let him in. She told me he's sleeping on the coach, and we'll talk in the morning, even though we have school." At each of her words my mouth seemed to drop like a stone falling through a well. Zion? The last time we'd seen him in person what when I was 12, two years ago. He'd come for Ginny's 13th birthday. And as glad as I felt for my sister, I couldn't help also feeling a twinge of jealousy. Even if Zion wasn't much in her life, it was more than I could say. I had never met my dad, never received a present or card or call. Zion still treated me well and I loved him too, but it was never the same. I didn't miss those special, content looks he gave Ginny when she wasn't looking. He didn't look at me or Austin like that. At least Austin got letters from his dad, and it seemed like he genuinely cared about his son. He'd even been to the prison to meet him a couple of times, even though it was in North Carolina. No matter how much I achieved in my life, I didn't have a dad to pick me up by the shoulders and comfort me when I felt lost. I didn't know the feeling of being smothered in unconditional love and kisses. My dad hadn't even bothered to write a card, send a text if he could. Georgia said he couldn't handle the difficult job of being a father, that pressure got the better of him in the end.
"Charlie? You're not jealous, are you?" Ginny asked. I could feel her strawberry scented breath matching my breathing, and I gently shook my head and turned to the side. I could see the moon, and after being bathed in the light of the sun it looked more beautiful than ever with stars dotted here and there. Like a grand portrait.
"No, it's not that, Ginny. I'm happy at least. It's been ages since Zion's come. But I want to see my dad too. I just wonder what he was like sometimes."
"I know, Charlie. It's not like Austin's dad either. But your dad Adrien-"
"Anthony. His name is Anthony." I coldly replied through pursed lips.
"Ok, ok. Well, he was a cruel man, mom said. He didn't want to know you, Charlie. He left for a reason." Said Ginny, and she tugged the warm sheets closer to her.
"Like your dad left you?" I hissed. Why did Ginny never understand? As my sister, she should've known how I felt. She was such an insensitive cow sometimes.
"You know it isn't the same, Char. I just hope mom and Zion don't happen again. It's too confusing." I leaned in closer and sniffed as Ginny put her arms around me. I knew what she meant. Every time Zion visited up from whatever adventurous and life changing trip he'd been on- whether that was the grand mountains of Bulgaria, the many coasts in Australia, or the endless sand dunes in the Sahara Desert, he and mom happened. What that meant, in summary, was even if mom was with a man at the time, like Richie, or Harry or Chad, she and Zion always got together. They slept with and kissed each other, and all their old teenage love and feelings for the better of them. It ended in Mom breaking up with the man and shifting us to yet another place. And we were just beginning to settle into Wellsbury. Maybe one could even call this place home, despite all the shit that had happened. I didn't want to leave. I wouldn't. With that being said, mom loved Paul. Hopefully, she would only let Zion stay for the sake of us, and not for her own selfish reasons.
"Zion should learn to keep his dick in his pants," I murmured, but Ginny was already asleep, her head lolling gracefully and she looked like a sleeping beauty.
"G'night, sis." I whispered softly.
I couldn't remember if I dreamed after that.