The Walls that Separate Us | E.W.

2• Unanswered Questions

STELLA

SEATTLE, 2038

For as long as I could remember, I was always in Abby's shadow. Abby was always the smarter sister, the fastest out of the both of us, the strongest. Although she never failed to remind me that she loved me more than anything, I couldn't help but feel like I could've been more. Could've been more than just a shadow.

"Oo, look at you, crossing me up in ranks. Pretty soon you're gonna be the next top scar killer." Abby said with a grin as she nudged her broad shoulder into mine and I smile, lowering my gun and sliding the protection earmuffs down to my neck.

"Really? I think I could've done better," I said and and my beloved sister scoffed.

"Better? Your score is higher than mine, I don't think you could've done any better than that." She reassured as she took the gun from my hands. "You see Manny around yet? Gotta take pointers up at the FOB again this morning," She asked.

"He's your roommate, shouldn't you be keeping tabs on him?" I snatched the gun back from her hand playfully and began reloading.

"If I didn't always see you two at the gym together, I'd say he's becoming your roommate." She said with a laugh and I copy it with a dry laugh of my own, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oh...Stella..Do you have a crush on Antonio Banderas himself?" Abby teased with another nudge into my ribs and I shove her away and wrinkle my nose in gay. "Hilarious, Abs. He probably wears month-old underwear and reeks of thousands of sprays of 20 year old cologne and doesn't brush his teeth for weeks even though they're so unbelievably white and- how do you even know who that is?" I ask, pausing my reloading. "Come on Stella, how many times did dad make us rewatch Puss In Boots as punishment?"

"Don't remind me." I continue reloading, cocking back the bolt and suddenly Abby pauses.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Uh.. I'm going with you? Where else would I be going?"

She laughs dryly. "Na-uh, definitely not. You're on dish duty and this mission is too risky for you to be on."

I scoffed at her attempt in pushing me away once more.

"Okay one, It's Thursday, 'dish duty' doesn't need tending to until tomorrow evening. Two, then why is Mel going when she's five years pregnant and three, I'm 19, I can take care of myself. I don't need you to look after me anymore. Plus I have Toby. I can help," I fight and Abby shakes her head with a chuckle.
"Toby is a cat. What's he gonna do, scare Scars and infected away with his old man meow?"

"He's three years old! He's fast and is a really good distraction for me to get away. You're just jealous. And you saw my shots! You even said they were higher than yours-"

"No, Stella. You're not strong enough. One freeze up or one of your freak out attacks and I lose you, and I'm not losing you like we lost mom."

Mommo.

As bad as her words hurt, they were true.

"Speaking of," She swings her arm behind her back and tosses a pill bottle at me, it landing in my palms with a rattle. I clenched them in my fist. "Traded a rifle for those."

A sour look clouds over my face at her words. "Really? This again? Someone else could have these for way better use, like Manny's dad. They could help with his shakiness and sleeping problems. I'm fine."