Looking for Allie

Chapter One

Alex drove home along the dark road, the streetlights doing little to cut through the night. It had been dark when she'd left for work that morning and, as always, it was dark when she returned home.

Her feet throbbed. Her shoulders ached. Twelve hours on the ward had a way of settling into your bones. She'd spent the last few hours of her shift sitting beside a patient she'd looked after for weeks, holding his hand as he took his final breath.

For just a moment, she imagined what it would be like to come home to a clean house and a hot meal waiting for her.

She laughed to herself. Not likely.

As she pulled into the driveway, the curtains were still wide open and every light in the house blazed into the night.

She rolled her eyes.
Because of course they were.

She climbed out of the car and walked to the front door.
It wasn't locked.

She frowned.
Of course it wasn't.

Inside, nothing had changed.
Her coffee mug from that morning sat exactly where she'd left it beside the sink, only now more dirty dishes surrounded it. Crumbs covered the bench.

Alex let out a long, exhausted sigh.
Coming home felt like going from one shift to the next.

She walked back into the lounge room to close the curtains.
Rubbish covered the coffee table. Empty takeaway containers. Chocolate wrappers. Dirty socks tossed beside the lounge. A blanket and pillow lay crumpled where Allie had obviously spent most of the day.

Alex shook her head. Without saying a word, she gathered the blanket and pillow and marched down the hallway. She pushed open her sister's bedroom door and threw them inside.

"Hey!" came Allie's voice from the darkness.

"The place is a mess," Alex snapped. "Every light in the house is on, the front door wasn't even locked, and could you at least do your own washing?"

"Oh, shut up, Alex. Don't take your bad day out on me."

"Allie..." Alex rubbed a hand over her face. "My version of a bad day is watching someone die."

Silence.

"Your version of my life is assuming I'm trying to make yours harder," Allie hissed back.

Alex shook her head. "You have no idea what my days are like. Your version of a bad day is deciding what daytime television to watch."

She slammed the bedroom door and stormed back to the kitchen.
She loaded the dishwasher, wiped down the benches and threw out the rubbish.

What's the point? I'll just be doing it all again tomorrow.

By the time she'd showered, she could barely keep her eyes open.

She climbed into bed, still replaying the argument.

Her phone buzzed on the bedside table.

Allie:

Sorry.

A few seconds later another message appeared.

I know you're tired.

Alex stared at the screen.
Her thumb hovered over the keyboard.

She placed the phone face down on the bedside table, switched off the lamp and lay back against the pillows.

Within minutes she was asleep.