Earth Can't Hold Us All

Nova's POV: As I Drown Today

June 5th, 2080
The thunder cracks through the air and breaks the clouds. Rain starts to drip onto the tin roof above our heads. Mulan fusses at the sudden sound and hits her small fists on the table.

"Calm her down, Nova," my mother says as she brings a forkful of fish to her lips.

"She'll cry if she wants to, I can't stop her," I say, bouncing Mulan on my knee. She only fusses more with each bounce. Then there's an awkward silence at the table, no one says anything. We just shove the flakey fish and cold mashed potatoes into our mouths. Jax and the triplets devour their food like wild animals. They've been doing hard labor on the fishing boat all day, casting nets bigger than our house.

"So this is fresh fish that we caught today," Jax says, breaking the uncomfortable moment of silence at the dinner table. "I chose the best fish out of the bunch we caught."

"Of course you did," Mother scolds. "You need to leave the best looking fish on the top of the baskets for when we sell them at market in the morning. People only buy the fish that don't look rotten."

"But I'm not gonna bring home rotten fish for my family to eat," Jax says with a twisted look on his face, as if he's just eaten the rotten fish we've been talking about. I guess having a conversation with our mother is just as repulsive as old dead meat.

"Your family?!" Father shouts suddenly. "This is my family, Jax. I am the head of the household."

"No one is head of a family. We all look out for each other," Jax says.

"Your mother is right. You have to leave the best looking fish for the customers, otherwise we won't have any customers," father says, even though he takes a generous bite of the white fish meat in front of him. "And I am the head of this family, I say what needs to be done and we do it."

"Bullshit!" Jax yells at our father. He almost jumps out of his seat with anger. Fillip, Nerone, and Mace all look at each other and sink back in their seats. The thunderstorm outside isn't the only storm tonight.

"Excuse me?" Mother says, looking shocked over her son's strong words.

"I'm always the one who looks out for the family! I'm always the one who says what to do! And I'm always the one who makes sure important shit gets done! Not you. You just sit on the fishing boat all day watching the rest of us catch the damn fish," Jax says with a burst of breath at the end of his angry rant. He points his finger at father who sits on the opposite side of him.

Father just sits there, staring at him with sharp and empty eyes. His look is vacant, he doesn't even appear hurt or angry from what Jax has just said. Jax's finger is still pointed at father, he leans half way across the table. His bicep muscles are flexed as proof that he really does do all the labor, and father's plump gut is there to prove his lazy existence.

"Son, you're a useless piece of shit," father says very calmly, barely moving his lips. He's a still bomb ready to explode.

"Darling, maybe we should go to bed," mother says with a sweet icing over her voice. She senses what is about to happen. It's just another family fight.

"I think you need to live up to your own standards if you're gonna keep calling yourself the head of the house," Jax says. He stands up from his seat, his muscular arms fold in front of his chest.