Ever and Tate

Ever & Tate

Ever & Tate

Prologue:

In the end I like to think it was all worth it and then some. The endless dreams of a simple life etched with gentle lines all kept at bay by a small white fence. The very chance of obtaining it. But instead it all went up in flames, destined to destroy everything they touched. Us included. From a distance I sensed no threat or immediate danger. The delicate glow of the embers were hypnotizing. The way the flames danced and kissed the trees, generously lighting them up as to not be dull in comparison, seemed graceful. Heat rolling in, warming my icy interior.... Yet it was consuming and angry; accidental but full of malice. Had it been in moderation or in a controlled environment, the whole disaster could've been avoided, but we were much too reactive. How odd that something so beautiful could be so dangerous, but that goes for all lengths of life. Not all pretty things are good, and not all hurtful things are bad.

I'm still holding on, my hands blistering, to the hope that it'll all be worth it. After all, disasters have a funny way of giving you a second chance.

CHAPTER #1 TEA WITH JACK

Ever-

I swept my bouncy curls of auburn hair up into the best bun I could muster, pulling pieces around my face just to blow them out of my way again. My sweet little sister Katherine stirred in our shared bed. I watched her from the vanity mirror, her tiny hands curling around the loose sheets where my body had been. I quietly set my brush back down, checking my reflection once more. My green eyes looked too big in my face, and too bright in comparison to my pale complexion. I scrunched my nose at myself, adding a line of pink to both of my high cheek bones. I noticed Kats' tangled mop of hair, identical to mine, come into view in the mirror. She sleepily rubbed at her round brown eyes, stretching and yawning at the same time. I giggled at her.

"Good Morning Kat." I cooed, she tipped her head to the side, watching me as I curled my pointed eyelashes then applied a touch of mascara.

"Morning, Sissy." She mumbled tiredly, grabbing the large brown comforter and wrapping it around her spindly body, covering her ratty pink pajama top. She zoned out, staring spacely through the vanity mirror.

"Any dreams?" I broke her trance, moving to sit next to her in bed. She dramatically dropped her head against my side. I wrapped my arms around her, smiling at the familiarity of the position. She gave heavy sigh,

"Yeah... I sort of dreamt about our new house. It wasn't very pretty though." She tilted her head up to look at me, giving me a look of disapproval. "All the walls were white. No pictures. It was boring." She continued. "And weird." She concluded simply, giving away her young age of six, well soon to be seven; February 23rd, 102 days away. Not like we had been counting or anything.

"Hmm..." I buzzed, "Well I pinky promise to you that if I have anything to do with it it will most definitely not be boring looking." She was laying across my lap now, sighing dramatically yet again. She extended her pinky to me. I locked mine with hers, both of us kissing our thumbs to 'seal the promise'. "Are you hungry? I have to get to work." Again she sighed as if I were antagonizing her, "Such heavy sighs," I teased poking her cheeks, then kissing where I had touched. "Let's get some cereal. I think we still have some Lucky Charms left." she nodded sitting up and scuffling off of me we made our way to our tiny kitchen.

I made my way around the kitchen, getting her a bowl of cereal and setting it in front of her. Then I went about making us both a cup of tea, adding 'just a splash' as requested by Kat, of milk to hers and my own. When I set the tea down, she held up a finger, finishing her large bite.

"Thank you Ever." She tipped her head to the side looking me over. "You look very pretty today." She complemented sweetly, before going back to her breakfast. I grinned bashfully, pulling at my long sleeve black work shirt and adjusting the neck line, before taking my seat across from her. "Thank you very much." I checked the clock on the microwave. I had thirty-two minutes to run her to our parents home and get to work. She had been living with me for the last three years or so due to some unforeseen circumstances and my parents moving. The new house she was referencing was my parents, she hadn't quite wrapped her head around the fact that I wouldn't be there as well. I half considered seeing about keeping her. But that wasn't fair to her, whether she knew it or not. I stared endearingly at her, as she eyed me over her too big coffee mug, her large doe eyes watching me. "Finish your tea, I'll grab the brush, we have to get going soon." She playfully rolled her eyes at me, smiling through her sips. I mock scoffed at her, and she giggled, before disappearing into our room to snag the blue paddle brush off of the vanity, picking up her coat, boots, and backpack full of clothes for the day in my free hand.