Defenders of Peace

Prologue - I

          Looking out the window of my car, I admired how the evening sky changed from blues to reds to pinks and purples, and thought about how I had never seen such a stunning sunset. A complete exaggeration of course, for I had seen thousands of them before. I could also see grey clouds quickly approaching and secretly rejoiced. You see, rainy days had always been my favorite. There was something about the thought of coming home, enjoying a hot cup of cocoa and relaxing to the sweet sound of rain that warmed my insides. God only knows how much I hated hot, humid days. Those had been the staple of the first days of Autumn this year.

          I checked the watch for what seemed to be the thousand time that evening and cursed. As much as rainy days fascinated me, I hated driving around in them, and as the minutes passed it was obvious it was gonna start pouring soon.

          Almost an hour later, I was still waiting in the parking lot of my former high school; waiting for my sister to be finished with cheer practice. Rain had begun falling twenty minutes earlier and night had long since arrived. Lost in my thoughts, I was nearly given a heart attack by none other than my sister, who knocked feverishly on the passenger side window.

"Open up hoe!" She shrieked. "I'm getting soaked out here!"

With the door unlocked, she all but head dived into the car. Between a fit of laughs, I scolded her and told her to shut the door.

"It's good to see ya sis!" She gave me a bone crushing hug.

"Hiya Trish." I kissed her head.

          Trish took a karaoke break and acknowledged me twenty minutes into our drive.

"I can't believe you're here!" She giggled while she clapped her hands. "It seems like months since I saw you last."

I rolled my eyes at her. Such a drama queen. "I came home two weeks ago."

She scolded me and said that two weeks were too long. "Home's not the same without you. It's boring."

I laughed. "Trish, you only say that because you miss having me drive you everywhere." She cheekily smiled at me and I winked. Busted.

          Traffic was hell that night; I took a moment to observe her as she went on and on about a cheer competition they had on Saturday. I feigned knowledge but it had been the sole reason I drove 3 hours home that weekend. I admired the way her eyes light up as she spoke about twists and turns and about how it had taken them months of preparation. Three time champions; the pressure was on, but she handled pressure like a pro. I knew all that. Mom had kept me up to date.

          Trish knew nothing of the glitter hair ribbons mom had gotten made for her or the huge bouquet of flowers we had ordered. She didn't know that dad had taken the day off to go to his first cheer competition. The mere thought brought a huge smile to my face.

"I'm fucking starving." I said and Trish laughed as she rolled her eyes. "You're always hungry." I goofily smiled. Guilty as charged.

Quickly as her smile had come it had gone. "Have you talked to mom?"

"I talked to her when I got home earlier. I told her I'd pick you up today."

She frowned. "She's not answering my texts." I told her to call her. "Straight to voice mail. Let me call dad."