Clarity

Chapter One: Paisley

11.34 AM
13th September 2015

"Where am I supposed to start?"

"Why don't we just start by saying a little bit about yourself, then we'll get into the narrative."

"I don't like talking about myself Spencer no one's gonna want to read about me."

"I want to read about you now shut up and start talking."

"Sooomeones bloody buddy is paying his monthly visit." Paisley said with a smirk.

Frustration, it's a common feeling between sisters, Paisley just knows how to make it constant.

"Talk. Now." I huff out.

"Well, Hi, my names Paisley. I'm a 16 year old girl with brown hair and grey eyes. I have two mums and a dog named Salem. Oh a super annoying older sister named Spencer who seems to be hanging out with her bloody buddy 24/7 considering her consistent attitude."

"Paisley!"

"And I have cystic fibrosis. Good?"

"Just keep talking, I'm writing."

"I do homeschooling, it'd be a bit difficult navigating high school with an oxygen tank apparently so my mum teaches me in between her scrapbooking and waiting on Jessica."

"Paisley! Don't be so rude!" I stop typing.

"What? She wouldn't let Salem sleep with me last night because he 'peed on her suit' yesterday." Paisley said with exaggeration and sarcasm.

"Like what he needed to pee, honestly, I'll just continue."

Click.

"When I got sick our Dad left but I didn't know him much anyway so I don't care. Prick of a thing for Spencer to deal with but she's blessed with me so it's all fine. Then my mum ended up being a lesbian anyway so I guess it worked out alright. Now I have two mums, my biological mum Mary and her lawyer fiancee Jessica. She's nice, I couldn't ask for a better step mum really."

"I like music and movies, I used to have my own one man band called I can't breathe but apparently the sound of my breathing machine wasn't a good backing track so I gave up on that. The hospital didn't like me using their equipment as drum kits anyway so they were glad."

"I have a best friend named Paige, she has cystic fibrosis too, we met at the hospital actually when we were 8 and have been best friends since. Being chronically ill has had its benefits."

"I've never had a boyfriend, been too busy trying to stay alive to be honest."

"Thats a lie P, remember Will?" I giggle.

"I WAS 7 SHUT IT." Paisley started to cough.

"Have you done your ACT today?"

"Yeah." Cough.

"Are you okay? We'll just continue tomorrow come on we'll get some ice cream." I grew worried.

Paisley has coughing fits daily, more than once and has had them her whole life. Sometimes they last minutes, sometimes hours, sometimes she throws up. Sometimes it's better and sometimes it's worse, it never gets easier to watch though.

"No I'm' cough 'fine' cough 'we're almost done, I'll be good." She sat back up and wiped her mouth. It had stopped.

"So where was I? Ah no boyfriends, right."

"So yeah no boyfriends as of yet, and Spencer is going to shut her mouth, I've only ever had one male love in my life, my dog, Salem."

"Hes a beagle, he's not a service dog, just my best friend. I got him when I was 13 so he's 3 years old now. So yeah that's me, where do we go now?"

"We'll start tomorrow, I've had enough of typing let's go get some ice cream."

"YUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSS." Paisley said tripping over her oxygen tubes. "I just gotta go get my tank I'll meet you downstairs."

"Sure." I went downstairs.

Mum was downstairs on the table scrapbooking. She's been obsessed since Paisley was born, scrapbooking everything, every significant hospital visit. Every negative and every positive, she doesn't want to miss a moment. Every stepping stone Paisley has ever taken has been commemorated with a photo and some sort of feature page in one of mums scrapbooks.

She even scrapbooked her divorce, that's how she met Jessica, she was her lawyer. Funny isn't it, she's lovely though, supportive always and I'd take her over my Dad any day the prick.

"Hey honey whatcha' doing?" Mum said turning away from her glue and card paper.

"I'm just gonna take P to get some ice cream, want anything?" I grab my keys.

"Oh no thank you darling, Jess is taking me out to dinner tonight so gotta save my calories for then." She said with a wink and a giggle.

Mum has a lot of obsessions, weight and health is one of them.

"Okey dokey, well we'll see you later then." I grab my keys as I hear Paisley clonking towards us from her room.

"Okay sweetie be safe, were you guys starting the book? How's it going?"

"I'll be lucky to have finished it before I die let alone before she does the way it's going."

"HEY!" Paisley exclaims from the bottom stair.

"Oh sorry didn't see you there" I fully did.

"See you later Mum!" We both say at the same time as we walk out the door."

Mum giggles "Those two."