Gods and Monsters

Ch. 2 Little brothers Pt. 1

Sage woke up to yelling and Marlo crying at the bathroom door. He'd wet his pants because Mia wouldn't let him in. Mornings were usually chaotic with only the one bathroom and five people needing to get ready without missing the bus.

"Mia!" Sage banged on the door until it flew open to the glaring seven-year-old. She brushed past them and Sage rushed Marlo out of his soiled pajamas and into the shower. Sage left him to find Aurora throwing around her clothes. He stopped her and picked out an outfit himself.

"I don't want to wear that!" She whined as Mia attempted to brush her own hair. He'd told them plenty of times to pick out their outfits the night before.

"Too bad. I thought pink was your favorite color." He helped her into the shirt, or more like forced her.

"Only poor people wear clothes like that."

"Who says?"

"The other girls at school." She sniffled and Sage wiped away her tears. He didn't expect to hear this until they were at least in middle school.

"Then those girls are just mean and you don't want mean friends." He didn't really know what to say. Girls were harsh.

"Fuck them." Mia snapped.

"Hey! What did I tell you about that word."

"Sorry." She wasn't but she knew she'd be in trouble if she said it again. Aurora fidgeted with her princess shirt and Sage rushed them to hurry up. Marlo waddled by the door with a towel around him and tracking water. Sage followed him into their room and shook Elias awake who grumbled and complained but got up.

Once Marlo was dressed, they went into the kitchen and he let the five-year-old pour cereal for everyone. Once a sleepy-eyed Elias fell in front of a bowl, Sage finally got his turn in the bathroom. The water was now cold so he was forced to rush. He threw on whatever clothes smelled clean.

"Did everyone finish their homework?" He got grunts in reply, besides Marlo who chatted away happily. It was a rush to get everyone out the front door and by the time he did, they were all running towards the bus stop.

Elias went ahead to school but Sage had to get off the bus with the younger kids and walk them to the elementary school. He was late getting into his own first period but that was every day and the teacher didn't even comment anymore.

School work was easy for Sage. He naturally excelled in school and didn't need to study to get decent grades, not that he'd have time to study anyways. He didn't socialize with anyone. It wasn't that he was bullied or anything, he was more of just a ghost and drifted from class to class. Most of his classes were advanced so it wasn't many people in them. He shared first lunch with Elias but his younger brother sat with his nerdy friends and Sage sat at a back table doing the homework he'd gotten from earlier classes to have less to do at home. They got free lunch luckily and Sage chewed it slowly so he'd feel fuller.

Usually, Sage trusted Elias to pick up their younger siblings after school. He didn't have to work on Friday's though, so he let the younger teen stay behind with friends and Sage left when he had free periods for the rest of the day. He took his time walking to the elementary school and by the time he got there, kids were rushing out of the building.

The twins each held one of Marlo's hands when they crossed the street before they all ran to him.

"Sage! Look at what I made today!" Marlo showed off his noodle necklace, his blue eyes wide with excitement.

"That's cool little dude."

"A girl brought in cupcakes for the whole class, I took the cupcake but I didn't sing happy birthday because she's mean." Aurora smiled, bouncing on her toes. Sage chuckled and looked over at Mia, expecting her to tell him something about her day.

"I stabbed Mark Andrews with a pencil." She held her head proudly. Sage was stunned into silence for a minute.

"You can't just go around stabbing people." He scolded, allowing Marlo to jump on his back.

"He pushed me down on the playground, look." She showed him a bandaid on her elbow and he raised his brows. He wasn't about to say the usual thing he hears a lot. That he did it because he likes her. That was complete bullshit and just made young girls grow into women who accepted domestic abuse.

"Did he cry?." He asked instead.

"Like a baby." She giggled. Sage smirked and led the way home. After a lot of begging and pleading, he ended up on a bench at a playground like most Friday's. He kept his eyes on his siblings, watching Marlo scream as the twins chased him around. They were smiling though and that's all he cared about.

It's been a few months since their mom stumbled into the house and he found himself wondering if she was even still alive. Maybe she was some Jane Doe at a morgue, dead from an overdose. He wouldn't be surprised. The last time she came home, she left the next day with the grocery money. Sage had to take some out of rent to put food in the house. It was his own fault, he should have known better than leaving it in his dresser. Elias made sure to tell him that too. Sage knew the younger teen hadn't meant the things he'd said, he was just scared and didn't know how to express it.

Thinking of his younger brother, he wondered why he hadn't seen him walk by on his way home yet. Usually, he'd come and sit beside him. Sage figured he must have got caught up talking about school work with his little nerdy friends. After promising to bring them back to the park next week, he got everyone home and made corndogs and french fries for them all.

He set aside a plate for Elias but when the teen still hadn't come home by dark, he started to worry. It wasn't like him to stay out late, he was a homebody and his friends had curfews.

When it was reaching close to midnight, he couldn't stop looking out the window or pacing around the house. The kids were noticing and were becoming agitated. He tried to distract them with a movie but the twins started to argue and none of them would go to bed. It wasn't like he could leave them home alone to go look for Elias, they were too young for that. What could a nerdy fourteen year old possibly be up to so late?

Exhaustion finally had the kids going to their rooms and when Elias still hadn't come home, he was at a loss. Something could have happened.

Sage was sitting on the couch, trying to breathe through an anxiety attack when the front door finally opened.

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