Hiding Anna [rewritten]

Chapter Two: Siblings

As we arrived home, I immediately tackled the homework I'd been given to do. Quinn had been right when she's said that we were all going to struggle this year, my teachers had not gone easy on workload.

Because I was resitting this year, Miss Long had given me extra D1 and C2 past papers to do. I figured I'd start with that today.

The twins too had homework to do, and so we put an album on through the speakers in the kitchen and got working.

Our kitchen was huge. So large that there was room for a small grey sofa, an enormous oak dining table and a double-door fridge. When I was really little, and the twins hadn't even been born yet, my dad thought about putting up a swing in the kitchen since there was plenty of room and our ceilings were so high. But my mother thought it would be too dangerous because of the hard tiles.

She actually cared about our safety back then.

After about an hour and a half, Harry decided it was time to start making dinner. Ever since I'd learned to drive my mother had decided we no longer needed a nanny to look after us. The twins were pragmatically beyond their years, so much so that Harry was designated cook. I was the taxi. And Abi was the glue that kept us altogether.

"Can you tackle the butternut squash Cass?" Harry asked, hauling an enormous squash towards me. "Abi you're on spice duty." She didn't respond. "Abi! Get your head out of that book! You're meant to be doing homework anyway!"

My sister was an avid reader, and always had her nose in a paperback. It was one of her many hobbies along with dancing.

"Come on Bunny!" I coaxed. "Team effort tonight okay?"

Reluctantly she pulled herself out of the story and came over to the dining table and measured out different spices as Harry instructed her.

As we got to work, the music got increasingly louder, and Abi's grumbles had turned into smiles as we launched into karaoke.

I picked up a fork and used it as my microphone. "I swore I'd never let her go..." I sang and danced towards Harry. He did the same back and we bounced, doing the usual dramatic actions to the lyrics.

"Tell me what you wanna know..."

"Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on!" Abi belted.

"There ain't no motive for this crime..."

"Jenny was a friend of mine!"

Simultaneously we screamed "Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on..."

As the chorus took over Harry performed air guitar manically, jumping on all the pieces of furniture and knocking over a chair as he went.

Abi jumped on my back and I swung us around in circles until I thought I was going to fall over. We were all in fits of laughter, ready to collapse.

"Now, can I get back to my reading?" Abi asked, giggling once the song was over.

"Of course Bunny, I'll help Harry with dinner." I chirped, patting her on the head and handing her her book which I'd snatched away from her earlier.

"Actually Cass, you can get back to your work if you want. I can take it from here..." He murmured, taking the wooden spoon I'd plucked from the side out of my hands, and backing towards me so I was away from the stove.

It was true, I was a below-average cook, and though my brother was only fourteen, he has the culinary knowledge of a fifty-year old. It made my life a lot easier that he cooked all our food, but I always felt a nagging guilt since I was supposed to be looking after them, and not them looking after me.