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Imogen Halstead (age 20)
Word count: 802
Imogen's POV
I. Am. Angry. Raging. Seething with hate. Is my existence truly that unbearable? Am I that much of a burden?
Here I stand, outside of my brothers door, with a backpack full of clothes. I hesitate to knock, but almost as if he knew I was there, the door swings open and jays face appears right in front of mine.
"We should get going..." jay stops talking when he notices me stood there. I look between my brother and hailey, shoot, I definitely interrupted their date night. Jay frowns, "uh, hi? What's up?" He pauses in the doorway. I shake my head, "oh it's nothing, I just wanted to uh- stop by... I'll head out though, you two have a great night" I back up, realising how stupid I now look. Jay reaches out, grabbing my arm, "what's wrong?" His face is laced with concern.
I shake my head, smiling dismissively, "nothing, like I said... I just wanted to stop by. But I'll call back tomorrow" I shrug. Jay stares at me for a few seconds, "yeah, make sure you stop by tomorrow" he hesitantly agrees with me. I nod, "don't cause too much trouble" I smile at hailey, waving at the pair as I vanish around the corner. I practically run back to my car, hopping in the drivers seat before speeding off, making sure Jay can't follow me. He's suspicious... but why should I ruin his rare date night? Another night in the car won't hurt...
~
I couldn't face my brother... I feel horrible. It's now 7pm, and yesterday I promised that I would go over to his apartment and see him. If I'm that much of a burden to my own father... maybe I am to him too... and will. Does everyone think that?
I'm currently sat on a bench, near the Chicago river, watching the water flow rapidly against the current. It's dark outside, and fairly quiet. The shuffling of feet catches me off guard, "avoiding me?" My brothers voice reaches my ears. My head snaps up in confusion, "you were ignoring my calls, so I tracked your cell" he sighs. I slowly nod, of course he did.
"You scared me last night, I could tell something was wrong" he sits down next to me, and his warmth immediately engulfs me. My blanket of safety. I look down, "dad kicked me out, I've been sleeping in my car for a week" I fiddle with the hem of my jacket. Jay turns to face me completely, his eyes as wide as flying saucers, "he what?!" He almost yells. I grab his arm, "jay..." I plead. He scoffs, "He kicked you out? For what?" He shakes his head in disbelief.
I slowly shrug, "he was sat watching a film, I was doing some college work and we were talking about getting tickets to see the next bears game..." I let out a heavy sigh, "he started getting rowdy, complained all night that I reminded him of mom... he said I was doing it on purpose to spite him. I confronted him. I said he couldn't project his grief onto me anymore, so he flipped and kicked me out" I almost stutter as tears fill my eyes, blinding me.
"Immy... what the hell? Why didn't you come to me sooner? I have a spare room, I have a couch..." jay grabs my hand, and I can only let out a shaky sob. I turn to face him, "I panicked. After dad said all that, I wondered if it's what you think too. And Will too... maybe everyone just sees me as this chore!" I throw my head back. We remain silent for a few seconds before he pulls me into a big brotherly hug, "you're anything but a chore, dad had no right to say and do what he did. Yes, you do remind us all of mom, in every good way possible. You're incredible, and smart, and gentle. But you didn't deserve any of this this" jay shakes his head.
"You're gonna' stay with me until we can figure something out, but you're staying as long as you need to" he frowns, and I shake my head, "I don't wanna' be a burden, you're busy and Haileys in the picture..." I mumble, "Will you shut up? Just for two seconds? Imogen, you're my little sister. I protect you, it's my job, now let me do it" jay nudges my arm. I groan intensely, "fine, but the second I get in the way... I'm out of your hair" I look at him gratefully as I wipe my tears away. Jay laughs "it'll be fun, just like when we were kids..." he stands up, pulling me with him. Maybe it could be fun...