Italics- thoughts/ flashbacks/ dreams

Bold- author talking

Underline- narrator talking, known as the main character

Normal- normal story

1451 words

ꨄ❦ꨄ❦ꨄ➪

Spring break is upon us.

It starts Monday. I gotta go to my parents home tomorrow because that is tradition. Always go to family on break.

I look around the room, at all the colorful generic pictures I kept buying at stores. I look at my soon to be alone fishies.

"I'm sorry y'all." I trace random lines on the glass with them following my finger. I don't want to leave them. I didn't want to leave them months ago for winter break.

"I don't wanna go..." I mutter to myself. I love my family but sometimes they're so mean.

It's not as bad as it was while I grew up though. I turn around, walk to the bed and flop on it face down. I'm backwards from how someone normally lays on a bed.

He grabs my mostly healed hand and runs his thumb over the top of it. All the feelings that have been very common lately, come back.

"Do I have to leave? I don't wanna go anywhere."

"It's up to you."

"I gotta go but I don't want to."

"You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. Why don't you want to leave?"

"I don't know."

"You aren't being forced to leave."

"I can't stay here forever, that's depressing."

"Is it hell taking away your motivation?"

"Can it do that?"

"If you don't like it here it can."

I roll to my side to look at him. "I hate it here."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't realize till now."

"I hate hell too."

"Then why are we living here?"

"I thought you would want a house? I don't know what you humans want."

"Weren't you once human?"

He pauses like the question hurts him or something. "2 completely different times."

"Oh yea."

"So where do you want to live?"

Home.

"I can't just pick where to live. Your house is here. Can it teleport too?"

"No but you can live wherever you want."

"Will you be with me?"

"Of course."

"The fish too?"

"Yes, the fish too."

"How would we move? Like getting a house? Ain't anyone affording those. Or an apartment would be so cute. What about my apartment that you won't tell me about? It's been over 2 months and I still don't know anything." I force my tired self to sit up and I poke his chest. "What happened to my apartment?"

He looks amused. "It's still there and it is still yours."

"How? I haven't played rent in too long. The landlord is too strict for that."

He runs his hand up and down my back, under my shirt. "It's being paid for."

"No one has money-" I suspiciously look at him, "do you have money?"

He grins. "Why do you wonder?"

"Cuz houses cost like 5 bajillion dollars and you have one. Or did you get this when houses were a penny?"

"First of all my crippled butterfly, houses do not cost 5 bajillion dollars and houses never cost a penny."

"Well they aren't cheap."

He nods before pulling close to him. He's trying to distract me.

"This foolishness will not work today. Tell me how we would move anywhere and how I still have an apartment."

"I told you how you have the apartment. We could move into a house from wherever you want to live."

"Can you time travel?"

"No one can do that."

"Then how did you show me younger you?"

"It was an illusion of my memory."

"Can you do that for me?"

"Only dreams."

"Why only dreams? What's wrong with memories?"

"Memories are too fragile and based on real events. Dreams are nonsense and mean nothing."

"I wanna live on my bed without all the problems that would go along with it."

"I don't think that's possible."

"Awww."

He kisses my nose. "Everything will work out, you have all the time to figure out what you want to do."

"I'm 23. I don't have that much time."

"23 is young, you have plenty of time."

"Only young enough to sleep forever."

He looks at me like I'm crazy. "Sleeping doesn't fix everything."

"It fixes a lot."

"It will make your depressive episode worse."

How dare he say what I didn't want to hear. It's true, that's why I didn't want to hear it.

"Nah, I'm good."

"No you aren't. Get ready for tomorrow."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

I groan before getting off the bed and packing stuff.

ꨄ❦ꨄ❦ꨄ➪

I knocked on the door after Athena left the parking lot. The dogs are barking and I hear mom try to keep the dogs behind the door.

I could have texted but surprises are nice. She opens the door and looks so happy before the dogs push her out the way to say hi to me.

"Hello my babies," I say while petting them. I love them.

They always get the first hi.

"Iggy, Gracie move out the damn way and let me welcome my own daughter," She tells them.

Iggy walks away after giving her a betrayed look and Gracie sits on my foot. I look at my mom.

"She loves meeeee."

"I'm sure she does. Why didn't you text that you were coming?"

"Surprise! I'm here!"

Bit delayed.

"Everyone will be happy, come on. You too, Gracie."

She wines the way beagles do before laying down and ignoring us. My poor foot fell victim to her lazy ass.

I pull my foot from under her ass and follow my mom up the 4 stairs. Gracie follows along.

I see my dad sitting at the chair that belongs with the table. I intensely stare at him for only a second because I end up laughing instead.

"Welcome home you wackadoodle" he says.

"Bonjour babbo."

He looks at me all goofy. "Listen here, shorty," he dramatically said. "So how was the journey here from your kingdom far away?"

"It's only 3 hours and it was fine."

"How has school been?"

Do they know? "It's been fine, like normally."

He gives me 'are you lying, child?' dad look. I smile as dumbly as I can.

"Oh and my fish are still alive."

Both mom and dad look impressed. "That is surprising," mom says. Dad nods in agreement.

"Where is Aaleyah? She hasn't said hi and that's rude."

"She's downstairs" they both say.

I open the door on my right and it creaks. Stupid creaky door.

"See y'all soon," I tell them.

"Well that was quick," dad says.

I smile like a creep at them before disappearing behind the door as I used to years ago. It's tradition to be a creep before disappearing behind the door.

I try to quietly walk down the loud ass stairs that aren't covered by the wall halfway through anyways. The light is also on so that won't help much either.

Dammit I can't be weird. For now I'll be a normal family member. I'm still going to sit halfway on the stairs and stare at Aaleyah till she notices me.

She doesn't notice me but Yaya does.

"You're home!"

"I am!"

I hugged her. She looks so happy and it makes me happier.

I poke Aaleyah once I get the chance and she looks at me mad as fuck.

"Hi, long time no see."

"Don't slap me."

So dramatic already. "I poked you, fruit loop. And hellllooooo, it's nice to see youuuu."

"Nice to see you too." Too much sarcasm.

"How is your shoulder?"

"It's better."

"Good."

I don't know what to do now. This is my family and I feel so awkward for no reason. None of this is new, why do I feel so lost?

Well I normally feel lost but this is a different type. I feel like I don't belong and that hasn't happened in years.

I only feel like this if something will go wrong. I must ignore it or it'll never go away, everyone knows that.

I walk over to Yaya. "How has the last few months been?"

"Horrible."

"Why?"

"Because you weren't here but now my day has already gotten so much better." She smiles the way only grandmas can.

"So tell me what has been happening lately."

I start a whole rant of complete lies and bullshit that slowly pains me. I don't like lying but she would hate the truth.

I don't need to give my grandma a heart attack when she's already so happy.

I'm living a double life opposite from each other and it's destroying me. I can't focus or give my attention to more than one thing at a time. This will probably ruin me faster than anything I feared before.

Living my dream story life is a hidden nightmare.