Memories can be bitches at times! They act like they fade, but they're always there. Safe and sound, deep down, writhing and wriggling like a scaly serpent, dying to come out of the hole.

They hurt. They hurt a lot. Especially when you see someone you care enough to stop by and say hi, in a condition like 'that' -lying on the cold hard ground, half awake, dead inside, unaware of the life around, immersed in a pool of sadness.

It wasn't that long when Nylla would stop and wait near the gate with wide expectant eyes, until Kaycee stormed out of the car, thudding the door close with her signature all black shoes, wild cusses flowing out of her mouth like it was a melody.

But now, she found no purpose to wait like that. Because Kaycee wasn't there anymore. Her best friend wasn't there.

In the very same place lay her brother, his body propped up to the car, head flopped down, eyes droopy. Once lustrous brown hair now hung limp and soggy. Jacket for a comforter, broken beer bottles and cigarette butts all around...such a pity.

Nylla's ears heard the school bell ring, clearly. Yet her heart refused to.

"Fuck!" She cussed battling the mundane situation. Her heart was good at crossing swords with her mind though. Because, her first step was hesitant, but the next one was certain. She wanted to help him for a hundredth time.

His arms disagreed to wrap around her shoulders, slipping and tugging her long tresses down while she helped him to his feet.

"Leave me alone."

"Get up!" Nylla strained clenching her teeth.

"Go home, Vanilla!" Kevin groaned. "It's late."

"Yeah, you moron! It's late enough to begin a new day. Now get your ass in the car. Your mom must be really worried. I'll ride you home."

"Sshh..." Kevin hissed, rubbing his sleep away. "You're too noisy for a human."

"Maybe." Nylla rolled her eyes strapping the seatbelt around him like he was a toddler. "Or maybe you are too anti-social for a human?"

Kevin chuckled settling into the seat. His eyes slowly drifting into slumber again. Warm sunshine sintered through his limpy hair and cast a shadow on his eyes, only to comfort him more.

"You're going to be late for the class again, remember?" Kevin warned groggily, "which also means it's your third detention in a row."

"Probably." Nylla shrugged, "and it's because of you. Gosh! It's always because of you. If only you could stop being a junkie and show some mercy on us?"

Speeding wheels answered the silence, along with the bobble Batman sitting on the dashboard as Kevin catnapped.

Nylla sighed, kicking the accelerator and radio on, all at once.

'Everything would have been a little easier, if only Kaycee was around...' she thought, reliving the day when Kaycee had disappeared.

Within a blink of an eye she was at the Cormack mansion, an inherited villa where Kevin and Kaycee lived -for a better terminology- 'used' to live with their mother.

Mrs. Cormack was at the porch, her dark circles darker than her curly hair. And yet, her brows stood arching confidently, thanks to weekly botox.

"Kevin!"

She sprung up from the old wooden chair as if her bones were a dozen years younger now, than they were just a moment ago. "Why won't you ever answer my calls?"

Kevin swung the leather jacket over his shoulder as he brushed past her. For him, his mother was nonexistent, at least emotionally. His hands had lit up another one of his cigarettes and mouth had pouted to puff out another one of his smooth smoke rings.

Disappointed, Mrs. Cormack turned around toward Nylla coughing into her recently manicured fingers. "Ah, darling! I can't thank you enough for all that you've been doing since Kaycee..."

"Oh don't sweat it, Mrs. Cormack. Your car will be back by evening, as usual." Nylla stepped into the car hastily and drove off.

While heading back to the school, Nylla couldn't help but remember how drastically upside down things had turned out within such short span of time. Things were no more same...Kevin, was no more the same. Hell, it was as if the world wasn't the same anymore.

When things used to be 'normal', everyday a boy or two would make a move towards Nylla or Kaycee, but Kevin was always there -like he was an omnipresent devil with horns- thrusting those poor boys' throats to the wall and saying the same dialogue everytime, "stay away from Kaycee or...you know the drill."

So, not only Kaycee was sister zoned in pinewoods high school, unfortunately Nylla was too, afterall they were soul sisters. All the boys stayed out of both their businesses. No boy dared enough to ask them out for date or dance. It used to annoy Kaycee the most, she always hated Kevin for butting in her private life.

"Hey! Can't you see?" Yelled a voice drawing Nylla out of the memory lane. "Who even gives these kids licenses? Jesus!"

"Sorry ma'am!"

Nylla took a deep breath as the watch showed ten past ten at last. Another boring day, another detention, another letter of explanation to be sent to her parents.

In a nutshell, Nylla's day was ruined. Again.