Desperate Hiding

Ashley grimaced at herself in the mirror. She wished she could look more like her sisters. Vanessa was really sexy for a sixteen year old, and Rachel was beautiful in a tough girl kind of way. College guys drool all over them, but no one notices her. Oh no, Ashley couldn't be pretty, like her sisters, her looks were too plain. My Vanessa has all the looks in the family Her mother told all her friends. Once, she actually had to nerves to say to a onlooker Ashley is adopted, her looks come from someone else. Ashley was positive that her ugliness was the reason her mother didn't love her. Love was given to the beautiful, and Ashley wasn't beautiful. She could fool people, and use her talent to appear to others as drop dead gorgeous, but she couldn't. It would be deceiving, not to mention that using her power was just too risky. People might find out, and try to experiment on her and her siblings. They might lock them up, calling them a danger to the world. People get freaked over stuff like the supernatural, so why risk it?

Rachel was thinking about whether or not she should drink the bottle of beer hidden in the cupboards when she heard the phone ring. She decided to let the caller take a message, because she had just decided to go for it and drink away all the pain that her mother had inflicted onto her. She grabbed a cup and took the beer from its secret hiding place. She poured it quickly, excited to drink it, just as Nick came in the kitchen.

"Hey Rachel, where is the-" He looked up. "Rachel!"

Rachel swallowed. "Um,-" She paused, then chugged down all the contents of the cup, then she grabbed the bottle, intending to finish that too.

"Stop!" Nick snatched the large bottle from her, clutching it tightly. "You have to stop this, it's ruining you."

"No! Nick, I can't forget!" She wanted to shriek, to pull her hair out. Why did Nick have to come in just then? "I need it to help me forget all that had happened!" Her hands were starting to burn, fire dripped on the ground.

"Rachel..." Nick gripped the bottle tighter. "You can't run from your problems. You can prevent thinking about them for an hour or two, but they're always there."

"I'll settle for an hour or too." Rachel tried in vain to pull the bottle out of Nick's death like grasp. Nick yelped in pain when her flaming hands touched his skin, and backed away from her quickly, still holding the alcohol. "Rachel, listen to me. You can't-"

"Argh!" Rachel screamed in frustration. "Nick, come on." She pleaded. "You used to do it too, remember?" She licked her lips. "It'll feel so good to drink it... Just a sip."

Nick glanced down at the bottle he was hugging so tightly. He used to drink a lot, until he realized that he had to take care of the family, and drinking wasn't going to help him. He was really thirsty though... "No." He finally said, looking up at Rachel. "No. I can't. I-" He looked down at the beer again. It seemed to invited him, the beer swishing against the bottle seemed to hum. You know you want it. They sang. Come and get it.

Rachel watched Nick's eyes flip flop between her and the beer. She wished he would hurry up and make the decision on whether or not to give her the bottle. "Nick..." She began, knowing that he was on the verge of throwing the bottle out the window. She closed her eyes as she planned on what to say. "Just-" she exhaled slowly. "We can share it. Like how we used too." She recalled memories of them two. They both liked to drink, to drown the thoughts of their mother out. Some of her best memories were of them two slightly drunk, laughing and walking home, talking about everything. Then Nick stopped, and Rachel had to walk home from the bar alone. Drinking wasn't fun without him, it was miserable. But she was addicted to alcohol, how could she stop?

Nick had to do something with the beer in his hands. He was so thirsty, and he was sure a little sip couldn't hurt him. He hesitated, then lifted up the bottle to his mouth and gulped it down. He wiped his mouth and handed it to Rachel, who, in turn, drank some and handed it back to him. The exchange continued until the bottle was empty, beer gone.