Sweet Little Sister

Rachel had given up banging on the locked door, there was no way to get inside, the only thing he could do was wait for grandma and her set of keys but we all knew she'd be late, as always. It was satisfying enough to hear him squeal in pain after kicking his foot on the hard cement wall.
It almost paid for what he was doing to me. Almost.

"You better open or I'll deck you," he shouted, banging his fists.

I was too bored to even answer, I continued flicking through random tv stations.

"Baby open, your brother is being a whiny little bitch," Rob pleaded, then all I could hear for a few moments of muffled voices and somebody getting smacked. I closed my eyes and covered myself with a blanket.

"I'm gonna break the fucking door down!" Rachel screamed.

"You can come down the chimney like some Santa with a girl's name for all I care, and we sure as hell down even own a fireplace butt-lick," I shouted back, knowing he would beat the crap out of me for calling him a girl.

At last, the noise was gone, they must have gone to harass some other family, probably went over to Scotti's house or somewhere. At last, maybe I could sneak out or something, try and go look for Joe... Highly impossible to find him though, I have no clue where he lives. Never mind, right now, my mind was set on sleeping.

CRASH.

Glass shattered everywhere as my brother stood up into the middle of the room, dusting the shards of glass off him. Had he just fucking gone through the window? Holy shit... I was in trouble after all.
The floor was covered, so I stood on the couch, watching Rachel's steps, as he slowly walked towards, careful not to cut himself and bleed to death, which didn't seem like a bad idea right now. He had a murderous look on his face.

"First, you go off with a dangerous stranger on his motorbike, then you lock yourself in the house. After that, you call me a girl," he paused, trying to refrain his anger, "and now look what I had to do! Maybe your next step will be banging with Snake and going off to LA, becoming some groupie?"

"Woah, why would I bang Snake?" I asked.

"Because Snake would never say no to anything with legs and a pussy."

"Gee Rachel, that's a great way to talk about your buddy," I teased. Oh damn, bad move.

His eyes were glazed and now everybody was staring at us. Snake did look like he was picturing me with underwear only and a mud pit between Rachel and I. Sleazy jerk.

Out of nowhere, a pillow was flung to my head, knocking me over. I lost my balance and fell, reaching out my arms so I wouldn't hit myself worst. Of course, I hadn't noticed the small pieces of glass and now Rachel and I were kicking each other, biting and clawing at each other on the floor, with the usual audience immobile.
It was like a routine now, we fought too much lately. I bit his arm and he screamed, kicking around. We were both rolling onto the glass and covered in blood. The guys were cheering and placing bets on us but I ignored everything, thankfully, so had Rachel because he would have gone nuts if he heard what they said about me.

He grabbed my head and knocked it on the floor. I would have passed out but the shouting stopped and everybody went still.
This could only mean one thing, the only thing that could stop these guys from fights and trouble in general. A very menacing form, a person we had the chance to call our grandmother.

"What the hell is happening in my house?" she screamed, taking one look at the broken window, the glass everywhere and her two grandchildren covered in blood on the floor... and a bunch of dicklickers watching as if this were a movie premiere.

Grandma was not a person to be taken lightly. She was a very strong woman, very sure about herself and took shit from nobody, to put it nicely she was bad-ass, not the old granny who bakes cookies and cleans around. This was the woman that raised us like her kids and worked all day long so she could feed us.

I felt guilty but it was Rachel's fault.

"Its Rachel's fault!"

"No it ain't! She's been fuc-"

"Swear and you'll be kicked so hard you'll never have children," my grandmother said threateningly.
Rachel gulped.

"I don't care whose fault it is, I am sick of this, coming back to a bunch of bums that do nothing but destroy and fight!" she went on. From the corner of my eye, I could see Scotti, Snake, Sebastian and Rob trying to flee the scene.

"Don't move an inch you punks," grandma said without even looking their way. "This was the final straw, look at yourselves, bloody and beaten! I've had enough, its time you get your act in gear and its time I get some rest from babysitting teenage angst impersonated!"

She looked desperate but I couldn't understand why she was giving us this huge monologue. Rachel looked at me, wondering the same thing.

"Its time you leave," she finished off.

My jaw dropped, so did Rachel's. Kicking us out? Because of him and his stupid ass window-crashing ideas? Because he wanted to "protect" me from any guy that dared look at me for more than a second?
I had no life thanks to the asshole of a brother I had. I got up, wiping the blood off the corner of my mouth and went to my room, in search of a bag to throw some clothes in and the most necessary stuff. I could hear his steps behind me.

"Look, Ann-"

"Save it for someone that cares, leave me alone for at least 24 hours," I told him, glaring at him and shoving stuff in a bag.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know, since I'm such a groupie, I'll find someone around here. As you said, Snake wouldn't mind being roommates, now would he?" I asked sarcastically, slamming the door in his face, pushing past Sebastian, who was looking at me all the time and past my grandmother who had no sign of remorse on her face. I had three thick jackets on me, knowing I'd need them.

I was so pissed. My teeth were clenched so tight together, my jaw was numb. I knew one place I could sleep, an old park down the road, where nobody would bother me. I was pretty sure Rachel knew I was heading there but knowing that I was pissed he wouldn't bother me until the 24 hours were up.
After a day, he'd be up looking for me, having his friends form a search team. His gorgeous friends. Correction, that only worked for Sebastian, who hadn't talked to me in ages. I didn't care anymore, he was such an arrogant prick. All he cared about were the screaming chicks they'd get in a few years if they played in clubs. In some ways, I could understand him but why was he interested in me? I was simple-looking, didn't have something astonishing about me.

I wasn't the leggy blond guy with the wonderful body and insane voice. I was the one melting when he sang, watching him from the other side of the room as he did what he was born to be, a hearth throb, a ladies man that needed the spotlight.

I looked over my shoulder, nobody was following me.

The park had a broken bench underneath three or four trees that had grown out of control and hadn't been trimmed for years. I remembered this park back when it was in shape, when I was just a silly little kid. I used to pretend I was a dinosaur, chasing other kids... even back then, I wasn't a typical girl, I liked dinosaurs and hated dolls, all my friends were boys and I had no mother figure in my life.
Well, at least I wasn't a lesbian.

As if hiding, I was cuddling with myself on the broken wooden bench, warm and cozy since the wind was cut off thanks to the trees. I was tired but I couldn't sleep, all I could do was look around and wait until it was morning again, so I could go to school or something.

The night sky from black turned to dark blue... then dark grey to grey, until I could see the sun come out and shine through all the shadows. For some reason, I kept thinking about Hotel California, that damn song was stuck on repeat in my head, no idea why.

I didn't have the gut to go back home and take a shower, knowing my grandmother, she had most likely changed the locks twice already. Rachel must have slept over somewhere and I knew that when he would find me, he would drag me along everywhere he'd go.

Groggily, I got up and stretched my cramped body, as the traffic around the streets was just beginning to build up, the working people were going to their pathetic jobs. I genuinely felt sorry for their boring lives.

With my bag in hand I crossed the street and walked a few blocks down, to the closest drug store so I could get some candy, or maybe a granola bar, I hadn't set my mind yet but I was aiming for the cheapest. I walked around the aisles, with the constant look of the cashier fixated on me, he thought I was going to shoplift, since I looked homeless, I still had blood and cuts all over me and a few twigs here and there. A rough day and surely not a pretty sight.

I feasted on a mars bar and sat outside, on a bench, like a real homeless person in all his glory.

Right then, from the corner of my eye, I spotted the last person on my mind. Dammit! I grabbed an old newspaper from the ground and pretended to read it, covering my face in a lame attempt to hide. I sucked because he saw me and sat right next to me.

"You do know the newspaper is three months old and upside down, right?" he laughed.

I lowered it down to my nose. "Oh hey... didn't see you there Joe... just trying to catch up with the news."

Great comeback bonehead, I thought, slapping myself mentally. He took one look at my face and I was pretty sure he was gonna say what the fuck's up with your face but he was much more polite.

"What happened? Did someone do this to you?"

"Actually... I had a fight with a family member, that prick you met the other day? He's sporting the same cuts as well."

He couldn't help but laugh at my honesty. What a handsome guy he was... with a beautiful smile and everything, like a model, but bad-ass and rough around the edges. In other words, my type of guy.

"So what are you doing out here so early?" he asked.

"We trashed the house, its kind of complicated."

"Do you wanna go grab something to eat?" He looked me straight in the eyes, there was no chance I'd say no, that's for sure.

"Okay," I squeaked.

We walked side by side to a diner, he was talking about himself. He was 25, had been living here for almost a year, he had grown up in California and wasn't working at the moment. I wasn't paying great attention to his words but more on how he spoke and moved... and his facial expressions.
He pushed open the door for me and we entered the warm little space, taking a booth in the back. After ordering, I sat in silence, too awkward to start any other conversation.

"Your brother doesn't like you being with guys?"

"He wouldn't like me being with girls either," I joked, "but yeah, he goes ballistic, he thinks he can protect from anything, from guys like himself."

"Sounds reasonable... but not all guys are here to hurt you," he said and put his hand over mine on the table. Oh great, here we go, I felt like I was flung into some romantic movie.

I moved deliberately closer to him and I had to, it had been such a long, long time since my last kiss. I held my head higher and closed in the distance, enjoying my new-found rush of courage, went close enough to feel his breath mix with my won. He was a smoker and I liked him even more for that. Our noses touched and I closed my eyes, feeling our lips collide smoothly and passionate while his hands held my face. My tongue grazed his bottom lip until he gave up the fight and melted under my touch. He tasted like smoke and a morning breeze, definitely amazing.

His skilled tongue moved along mine, stepping back for my needs. I couldn't believe I had a 25 year-old wrapped around my finger. He tasted me around my lips, along my cuts that hadn't healed yet and bit gently. Great kisser too... Finally the order came, the waitress coughed because this was a family place and he pulled away, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm not even hungry anymore," he whispered and I laughed, bringing my plate over and eating as if I had been starving for weeks.

He occasionally grabbed a fry or two from his plate but mostly kept quiet while I was stuffing my face. He felt his pockets, then took out a pack of Marlboros, lighting a cigarette and taking a long puff, just as I finished my burger. Smiling slyly, I snatched the pack and took one for myself, joining in on the fun.

"Come on, don't fuck with your health," he said in a semi-serious tone, trying to grab the cig from my lips.

"Dude just try, remember, I was raised as a boy, don't let the curves misguide you," I said, cocking my eyebrow. He laughed and thinking he'd actually win this time, his hand swung a mere inch away from the lit cancer stick. I burst out laughing and flicked him on his forehead. He playfully grabbed my wrists, pushing me towards him until we were kissing again... wow this was bringing a whole new level of fighting and making up into my world, quite literally.
I pulled away just in time, I felt a weird aura around me. Turning my head lightly, I was quick enough to hide under the table.