Dance With Me

The telephone rings; the house is silent. The clock ticks; I want to scream. I answer the phone. "Hello?"

"I love you too, 'lil sis."

I gasp. My oldest brother, Roger. Did I forget to mention him? Sorry. He's the oldest. He lives in the city, about two hours away from here. Oh, and he's gay. "Sorry," I apologized. "It's just, I was sleeping."

He laughed. "Well, I just wanted to call. Is ma home?"

"No. I'm home alone. They all went out." To see Francesca's baby. Without me.

"Where?"

"Don't know, don't care." I lie again.

"Talk to you later."

"'Kay." I throw the phone across the room. I run upstairs into my room and burst into tears. I shake uncontrollably, look in the mirror, and just cry harder.

Who am I? I think.

My world seemed to be shattering, breaking apart. I was suddenly facing problems and I felt like crap. What happened to those days where I had nothing to worry about?

I jump on my bed. I read a boring book that distracts me until my family gets home. Now, after 11 months, it's just me, my mom, Carol, and Hannah. But my mom and Carol have been fighting a lot lately. When they think I'm asleep, my mom comes in our room. She bawls quietly and talks to Hannah about how we might move out real soon.

"Hey." I say as Hannah walks in.

She ignores me. I see as she walks in the mirror, looks at herself, frowns, and bites her bottom lip. She wrinkles her nose and without even glancing at me, just walks out.

How rude, I think and go back to my book.