Not Your Enemy

Her alarm was the only sound she heard that pulled Autumn-October out of her deep sleep. The sleepy French-girl groggily forced her head from the depths of her blanket and glared at the screaming, digital item on her glass nightstand. The numbers shined 6: 15 and the loud ringing from within it got louder as the young girl stared at the numbers. Her eyes were narrowed in thin slits of hate and her head started pounding out of annoyance.

“Tobi if you don’t turn that crap off, I’ll come in there and do it for you,” Hannah yelled from her room just across the hall. Hanna was only in the 8th grade so she had an extra hour to sleep in, and she didn’t want to spend that hour listening to her lazy sister’s alarm clock ring while the older girl contemplated ways to kill the poor thing.

Tobi rolled her eyes and slammed her palm on the ‘silence’ button before crawling out of bed and walking toward the bathroom that connected her and her sister’s room. While starting the shower, Tobi turned her shower on cold and climbed in. She stood there, thinking, while the freezing water numbed out her body. The chills that ran up her spine caused shivers to respond and her teeth to shatter; however, Tobi continued cleansing her body.

She always showered in cold water to remind herself that she was still human; therefore, she was allowed to make mistakes that tainted her purity.

When Tobi was out and dressed, she tossed her forever wavy hair into a tight ponytail, applied light eyeliner, glossed he lips, and walked to her room to grab her shoulder bag. Her mood that morning was both excited for the day ahead, but dreading any drama that would be caused because of her actions two years before. Her clothing reflected how she felt.

Just as she was leaving her room, Tobi’s cell phone vibrated in her pocket and the quiet girl rolled her eyes, already knowing who it was calling her.

“Hello?” Tobi answered, sleep rolling from her tongue along with her answer.

“Was that your alarm I heard?” Ruby croaked from the other end. It was obvious she had yet to get out of bed, and it became even more obvious when the familiar groan of Dalton, her boyfriend, came from the background.

“Did you let Dalton sleep over last night?” Tobi asked in an angry whisper as she grabbed an apple from the dining room table and walked over to the living room to watch the morning news for any weather information. “I thought you promised me you wouldn’t let him stay over if he was going to act like an a-hole.”

“I can’t help it,” Ruby giggled and the sound of a lustful groan was heard, “he’s a good lay.”

The phone went dead and Tobi knew that Dalton had hung up for Ruby just so they could have a quick fucking session before school started. She rolled her eyes and focused on the reports for light rain and heavy clouds; that was the normal weather in Forks and it always made Tobi miss her sunny vacations to France when it went too far.

Heels echoed from the wooden stairs and Tobi’s head snapped up so she could smile a morning greeting to her mom. The blonde woman smiled at her adopted daughter and fixed the missed button on her business suit. Saline worked at the sheriff’s department as an assistant to the chief, but she always made time to spend personal time with all three of her kids.

“Are Hannah and Holden still sleeping?”

Tobi nodded and ran her light brown fingers over the large rip in her jeans, “I doubt Hannah is fully asleep yet because my alarm woke her up a little while ago, but Holden always sleeps like a rock.”

“Well, you should get going before both of them wake up,” Saline said with a smile, “I don’t want to have to write another ‘doctor’s note’ just so you could get by without getting in trouble… again.”

Tobi smiled and rose from the couch, “I’ll be next door if you need me anytime soon. I still have to wait for Ruby.”

“Tell her I said ‘hello’!” Saline called after Tobi before the teenager was out the door and walking to the house just several feet away. She put on a smile as she walked through the front door without knocking and peeked her head in for any signs of the wicked legal guardians. Tobi knew all about the neglectful ways of Ruby’s aunt and uncle, but she couldn’t do anything about it that would keep Ruby in a tolerant home that held patience, if not affection, for the seventeen year old.

The air in the house held the lingering, bitter scent of cigarettes mixed with the awkward scent of pot. Crinkling her nose in response, Tobi walked further into the main room and got comfortable on the couch before taking out her iPod and turning on the loudest song she had to block out any sounds that may have escaped from upstairs.

Moments later she found herself unwillingly dozing off into the darkness of the dream world, forgetting that she and her friend had to leave for school just ten minutes later.