Chapter Two

When she pulled into a parking spot by Greenhaven Apartments, I sighed and wearily stepped out of her car, which was much warmer than our hometown’s chilly spring weather.

I pulled the key out of my pocket and called when I opened the door, “I’m home!” Knowing I wouldn’t get an answer, I slipped into my room and locked the door. Taking out my violin I started practicing my scales, majors and minors, flats and sharps, harmonic majors and harmonic minors.

Playing the violin was the only way I could get away from my home life. The only way to have fun with my family. Mom liked listening to me play, so I quickly got over my fear of playing in front of people as a kid.

There was a scratching at the door, almost like an animal. When I heard the whining I called, “You know you can come in, Mom.” I had unlocked the door after the flat scales, like I did everyday.

My mom opened the door and stepped in nervously, shaking like a scared little rabbit. Her long hair, identical color to mine though ragged where mine was straight like my dad’s, was pulled back in a pony tail. Her golden brown eyes were darting back and forth around the room as she sat down on the ground.

“What would you like me to play?” I asked calmly and quietly.

She stuttered, “Canon in D.” When I started playing the familiar tune, her thin lips, also the same as mine, smiled. She started swaying a bit, but after a while she sneezed and I stopped to hand her a Kleenex, then continued playing as she wiped her long, thin nose. Yes, we had the same nose, too.

“Kathryn,” she said finally.

“Yes Mom?” I asked, my bow screeching to a stop.

She fidgeted. “Play me another song. One that I haven’t heard before. I want a song that makes birds.”

I nodded and started playing a song that fluttered around, one that was mostly on the A and E strings and had a lot of thirty-second notes. She smiled and sat back against my bed and watched me play cheerfully. This was the only part of the day that I felt close to her.

After about half an hour of playing for her she had fallen asleep and I stopped, putting my violin away and sneaking out of my room so I wouldn’t have to wake her up.

Brad was sitting on the couch waiting for me. He looked guilty and was shifting uncomfortably, flipping channels and not even noticing that wrestling was on USA Network. I sighed and sat down next to him.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep,” he murmured, putting his arm around me.

I leaned against him. “It’s okay, really. Kayla picked me up and I had dinner at her house.”

“You shouldn’t go through this, though,” he said.

I shrugged. “You did. We went through it together.”

Brad sighed and said, “Yeah, but I had you to cheer me up whenever I was down about it. You don’t have anyone.”

“You’re only a phone call away.”

“Then why don’t you call?”

“You never answer,” I replied simply. He looked away from me then, and chuckled nervously. I elbowed him, smiling. “But hey, you’re in college. You shouldn’t even have time to talk on the phone with your little sister.”

He laughed. “That’s the thing, though. I have plenty of time, but I just choose to read books instead.”

“Well, your reading is my music, so that’s perfectly fine by me,” I replied. We laughed together, but we stopped instantly when we heard the door opened.

“I’m home, if anyone cares,” we heard the familiar voice call.

“Hey Dad,” Brad called, and I cringed.

Our dad wasn’t exactly the handsomest guy around, if anyone cares. He’s short and overweight, and he was jealous of my being so tall and thin. He was balding already even if he was only forty-two, and his beer belly was already fifty inches around. Most of his shirts were stained, and his jeans had holes in them and were all faded. What he did in his free time was anyone’s guess, because no one really knew. Not even him.

“Well, are you two just going to sit there or are you going to make me something to eat?”

We glanced at the clock. It was nearly eleven at night by then, so we knew he hadn’t eaten since three. I stuck a TV dinner in the microwave, and when I took it out I stirred it up so it looked like I had actually made it. He always liked to think that I had cooked things for him, even though I had never made a meal in my entire life that didn’t include cereal.

Brad and I were banished from the kitchen almost immediately after we set the plates down (Brad had put rolls in the oven for ten minutes) so we both went to my room. Mom was already in her room doing . . . well, we didn’t know what she did at night either.

“So, how are you doing on the violin?” he asked.

“Book nine, big bro,” I replied as I flopped down on one end of my squeaky bed. Brad sat down on the other, making it squeak even louder. I was only one hundred pounds at five feet eight inches, and he was one eighty at six feet four inches. We took after our mom.

“Well, how’s school then?” he laughed.

I cringed. “I’m getting a D in math.”

“Katie!”

“Well, who do you expect to help me? Mom or Dad? Sure, like they even could. Besides, I can’t exactly get help at school. Dad would kill me if he ever found out,” I snapped.

Brad grimaced. “You could always come down to the Cities with me for a week or two. I’d tutor you.”

I was shocked. Brad was asking me to visit him? At college?

“I couldn’t,” I replied. “Dad would never let me. You know he never lets us do anything.”

“Maybe if you convince Mom to let you go he’ll cave in eventually.”

I laughed. “Mom? Having any influence on Dad? You keep dreaming there, bro.”

He smiled and replied, “I guess you’re right. Anyway, think about it. You might like it down there. It’s warm and it doesn’t rain as much. Besides, they have a good public school just right around the corner from my college. Plus there might be a place where you can have a violin mentor for cheap.”

“Sure, sure, I’ll think about it. By the way, how’s the sound system?” I asked, talking about the auditorium that his college had. I hadn’t been there before. Dad hadn’t let me go down.

“You’ll have to see for yourself,” he replied airily. I punched him in the shoulder, knowing that he would never really answer my question straight out.

There was a crash, and we both raced out of the room to find Dad doing what he usually did. Throwing the remote through the TV when there was nothing he liked on.