Fight

Dani

    “So. How is this picture I drew?” Cally asked. I looked. It was a girl, draped in a black,shadowy cloak. She was kneeling by a lake, her hand just touching the water. Her face was hidden by her dark, dark hair. All around her were trees. And the hand that was touching the water was pale, pale as a ghost. The sun was setting in the background. Everything in the picture was dark. Even the water was dark and glassy. So this pale, pale hand, outstretched to the water, stood out against the dark backdrop.

    “It’s amazing.” I told her. She grinned.

    “Ok. Now how’s this one?” She held it out. I looked at it. It was a young girl. She was in a black, long dress. She was standing at the edge of a cliff. Once again, the sun was setting in the background. You didn’t have to be a genius to see that the girl was about to jump.

    “I wish I could draw as well as you.” I said, wistfully. Then Thomas stomped up the stairs of the porch, interrupting our conversation, and slammed the door of our house.

    “Thom?” I said, limping inside.He was sitting on the couch, staring into space.

    “Go away, Dani.” He said.

    “But-”

    “I said, go away.”

    “Thom-”

    “GO THE F**K AWAY, DANI!’ I turned, and just walked up the stairs. What was wrong with him?

                Thomas

    Earlier that day, Nicole had a doctor’s appointment. She was getting sick, and having massive headaches. She asked me to come with her to the doctor’s office. I was there when we heard the results. My girlfriend, the girl I loved, had a brain tumor. I went home in a daze. I yelled at Dani for something. Honestly, i don’t remember much until dinner. Ashlynn, sitting next to me, elbowed me in my side.

    “Apologize!” She hissed to me. I sighed.

    “Dani, i’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s not like my girlfriend is dying of brain cancer!” I said. She stood up.

    “Well, how was I supposed to know? I mean, you wouldn’t talk to me!” She whirled, and limped up the stairs. Honestly. What was up with her these days? Why was she so emotional? Ashlynn stood up, and glared at me.

    “Can you ever think before you speak? She’s going through a tough time right now. She’s the youngest in the family. She’s still developing, so she’s especially emotional. And she’s hurt. She has a sprained ankle. She nursed you so many times after dad hurt you. You and me and Cally. Did you ever, for once, think that maybe, just maybe, that affected her? She’s used to helping us. And now she can’t. We’re all leaving her next year. She’s moving to a new house, leaving behind the house she grew up in and her best friend since kindergarten! And now, you’re yelling at her for something that is not her fault! She always has to be the toughest in the family! Let’s,for once, not test that toughness!” She glared at me, then followed the path Dani had taken, to go find her. Dylan glared at me, as well. Oh, come on. Dani always got all the attention. My girlfriend was dying of cancer, and all anybody could think about was how tough Dani was, and how much Dani was hurting right now. Well, fine. Next year, I was leaving all of them behind. No more center of attention little sister. And then I immediately felt guilty. I had never wanted the attention, after all. I preferred to spend all my time with my football. If I had spent my whole life retreating from them, I could hardly expect them to come to me now.

                    Ashlynn

    “Dani?” I asked, walking in through her door. She hastily wiped her eyes.

    “What?”

    “It’s okay. Thomas didn’t mean it. His girlfriend has a brain tumor, and he feels helpless. He’s frustrated because of that, because he can’t do anything. And so he allowed that frustration to transfer to us.” She was silent for a moment.

    “I forgot how many psychology courses you took.” Just then, there was a knock on the door. I opened it, to see Thom.

    “Can I come in?”

    “I-guess so.” Dani said.

    “I have to go do the dishes.” I said. “I’ll be back in a bit.” I slipped out the door. But of course, I didn’t go downstairs. I stayed right outside the door. There was a rustle of covers as Thom sat down on Dani’s bed.

    “I’m sorry Dani.” He said.

    “It’s fine.”

    “No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You didn’t know.”

    “It’s okay, Thomas. You were stressed and frustrated. I get it.”

    “To tell you the truth, I’ve always been a bit jealous of you.”

    “You have?”

    “Yeah. You were so sporty. You had so many friends, and a twin brother that you were super close to. You got so much attention.”

    “But I was always jealous of you!”
    “What?”

    “Yeah. You were always older, smarter. You knew better than to do some of the stupid stuff I did.”

    “That’s crazy.”

    “So’s you being jealous of me!” There was another rustle as they hugged. Then Thom got up to leave. Uh-oh. He opened the door, and I fell in with a crash.

    “Ash!” They both exclaimed. But neither of them looked too mad.

    “Doing dishes?” Thomas teased. I rolled my eyes.

    “Oh, please. Like you wouldn’t have done the same thing.” I said. He helped me up.

    “Well, I wanted to make sure I didn’t have to come in there and keep you from strangling each other.”

    “Mmm-hmmm.” Dani said, raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes.

    “Seriously though, we need to do the dishes.”

                        Dani

    On monday, I had to go back to school.

    “Is it just me, or was yesterday like, the longest day ever?” I asked Dylan that morning. He grinned.

    “Sure felt like it.” he said.

    “On the bright side . . . We have baseball today!” I grinned. He laughed.

    “Let’s just hope that Sam doesn’t have to make good on his threat to Jack.”He laughed. “But you’re not playing. You sprained your freaking ankle.” I rolled my eyes.

    “I know, I’ll sit on the sidelines and be good.”I promised, rolling my eyes. He smiled.

    "Cheer up!" Dylan said. I pushed open my front door. Sam was waiting.

           "Hey guys." He looked somewhat downcast.

           "What's wrong, Sam?"

           "Nothing."

           "Mmm-hmmm."

           "I'm fine!"

           "Okay . . . Are you excited for baseball?"

           "I guess. You're not playing, though."

           "Yeah, yeah. I know. I just wish I could play once with everyone, before I have to leave them all behind." Sam grimaced.

           "I know. Me too."

           "I just wish my mom wasn’t making us move."

           "Me too. You two are my only real friends."

           "Yeah, how am I supposed to survive without my best friend, in a new house?"

           "Oh, you'll find friends. You always do."

           "That doesn't mean I want to give you up!"

           "You think I don't feel the same way?"

           "No, I don't! I'm pretty sure you're just going to move on and find another friend without a second thought!"

           "Why would you think that?" He asked me. "There's no way you care about this more than I do!"

           "Oh, I doubt that, or else you would understand that it's not my decision!"

           "I know that! But what I am trying to tell you is that I don't want to lose you! I love . . ." Sam paused,  as if suddenly realizing what he was about to say. " . . . all the time we spent together." He added, in a tone of defeat. I blinked, then shut the door in his face. I turned and crumpled, sliding down the door. I will not cry. I told myself. I will not cry. I will not . . . But the tears were already streaming down my face. I put my head down. Why was I even crying? I mean, Sam and I had barely fought. So why did I feel like we had just had our very worst fight? Dylan sat down next to me. In truth, I had forgotten he was there.

           "You okay?"

           "Y-yeah. Truthfully, I'm not exactly sure what just happened. . ."

           "Sam almost told you he loved you. Then you slammed the door in his face. And now we are going to be late for school."

           "Like a sister, right?" He just rolled his eyes, and stood up.

           "Come on."