Flick

XI

"Meet me at the park in 20 minutes." Jackson said stepping out onto the fire escape right outside my window. "I'll have food and cigarettes waiting for you when you get there."

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and sat up in my bed. "But it's still so early." I whined. I am not a morning person. On the days I do sleep, waking up is hell.

"I know, but the longer you stay here the better chance of one of those assholes coming to look for you." Jackson said, giving me a pointed look. I groaned and flopped back.

"Flick, say that you'll meet me in 20 minutes by the playground at the park." Jackson is such a pain in the ass sometimes. Even if he was nice enough to let me use him as a teddy bear last night. "Say it before I leave or I'll stay here and drag your ass out of bed."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the hair tie off the side table. "I'll meet you at the park in 20 minutes." I grumbled.

He nodded curtly and stepped a little farther away from the window. "I'll hunt you down if you're late, Flicky." He yelled, climbing down the ladder.

"Oh shut up." I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me, and threw the blankets off my body, shivering at the pierce of cold air that hit my skin. I didn't waste much time getting dressed. Jackson was right. I didn't want to stay here a moment beyond necessity. I didn't want to see them. I didn't have the emotional energy to fight with them anymore, but I was far from over my anger last night. In fact, if anything, while I stared at the ceiling for hours last night, waiting and wishing just to sleep, I became even more infuriated with them. It was bad enough that the first three showed up unannounced, but there was something so mind numbingly angering about Noel showing up days late, also without the slightest bit of notice. I mean, I didn't want one of them here, but four was beyond pushing it.

It wasn't even just that, but more how shocked they all seemed when I snapped at them. As if they hadn't realized that I was so angry. It made me sick to my stomach to think that they were actually that dense. Because they weren't. One thing all of my family have always prided ourselves on is their smarts. All of my brothers, with the exception of Cameron and Noel, were the top students in their respective graduating classes and some of them even got academic scholarships to college and stuff. They're smart. So why is it so hard for people so smart to understand why the hell I'm so mad? I don't understand, and I don't care enough to ask. Whatever their reason, I didn't need to hear it. They made their decision. And I made mine.

So that would be that. Nothing more to discuss about it. All I had to do was make it through Christmas without losing my mind, which shouldn't be hard if I stay away from the apartment until at least Monday of next week. A week isn't so long. I've had to avoid home for longer than that when Mom has friends stay over for days at a time.

Pulling on a pair of old vans that used to be Camerons, and a sweatshirt over my jeans and t-shirt, I grabbed my backpack and stepped out of my room. I would have gone down the fire escape like Jackson, but last time I did that, a few months ago, I fell and broke my arm, so the front door would have to do for now. Even if I did have to risk running into one of the four intruders in my house. I didn't hear anything as I walked down the hall, which was very encouraging. But when I got to the kitchen, I was tempted to smack my head against the wall when I saw Emil sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.