it was one am and karen wanted to kill her sister.
karen and gracie had an odd sort of relationship.
karen was what one would consider "uptight," and was nothing short of traditional. she was the stereotypical, boring librarian at the public library that shushed people when they uttered a tone any louder than a whisper. she became the respectable christian woman she was raised to be. to top it off, karen had a small canary back at home that filled the void of her ex-boyfriend, andy. she was the epitome of the pathetically mundane.
gracie, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. gracie was a freelance greeting card maker, lived in an low scale apartment overlooking a train station, and was covered in tattoos. gracie had always been the rebellious, angsty teen that teachers dreaded, that parents told their kids to avoid, and that attracted all of the 'wrong' guys. when gracie turned sixteen she converted to atheism against her parent's wishes and dyed her hair black. gracie was the 'grunge' girl most teens on tumblr aspired to be, simultaneously being the example of what people should shy away from at her old baptist church.
in all honesty, gracie didn't care about what her family thought, and despises them all, except for karen.
in all honesty, karen felt bad that she'd betrayed her family by still staying close with gracie. they'd all shun her sister at family reunions (if she even bothered to show up) and would glare at karen if she laughed at one of gracie's jokes.
but, without a doubt, the two sisters cared deeply for each other.
except for when it was one in the morning and gracie needed more hair dye and couldn't drive herself because she'd just had eye surgery.
so karen sat in the front seat of her small car, hands draped around the steering wheel in a tired fashion, as gracie enthused about all the books she'd read now that her vision was fixed.
"oh i'd definitely read the giver by lois lowry, that's a classic, and the maze runner trilogy maybe? i've seen previews for the movie and that dylan o' brien guy is pretty hot."
"that's a good series. and dylan isn't that bad looking," karen responded, tousling her hair a little bit. she hated how blonde it was, how bright and eye-catching it looked. she'd considered dying her hair like gracie did, but knew her mom wouldn't like it.
"i'll have to do some research for it. i have a lot of orders stacked up that i need to complete, so i probably won't have any time to read for a while," gracie replied and sipped on her mango-flavored water, making a slurping sound.
"stop slurping, you pig," karen half-joked, making a disgusted face.
in return, gracie made pig noises, oinks and snorts and anything in between, earning a giggle fit out of karen.
karen jerkily pulled into the target because she was giggling so hard, making gracie squeal.
karen looked over at her sister, who was now minorly soaked in her mango water. the now empty plastic bottle lay at her feet, and now gracie had her fists clenched tightly.
"karen," gracie murmured softly, annunciating each syllable carefully. "why don't you be more fucking careful? that got in my eye. the one i just had surgery on..."
"gracie, oh my god, i'm so sorry, i was just being careless, that's not like me, i'm so sorry," karen sputtered.
"for fuck's sake, karen. you always blame everything on yourself. that was partly my fault you know. you don't have to be perfect, accidents happen. i'm already over it," gracie's tone had returned to its normal state, and she was now showcasing her unharmed eye. "no big deal."
"no, gracie, that was my fault. i wasn't paying attention to driving, and," karen was cut off by her sister groaning loudly.
"it is not your fault, karen. accidents happen, and mom has brainwashed you into believing every little thing you do is caused by you, and that lowers your self-esteem. you need to start thinking for yourself, you know. you're still taking orders from mom, and you're thirty years old for crying out loud!"
it was then that the murderous feeling engulfed karen as she glared at her sister in a tense, eerie silence.
gracie stared blankly back at her sister, blinking irritatingly at her.
karen replayed gracie's words over and over again in her mind, each time becoming more and more bitter. it made her want to throw something, punch a wall, cause destruction.
she was so consumed in hatred and pure bitterness that she didn't realize she was repeating gracie's words out loud, her face twisting up sourly as she did.
gracie seemed a little concerned, possibly even frightened by this, but still held herself up boldly.
karen was so blinded by everything that she didn't even realize the truth in gracie's words until she was trembling, sobbing, wailing. snot was flying out of her nose like spit would, and her hair was tangly in less than a minute.
at this point, gracie was apologizing profusely, stroking karen's head simultaneously. the intensity between the siblings had disintegrated, leaving nothing but regret to rise up and fill the air.
"gracie," karen began when her tears had ceased, "you are so completely right. i'm a full grown adult who can't even distinguish her own wants from her mothers. i- i have so much respect for you, because you knew what you wanted, and you got it. here i am, with nothing but sorrow and some noisy pet birds."
gracie smiled gently, rubbing her sister's arm. "oh karrie, i should respect you. you're the one who grew up the favorite child, favorite student, favorite everything. do you know how many teacher's compared me to you growing up?" gracie paused, laughing pleasantly, "but i still thank you nonetheless, and you can still make some changes for the better, i suppose."
karen raised her eyebrow suspiciously as she saw gracie suggestively motioning towards target.
"makeover?" karen questioned.
"makeover."
