Hidden Within the Shadows

one day at a time

Nina Wheeler was desperate. Her twin sister was annoying the shit out of her, complaining that she was never on time, when she tried her best to be on time. Time slipped away from her, and it wasn't something that she could help.

Nina always rushed around, late for everything. It infuriated Nancy, which was one of the reasons why Nina tried to be late on purpose. As it stood, their mother was their ride, and could only tolerate so much of Nina's tardiness. She couldn't piss her mom off too much. Her sister? To infinity.

"Hurry up!" Nancy shouted, as impatient as always.

"Give me a minute!" Nina shouted back, glaring at her reflection in the mirror.

Hair sucked. She hated it. Nina hated how long her hair was, and always tried to tie it up and make it look shorter than it was. Maybe Mom would let her cut it. It was going to be all the rage - short hair and curly and wild. Maybe that would work. She knew she'd never be able to do something so daring as shave her hair. That would get her into deep shit with her parents.

Grabbing her bag, Nina took the stairs two at a time and came to a stop before she could topple over Holly, who was playing at the bottom of the stairs. Fucking kids. Holly was a three-year-old menace who was going to get kicked if she wasn't careful - by accident of course. She was at the ankle-biting height, and she'd bitten Nina's ankle before.

"Nance!" Nina shouted, jumping over Holly, ignoring her father chastising her.

"Thirty seconds," Nancy called to her from the kitchen.

Nina grabbed some toast and got to the car. She got in before Mike could try and steal shotgun.

"You always get shotgun," Mike complained as Nancy came and sat next to him.

"Uh, yeah, because I'm older than you," Nina said, glancing back at him. "You have toothpaste on your nose," she added.

Grumbling to himself, Mike tried to clean the toothpaste off as Mom started driving.

Nancy didn't speak to Mike, and Mike didn't want to speak to her. Nina liked being up front, mostly because it pissed Mike off, and he couldn't curse her out in front of their mother. Karen Wheeler was an alright mother, all things considered. She cared for her kids and did her best, even when she didn't understand them. She was far from perfect, Nina knew that, and she reckoned her mom knew it too. But she was alright. She could've been so much worse, neglectful even. She wasn't. She was alright.

"Must you do your hair like that?" Karen Wheeler asked of Nina, exasperated and probably going out of her mind from stress. Mothers were stressed, right? Karen Wheeler had four kids, she had to be almost going insane having to deal with them. Ted Wheeler was a bit of an absent father, so the responsibility fell onto Karen's shoulders.

Nina shrugged. "I want it shorter, Mom," she complained. "Not that you'll ever let me," she added bitterly.

Karen tutted, reaching out to touch at Nina's hair. "You have wonderful hair, Ninny,"

Nina grimaced. "Don't call me that, Mom," she said, huffing a breath, pushing her mother's hand away. She turned and looked out of the window. Mike kicked the back of her chair. "Mike," she said sternly.

He kicked the chair again.

"Mike!" Mom snapped. "Quit annoying your sister,"

Nina grimaced. There it was. That goddamn word. Sister. What was it about that word that made Nina hate it so much? She hated being called a sister, being referred to as one. It was so ... uncomfortable.

She didn't like a lot of things about her, really. She didn't like her hair, her face, her body in general. She didn't like the clothes she had to wear, hated skirts and dresses. Nancy stole them from her, so it wasn't that bad. Nina thought, of all the things she could like about herself (physically at least), she liked her eyes. Grey eyes, vastly different to Nancy's blue ones, or Mike's brown eyes.