Her worst enemy

Chapter thirty

Rachel

I stood in front of the red door that I knew all too well. I stood there for a few minutes taking some deep breaths. The neighbours who had thin walls were probably thinking that I was some freak.

I leaned against the railing behind me. The sky was this clear blue that I always tried to imagine while doing breathing exercises. This time I didn't have to imagine it. I could just look up.

The ground beneath me was paved with chewing gum and an ice cream was lying there on the ground, broken. The apartments were dirty and there were speckles on the windows from bird poop that had dried.

The walls of the apartments were smudge with dirt that hadn't been cleaned since the beginning of the year, when the yearly cleaning session happened and it didn't return till next year.

After my last breath, that was spoiled by the chemicals hanging in the air from the industrial area where I lived in. I hated the way that people ruined the environment these days.

My hand went for the door knob but then I doubted myself. I could always just leave and not come back. The only reason why I didn't was that I would have to leave the most amazing person on this planet: Annabel.

I opened the door and I steadied myself against the smell of alcohol coming from the door. I saw him lying on the couch but I didn't attention to him.

I opened all the windows and the apartment and I sprayed some deodorant in the apartment, but you could still smell the liquid that was ruining me and my sisters life at the moment.

I swallowed and decided that there was nothing I could do to make the smell better. I went to the tiny kitchen that has only been used by me these last few months.

I put the groceries that I got on the kitchen table. The tears were forming in my eyes, but I pushed them back down. Crying never helped anyone.

Everyone thought that I was the one who had everything, namely popularity. But that didn't pay your bills these days.

I started putting the boiling water in a pan. The pan was rusty, but it was fine to cook with. I put the pan on the cooker and I turned on the stove.

I started singing under my breath and I saw a body stirring in the corner of my eye. I stiffened and hold my breath. Please don't wake up, not now I prayed.

The stirring stopped, but I did not breath again after a couple of minutes, when I was certain that he was still sleeping.

There was the sound of a door banging against the wall. I guess she was here earlier than I expected.

Annabel walked into the door as chipper as always. She had the same brown curly hair and green eyes as me. she started telling me about her day while I chopped up the vegetables to put into our pasta sauce.

I liked the fact that no matter how my day went, there was one reliable factor in my life that did not change no matter what happened.

"Did you like my ballet solo yesterday?" she asked me after I put down the two bowls of spaghetti with some bolognaise sauce. I knew the food was delicious before we even tasted it, because it was my moms recipe.

The only reminder that she had ever been here.

"Yes, I did. You were amazing out there" I told her in an exciting voice. I didn't care about ballet at all, but if it makes my sister happy then I will pretend to.

"Did dad also come" she asked in a soft and small voice. Annabel had these big brown eyes that we're looking at me with so much hope.

I didn't have the strength in me to say it out loud so I just shook my head.

Her shoulders dropped instantly and she was not eating as enthusiastically as before. For the rest of dinner, she was just pushing the food around her plate.

I scolded my dad for at least not being here for us but I guess some people never change.

Author's note: What do you think happened to Rachel's family?