Salty Licorice

Chapter 64

Tom's POV

Honestly I don't know why they're forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do. It's not surprising though, they're image is everything to them. I just wish they would open their eyes and actually take in what is around them and they might just catch the blazing fire burning everything down around them.

"Avery sweetheart, can you come here?" Mom calls from the kitchen where she sits at the table while I'm unloading the dishwasher.

I feel my body stiffen at the understanding of what's to come. I hear her door open from the hall and catch her walking in wearing a hoodie and jogger sweatpants, almost identical to my own outfit. If I wasn't so irritated at this whole thing, I'd find the humor knowing she copies me without knowing it.

"Yes mother?" She asks, leaning against the wall.

"Darling, where do you wish to go for dinner?" She asks as she opens her laptop on the table and starts to look up restaurants in the area. "There's that statehouse that your father loves. Or there's a few Italian restaurants, I know pasta is your favorite."

I cough out a laugh at her outdated assumption, anyone who spends more than 5 minutes with my little sister knows she loves Mexican food the most. More significantly, she could probably be happy if burritos were all she could eat for the rest of her life.

"What else is there," She asks.

I put the last glass in the cabinet and walk over to Mom politely taking over the mousepad and start scrolling knowing my sister better than anyone in this household apparently. "That Mexican restaurant off 67. Otherwise there's a Japanese restaurant, great sushi reviews. Uhm, oh that's new." I stop to pull up the menu of the restaurant.

"What is?" She asks us, then walks over to us and looks at the laptop screen.

"It's a new German restaurant, it seems like it's really authentic. Menus all in German."

"I wanna go there," She says boldly with no hesitation.

"Are you sure sweetheart? Nothing else is catching your eye?" My mom asks, clearly not happy with her choice.

"Yes," Avery states clearly.

"You don't even know if you'll like it, wouldn't you wanna go somewhere you know you'll have a good meal?"

"I'm sure." Avery walks away going back to her room.

"Okay, we'll leave in about an hour then," Mom calls after her, hesitantly. "G-go get ready Tom." She pats my shoulder as she walks out of the kitchen after having her imaginary world cracked a bit.

After my fast shower I put on a button up with a jacket and jeans and one of my many sneakers. I head downstairs to see Avery sitting on the couch wearing jeans and white sneaks that I have to say look very cool and I might have to ask where she got them. But she's also wearing a button up and a jacket like me. But that doesn't last long as Dad is lecturing her about having to present herself in an appropriate manner while in public. She doesn't even speak and goes back to her room in silence. A while later she returned with a long sweater and brown boots over her skinny jeans. Her hair is now in a long single braid down her back. Mom must have gotten her hands on her hair.

We all pile into mom's car with us in the back just like old times, except it feels so different this time around.

"Cheer up Beaver," I nudged her, she nudged me back.

She just looks out the window with a somber expression. She's hated her birthday ever since our parents turned on her a few years ago. On her 15th birthday Dad hit her, it was the first time I ever saw it with my own eyes. The sad part was her expression told me it wasn't the first time he put hands on her aggressively.