Red

A Party For Your Thoughts (1)

Family.

It was just a word to me; there was nothing special about it. I guess it didn't mean much because I never truly had one.

I had people. People who lived together, but truly didn't belong together. For my whole life, I had wished that I could just be normal. I was almost 19, and - if anything - things had become worse. My parents were at each other's throats more than ever before. The house was a war zone, and my father took his anger out on me when my mother wasn't around. I understood why my sister had moved out as soon as she could, but she had left me. That wasn't something I could easily forgive.

The walls of the hallway were a dingy white and the paneled floor was marked with black scuffs. I had walked down this hallway so many times in the last few years of my life. This was the only place I was truly welcome.

I hurried to Megan's door and knocked, glancing around nervously. The hallway was deserted, and it gave me the creeps. I didn't know how Megan could live alone, as it would absolutely terrify me. That was one reason I still lived with my parents; of course, it wasn't as if I could pay for my own place anyway. An irritated Megan yanked open the door. Her hair was in a loose pony tail, and her eyebrows were pushed down over her eyes.

"Some of us like to sleep, you know?" She opened the door wider to let me inside, and locked the door.

"Sorry, I just couldn't put up with their arguing any more. It's like torture," I complained, flopping on the couch. There were magazines strewn across the coffee table, and one tumbled to the floor when my leg brushed against it.

Megan's angry expression faltered, and a look of pity made its way onto her face. It was a look that I had become accustomed to, and a look that was unwelcome. The last thing I wanted was someone to feel sorry for me.

"Why don't you move out? It's stupid that you have to sneak out of your house like you're in high school. You're an adult!" She exclaimed.

That was easy for Megan to say. She had the perfect parents; they never argued, they never yelled, and they supported their daughter in everything she did. "Money is tight. You know that."

My raven haired friend huffed. "Well, go to college then. You could stay with me at the apartment. You practically live here anyway."

I rolled my eyes. This was a conversation that we had had countless times, and I wasn't in the mood to argue about it. It was late, and I was much too tired. "You know that I think college is a waste of time. I don't want to spend four years of time in something that I'll be terrible at."

Megan's lips curved into a frown, but she didn't push the subject. "Do you want a cup tea?"

I nodded. "Please?"

"I'll go fix it."

"I'll help," I pushed myself off the couch.

A counter divided the kitchen and living room. I kicked off my shoes before I followed her into the kitchen. The linoleum was cold under my sock clad feet. Megan filled the tea pot with water, and set it on the stove. She flipped the knob to turn the stove on and reached for the sugar she kept in the cabinet above the stove.

I bit my lip, and my eyes flittered around the kitchen. I was uncomfortable in someone else's house, even though Megan was like a sister. It was a lose-lose situation in my eyes; I felt uncomfortable for someone to do things for me, but I didn't want to seem like I was intruding when I did things for myself. A sigh slipped through my lips, and I stretched to grab a pair of tea cups out of the shelf. They clinked when I placed them on the counter.

"Is black tea okay?"

"Sure," I shrugged. There was no difference in tea to me. I hadn't even had hot tea until I started being friends with Megan; I certainly didn't know the different types.