whale on the Island

~First night on the Island~

Change. It can be tough depending on the person. My little sister Scarlet or as the whole family calls her Lil. With her being the baby of the family and all. Wasn't as ecstatic about the news of us moving as I was, even though I didn't show it. "I don't want to move! All my friends are here!" Scarlet argues with our mom, Cherry. Cherry my poor anxiety-filled mom, who also probably has Bipolar disorder, but I digress. Mom didn't take kindly to scarlet words. Understandable, momma bear isn't leaving without her cubs. I just sit lazily on our cracked leather couch in our makeshift living/kitchen as they go back and forth. The smell of ammonia from the cat litter burns my nostrils. Scarlet really needs to change her cats' litter box.

I pull out my phone to text the only friend I managed to keep Jess, about the news. "I want to move in with my dad!" Scarlet yells, my fingers freeze mid-text. Should I look up? I don't particularly want to, I hate conflict, arguments, it makes my stomach feel like a bubbling pit of acid. "You want to move in with your dad?" Cherry chuckles amusingly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ah yes, Scarlet dickhead of a father. I hate him with my guts. He's lucky that back then when he was living with us, I was just a kid. Just a poor defenseless little girl, who was too scared of the retired veteran to retaliate. I will never forget the emotional and physical abuse he left behind. Scarlet, however, doesn't see her father as the bad guy in her story. Again understandable from her perspective. He treated her like an actual human being, she was his kid after all. But me? Not being related to him by blood, played a huge factor in my treatment.

"You are under my custody. Not his. You're just a kid. If I go, you go, end of story." Mom puts Scarlet in her place. True dat. Scarlet dad's name isn't even on her birth certificate. I applaud my mom for that move. How she did do it? I don't know but knowing that man, it wasn't easy. "Ava? Come on, back me up here. You don't want to move do you?" Scarlet tries to get me involved. I finally look up from my phone "Honestly, Yeah I do."

"What?! what about your friends?" Scarlet questions. "Is that supposed to be a jab? You know I literally only have one friend" I chuckle.

"Okay! whatever, what about Jess?" Scarlet pushes her hair away from her face with a frustrated sigh. Jess or her government name Jessica is my friend of two years  "Listen, I do want to move. I hate it here. Miami is expensive. People drive like maniacs. A gallon of milk is literal 5 fucking bucks. We live in the hood. Guns and violence shouldn't be a part of our daily lives but it is. Moving is good. A new environment. A fresh start." I explain my perspective.

Of course, Scarlet is the 13-year-old pubescent teen she is. Storms off to her room when she doesn't get the response she wants. Andrew was just walking towards the kitchen/living room when Scarlet slammed her door shut. Slam is a strong word to use. Her door doesn't fully close. None of ours do. So you just hear the piece of drywall that's slowly breaking apart rub against the door frame. What makes the majority of the noise is all the bags that hang off her door. Funny enough we don't have doorknobs on any of the bedroom doors.

Why? Because our drunk grandpa never put them on when he was remodeling the trailer and it just stayed that way. "What's her problem?" Andrew asks, staring between my mom and me.

Andrew is scarlet and I step-dad. If you don't know him personally you would be scared of him. He has a case of resting bitch face syndrome. Plus the man is 6 foot something. He's so goddamn tall, that he has to duck his head to get into the house. "She doesn't want to move'' I answer, resuming the message I was typing out.

"Wait. You didn't hear the screaming match from your room?" I ask, placing my phone on my stomach with a confused look. "I had my headphones on." Andrew says simply as he grabs his usual Sprite from the old white beat-up fridge. It was white at some point in my life. I'm surprised it still works. I just shrug looking over to my mom. "So when do we move?"