She's My Little Sister

Shawn Will Be Home Soon And Make Everything Better

MICHELLE SAT QUIETLY ON the Matthews couch, not having made a single sound all day.

Amy sat at the computer, doing work, glancing at Michelle every now and then. Michelle was never loud, but she was never this quiet either.

"What's up with you today, Michelle?" Amy called.

Michelle gave her a thumbs up, laying back down on the couch. She turned her head, and looked at the back of the couch. Amy paused her work, and sat on the edge of the couch, giving Michelle a smile.

"Are you sure you're doing okay today, Michelle?" She asked. "You're very quiet today."

"Shawn."

"Is that what's wrong?" Any questioned. "You miss Shawn?"

"Dweam." She said, her eyes starting to tear up.

Michelle rolled onto her stomach, burying her face into a pillow. Amy felt her heart clench, listening to the little girl sniffle. She moved to sit next to her feet, and rubbed her back.

"It'll be okay," Amy assured. "Shawn will be home in about two hours."

Michelle only continued to sniffle, burying her face deeper into the pillow. Amy sighed, and continued to rub her back.

"It'll be okay, Michelle." She tried to soothe. "Shawn will be home soon and make everything better."

Michelle sniffled again, turning her head so she could look at the back of the couch. To her, it was taking to long for her brother to come home.

She needed him now.

Why wasn't he coming now?

{}~{}~{}~{}

When Shawn picked Michelle up, she had been wide awake.

She had refused to sleep, even though Amy could see how tired she was. As soon as Shawn walked through the door, Michelle was clinging to him, her eyes droopy.

"What's wrong, munchkin?" He asked.

"She didn't sleep at all." Amy said. "She didn't talk much either."

Shawn nodded. "She's not been sleeping well this past week. She's been telling me she's been having bad dreams."

Amy gave a sympathetic smile, patting Shawn's shoulder. Shawn gave her a strained smile back. Neither of them had had very good nights. The kid in the trailer's, and his parents were doing nothing to help, either.

"Well," Shawn said, bouncing his sister slightly. "hopefully she'll sleep really good tonight."

Amy nodded, and Shawn said his goodbye's, and he headed out with Michelle, his jaw clenching at his pounding headache.

As Shawn carried Michelle home from the park with him, he grumbled under his breath to her.

"I know I shouldn't be upset, but...I don't know." Shawn sighed. "I mean, if she was going to invite only Cory to the party, she could have at least not done it in front of me. That's cruel."

That was what made Shawn so upset. It wasn't the fact that Cory had been invited and Shawn hadn't, he knew that there would be parties he wouldn't be invited to, but it was different when your best friend was asked to come in front of you.

Shawn sighed, reaching the trailer park. His guard went up, and he ran to his trailer, opening the door and slamming it shut. He looked around, and saw all the lights off, and no one was home.

No, no, no, Shawn began to panic. Please be here, please be here

But his Dad was gone, and so was his mom, and they were alone.

Shawn's throat closed up, and he set Michelle on the chair, looking in the dining room, his heart stopping when he saw a twenty dollar bill on it.

Was that supposed to be enough money for two of them? For however long they were gone? Why'd they leave in the first place?

Michelle slipped off the chair with a thud, and waddled over to Shawn, patting his leg. Shawn looked down quickly, trying his best to hide his panicked look.

"Wrong?"

"Nothing." He chocked out. "Everything's good, Michelle."

"Da?"

"He's-Hey, you wanna see if the Flintstones are on?"

Michelle's eyes lit up, and he scooped her up, turning the TV on. His heart was inside his throat. His little sister snuggled into his side, her eyes staying glued to the TV. Shawn's eyes never left the screen. If they did, he would have been looking at the door frantically, begging for the door to open and one of his parents to walk in.

But they never did, leaving Shawn to worry about what to do. What was twenty dollars supposed to do? Thankfully Michelle had all of her essentials, like diapers, wipes and stuff like that. The only thing he would need to buy more of was formula.

Okay, that was okay. I just need to check the fridge.

Shawn slipped off the couch, and pulled the fridge open, and saw half a pack of bologna, a stick of butter, a quarter gallon of milk, and a jar of mayonnaise. He opened the cupboard and saw a loaf of bread, and a box of crackers.

So there wasn't much food. But it would last him a while. Shawn grabbed the tub of baby food jars, and grimaced at the sight of how little was in there. There was only one more jar, which meant tomorrow he'd have to go to the store.

Okay. Everything was okay. He had enough food to last himself the rest of the week. He would be okay.

He walked back to the couch, and gave Michelle a smile when she turned towards him. He sat down next to her, and sighed, his nerves settling slightly.

Though he had figured out the eating situation, he was still worried about the night. Michelle was having terrible nightmares, and he wasn't having any pleasant dreams himself. No matter what he did, they could never have pleasant dreams.

"Hey, Michelle," Shawn said. "Do you wanna sleep in my bed tonight?"

Michelle turned to him excitedly, clapping her hands.

"Yeth!" She squealed. "Sweep in Shawn's bed!"

Shawn's smile became genuine, and he held his sister tighter, sitting on the couch, watching TV. When it came time for bed, Shawn changed his sister, fed her, made himself a sandwich, and then the two settled into Shawn's bed. 

"Goodnight munchkin." He mumbled.

"Ni'." She said.

Shawn fell asleep with a smile on his face, completely forgetting about all of his problems.