𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 \\ a sokeefe story

꧁ 3 ꧂

// KEEFE POV \\

----> warning // cursing, very slight mention of abuse, alcohol \\

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I open my eyes to sunlight softly streaming in through the window and warmth surrounding me. I roll over and sneak a glimpse at the calendar next to my bed. August 7th, 2023.

I groan. I hate Mondays—they're overrated and completely unnecessary.

"KEEFE!" Daddy Dearest calls me from downstairs. "GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE, NOW!"

I wince at the tone of his voice and sat up in bed, flinging the covers off of me. I immediately turn towards my bathroom--almost on instinct--and rush in, rummaging through all of my hair products until I find the right one.

What can I say? The Hair™️ needs all the love and support it could get.

Eventually, I find myself stalling, carelessly throwing clothes over my shoulder and discarding of those that I don't feel like wearing. I finally decide to throw on a pair of ripped jeans, a blue Varsity jacket, with a white t-shirt underneath, and Air Forces.

I stumble down the stairs, making my way into the kitchen where my older sister Ro is making pancakes. She's visiting home for the first day of me going to college, since she's technically supposed to be training for military purposes.

"'Morning, Funkyhair," Ro yawns, her purple-dyed hair sashaying against her back.

"It's Hunkyhair," I correct her teasingly. "Not Funkyhair."

"Whatever you say, little man."

I roll my eyes at her antics and snatch my diary from her hands. "Stop going through my stuff, would you!"

Ro shrugs. "What? It's not like you actually have anything interesting in there."

I'm about to reply with an amazing comeback but good ol' Daddy-o thinks it'd be a great time to yell at us again, so Ro quickly finishes the pancakes, squirts some syrup on, and slides one to me. We scarf down our pancakes and I run to the bathroom to wash my hands and teeth--with Ro annoying me the entire time, of course--before rushing back out and grabbing the car keys to Ro's black Mercedes.

"Uh-uh-uh," Ro tuts her tongue at me like I'm a five year old child. "Oldest drives."

"You're literally a year older than me."

Me"I'm still older, dumbass."

"I--"

"Keefe!" Dad yells, right behind us in the front doorway. "Where do you think you're going?"

I look at him weirdly. "Uh, college?"

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, well, come here. Goodbye, Romhilda."

Ro grits her teeth as she stalks to her car. "It's Ro."

As soon as Ro is out of earshot, Daddy Dearest grabs my arm and yanks me inside. He leans in close to whisper coldly, "You mess up or get in trouble, you're out of this house. Do you understand me?"

I nod slowly as he lets go of me, and he raises his arm. I flinch. He just pops open a beer and gulps down at least three quarters of it before pulling away with a resounding aah.

"What are you waiting for? Get out of here," he says, making a hand gesture at the door. "I don't have all day."

I scurry back out the door and practically leaped into Ro's car, slamming the door shut. I ignore Ro as I shove my AirPods into my ears and turn my volume all the way up. Eventually, she stops trying and focuses on the drive to Yale University.

I must have fallen asleep, because when I wake up, Ro is leaning over me and telling me something, but I can't hear her. 

"WHAT?" I ask her.

She rolls her eyes and points at her ear. I take out my AirPods sheepishly.

"We're here," she announces, walking over to the trunk and carelessly dumping my suitcase and backpack out. "Figure out your way to the dorms."

"Aren't you going to help me?" I ask, staring at her as she picks up my suitcase and clicks the handle into place.

Ro laughs. "Where's the fun in that?" she grins, handing me my suitcase as I pull the straps of my backpack over my shoulder. Once she's stopped laughing, though, her face almost seems sad. Suddenly, she pulls me into a tight hug, not saying anything because she knows that I understand.

We pull away eventually, and she wipes a single tear from her eyes.

"Well, then," Ro says. "Goodbye, Hunkyhair. See you in four years."

She walks away then, getting back into her car and driving off. But that isn't what I was softly smiling about.

It was the fact that she finally got my nickname right.