Back To Eden

13

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I remembered being little and watching them do their daily activities. I'm little. Maybe 4 or 5? My naturally brown-red hair up in a messy ponytail that is caked in mud and water. I run up to my sister, Olivia, and throw my hands up in the air hugging her so tightly, she chuckles as I make a pouty face when she tells me to let go.

"Now, be honest miss Rei," she says with a smile, tucking back her hair behind her ear as she squats down to my eye level. "did you go play with the boys in the pond?"

I reluctantly nod, afraid of what she will say only to get a laugh as she takes me gently by my hand and leads me to the cabin we shared. The door creaks loudly as we enter the old house. She places me on the bathroom counter as she takes a rag to my face and cleans the dirt away from my face. She hums a song I didn't hear around the table at dinner time.

"Olivia, what's that song?" I ask her. She smiles again, her green eyes sparkling lightly.

She throws the rag into the bin and lifts me up to take me to the couch. We sit down and she clears her throat.

"I wrote a song called Alkaline. Before you came here, you were going to be named Alkaline." She chuckles as my face turns in confusion. "Sleep apologizes for the confusion but I loved the name so much I think it is a beautiful song title."

"So my name is not Reilynn?" Young me asks with knitted eyebrows. Olivia shakes her head.

"It is. You just had multiple choices for a name." She pauses. "So did I. Imagine your sister being named Eve." She rolls her eyes in disgust at the name.

"Not my ideal type of name. But Olivia fits me well."

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My eyes shot open as something cold slides against my lower back. My reaction hits something hard and I hear a grunt.

"Shit!" A voice I recognize yells out in pain. III?

"Fuck are you okay? I didn't mean to!" I panic reaching out to help him as he gets up rubbing his forearm.

"I'm good, I didn't know you can hit that hard. The better question is are you okay? You're covered in blood." He says leaning down next to me and taking my wrist softly into his touch. I pull my arm away and hold it to my chest as I hiss in pain.

"Did you do this?" His tone laced with worry. I nod yes and avoid contact with his eyes. He sighs quietly and reaches next to me pulling a bag towards him and taking out bandages and water.

"This is gonna hurt like a bitch but you need to give me your arm before it gets infected." I refuse. "Okay lose your arm. I could give two shits less."

"Fine. Just get it over with." I whine as I let him take my arm and holds it down as I yell in pain as he cleans it. He wraps in white bandage and sets my arm back into my lap, packing away his stuff into his bag.

"We need to get going. When we get back-"

"I am not going back." I snap at him mid-sentence. "I don't trust you."

Instead of hearing a lecture about trust, his face twists in anger. "Reilynn," he says. "we are leaving now." He grabs my arms and drags me towards the forest. I kick and scream with nothing in return but his grip on my arm.

"Let go!" I cry.