ESPOIR | ✍︎

Chapter One: Parental Duties

"Aimée!" I call, my French accent coming out naturally. She comes bouncing down the stairs with her blonde hair in two braids on either side of her head.

When her green eyes travel to our step-dad Mike is sitting on the couch, she glues herself to my side. "Ne t'inquiète pas, je ne le laisserai rien faire." I say, draining the pasta over the sink.
(Don't worry, I won't let him do anything.)

My mother taught us French before she overdosed, one day she promised to take me and Aimée to the town she grew up in when she scraped up enough money.

"You're in America, speak goddamn English," Mike grumbles from the couch making me roll my eyes.

I add the yellow powder and the last drips of milk we have into the pot and portion it into two small bowls, saving some for lunch tomorrow.

"Thank God, I'm starving," Aimée says, immediately digging into the steaming bowl of mac and cheese.

My brows furrow, taking a small bite of mine. "Didn't you have lunch at school today?"

She shakes her head, swallowing, "They ran out and I was in the back of the line."

I frown, we didn't have dinner last night since I had just gotten my paycheck in and all the stores near us were closed. That means the last time she ate lunch was yesterday. It doesn't surprise me that Aimée didn't say anything, she has always been on the quiet side, and I guess we both kind of are.

Reaching over the table, I pour more than half my bowl into hers. "What? Won't you be hungry?" she asks quietly, a frown making its way onto her face.

I shovel the last few bites into my mouth, "Don't worry about me."

Mike gets up and walks towards the fridge, grabbing a beer. He takes a long sip, "Those braids look good on you," He smirks in Aimée's direction.

I step in front of him, blocking his view of my little sister. "You're disgusting, you know that, right?" I sneer, getting into his face.

His smile just widens, and for a second I think he's going to strike me like usual when I say something he doesn't like. "You got some balls on you, I'll give ya that."

Aimée crosses her arms on the table, stuffing her face into them. Aimée has always been a little more sensitive than kids her age, and I don't blame her. She grew up around violence and had her older brother who doesn't know what he's doing raising her.

"Come on, hit me," I tease, he growls walking out of the kitchen and down the hall towards his room.

"Why do you always egg him on like that? It scares me when you guys fight." Aimée frowns, glancing over her shoulder at his door.

"Aimée, again, don't worry about me. Okay? I've got it all under control." I reassure her, placing a quick kiss on the top of her head.

She sighs, "Can we watch a movie tonight?"

I smile, "Sure, go get ready for bed and meet me in my room."

Aimée rushes out of her seat and towards her room. I laugh, shaking my head, grabbing the dirty dishes and placing them in the sink.

•

Ten minutes later the kitchen the kitchen is squeaky clean so I head to my room which is closest to Mikey's. Aimée and I switched since she was scared of being near him.

It makes me sad that we have to do those types of things, I wish Aimée could have a normal childhood. I do everything in my power to make sure she does, but there are always going to be things that prevent that. Like the fact that Mike loves to start raging on us or living paycheck to paycheck.

And no matter where I am, I'm always in this house, and I'm always going to feel trapped between those four walls with the door locked and my sister sobbing in the corner waiting for our drunk stepdad to go to sleep.

When I open the door Aimée is in my bed wearing an oversized vintage shirt with sweatshirts. "Here," I say passing her my iPhone 4, "Pick a movie."

She smiles despite me letting her pick the movie every time. I go to sit down next to her on the bed to see she picked a French kid's movie.

"Wait, one sec," I say getting up quickly and walking towards the door, brushing my hand over the lock and sighing in relief when I hear the click.

Now I can watch a movie peacefully with the only person who actually matters in the world, my little sister.

A/N
first chapter is a little rocky but it gets better ! 💕