"Noelle." He spoke.
That was my first time hearing my name off his lips, and I may have lost my cool for the first time in my life.
"Now that I say it, you more of a Noelle than a Nikki" he gave a goofy grin.
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-Flashback.-
The sun shone through my curtains as I blinked back the blindness that assaulted my eyes before the realization hit; finally, it was my birthday. I was one year older than I was yesterday, finally 7. I remember specifically that my parents told me they'd take me to IHOP for breakfast, and I didn't allow them to forget. I crawled out of bed and made my way across the room to Ayva's bed, tapping her gently. I was definitely gonna get in trouble for waking her up, but I could put her to sleep better than my parents could anyways so did it really matter?
"Ayva, it's morning. Mommy and daddy are taking us for breakfast for my birthday." I cooed, hugging her as best as I could. "You want pancakes with fruits?" I sang happily to her as she yawned, scratching her head, having almost no idea what I was saying. She still smiled at me though, only cause I said pancakes. She nodded her head, stretching her body out as I kissed her head then went to our closet, looking through the drawers to find clothes for us.
I made my way to the bedroom door, making sure to be quiet when leaving out as to not wake my sleeping parents. I knew it would be hard to wake them up today cause they'd stayed up later than normal last night. I could hear them playing cards, arguing, and drinking with their friends from down the block. I made my way down the hallway, tapping on Keith's bedroom door before letting myself in. "Keith" I whispered.
He didn't budge. "Keith" I spoke in my normal tone, this time tapping him. He stirred, "What Noelle?" He asked, his voice cracking. "It's my birthday, brother. Mommy and daddy are taking us for breakfast, they promised. You have to wake up" I spoke happily. He didn't say anything, his eyes still closed. I thought he'd fallen back asleep until he spoke, eyes still closed. "They not gonna take you. Remember they promised to take me to the Arcade for my 10th birthday? They lie, it's what they do" he spoke harshly.
My eyebrows knit together, he was wrong. They said they would take me in front of their friends, they wouldn't lie in front of them. If Keith didn't wanna come, he didn't have to. I've been looking forward to this for the past two weeks, I'm getting my breakfast one way or another. Keith says they lie, but I think they just didn't have the money for the Arcade for Keith's birthday. I hear them yelling about bills and money all the time.
Keith wouldn't know cause he's outside all the time and Ayva watches tv loud. If they can afford to buy adult drinks, I'm sure they can afford breakfast, right? Plus, I have money saved up from Grams and Papa and I can pay for me and Ayva. I went back to me and Ayva's room as Ayva laid back down, butt in the air and her face smushed into her bed. She had fallen back asleep so I just covered her back up and went to my closet.
I found my piggy bank that I had hidden under some clothes in the closet. I'd had it hidden cause I caught daddy going in it a few times. He told me he would put it back and he needed some adult drink with my money. He wasn't putting it back so I hide it in a new spot every time I add more money to it. I opened it, counting the dollars that I had saved for a few weeks.
