Genevieve Anderson, the girl that had been left behind and forgotten.
In a town where everybody knows everybody, meaning that no one goes unnoticed. Nobody just grabs a bag and leaves in the middle of the night, without someone seeing something. No...
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Chapter Twenty Three - 12 years ago
"Do you ever wish that you could go back to the times when it was easy? When it was easier to make someone do something or to protect someone? You could just grab their hand and pull them away from danger, but now, you have to let them. Let her go. Let him go"
I was proud of myself today. I got myself dressed and I had brushed my teeth all on my own. I didn't even use the step that Rocky had put there for me, but that didn't matter. I was growing up. So, I rushed down the stairs, as I knew that our father had gone to the town over for the week, which meant that this week had been one of the best.
It was a good start to the summer holidays. Halting at the bottom of the steps, I was confused to find someone I didn't know, standing in the hallway, talking to Rocky. The two of us had been going through one of our rough patches, and I was sure everyone else could feel it. He would yell at me, and I would cower, even as I tried to get a few words out to him.
He smelt exactly like our Dad. I knew what it was now, that I had seen multiple times, just how much Rocky was consuming. It was called alcohol, and both my father and brother liked beer the best. I had once seen them sitting side by side, on the back deck, while the rest of us were walking on egg shells around them the next morning.
It was weird, standing here, seeing Rocky converse to some official, a man dressed head to toe in bull riding gear. I knew what this meant. I caught a few words here and there, as I hid in the stairwell. "Rocky, we need you on the team. Both Grayson and Lachlan are out this weekend with injuries, meaning we need you. Your the best person to fill in for them" I saw the defeat on Rocky's face.
"Elliot, you know that I gave it up months ago. I stepped back, and I'm taking a different pathway. I can't risk it anymore. I have people depending on me. I have people to look after" I knew what Rocky was meaning. I had heard a conversation like this, multiple times now, since Rocky had given up bull riding.
I had heard it before. How Rocky was having to take care of me now. I had finished my first year of school already, so I was more than capable. If anything, Miles took more care of me than Rocky did, and Miles had more work to do than him. Miles was going to the community college, that was a few towns over. He left early in the morning, and came back late at night.
He hardly slept, yet he still came into my room, to make sure that I was tucked in, and if I was still awake, he would talk to me until I fell asleep. I wouldn't know it until I was older, that I would paint him in a bad light, but he truly, was the best. In my eyes, he was a quiet achiever. He got into the college on his mere abilities to play football.
"Hey, Gigi, come out with me" I hadn't noticed that Miles was actually standing behind me, until he reached me and touched my on the shoulder. I jumped, unaware that he was there, as I had been in my own head, instead of realizing what was going on around me, especially all the shouting. Miles picked me up when he noticed this, limiting me wanting to bolt away.
