Spirited

Chapter One

"December, it's time for supper!" says Alexis, my sister. I turn around and see Alexis standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair barley touching her shoulders. Her pale skin making her look ill. And her beautiful grey eyes relaxing when I look into them. Alexis is the smart, polite, and most disrespectful, when alone with me, child in the family. But she is going into her senior year of high school at Woodside. She wears a dress that flows in the wind. Her dress is paisley patterned and a light pink.
"Ok, I'm coming." I yell back. I walk towards the door from the small meadow. The winds start to pick up and I hurry inside.
"Hey De," says Willow, the youngest sister. Willow just turned 5 this week on Tuesday. Today is Friday. Willow is the most cared for out of us 7 kids. She's got our fathers brown hair, green eyes, and his olive skin.
"Hey Willow!" I reply. I hear a thunderous steps coming down the stair case. I see Shawn first. Next Liam. And, Brandon. The three of them are triplets, and they all look the same. Brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. The only way I can tell the difference between them, is how there hair looks and there nose's. The three of them run to the table and sit down. Another thing about the triplets, they are 7 years old. After a minute or two I hear some very quiet foot steps coming from the hallway. Ariana walks at a slow pace to make sure that our brothers are gone. Ariana is 9 and really into school. She looks like my grandmother when she was younger, of course. Ariana has sandy blonde hair, that's at the nape of her neck, blue eyes, and fair skin.
I walk into the kitchen to help my mom serve dinner.
"Have I ever told you that your growing up too fast?" my mom says. I shake my head and look at her. She has red hair, about elbow length, bronze skin, and hazel eyes. "Look, I understand that you are quiet and don't talk much, but I'm your mom and you can talk to me about anything you want, whenever you want. As long as I'm not busy." mom chuckles a little. I smile and I join in. "I love that sound. That why I savor it every time I hear it." My smile, the goes away.
"I just don't think I'm eligible to talk with anyone in the family. It's like Alexis doesn't want me around. The boys are too busy with each other. Ariana is constantly reading. Willow stays with Ariana to learn more. And me... I'm not cut out for any of those things mom. It's like the only things I do are do everyone's chores, besides yours, and if I don't I get a scolding, or I'm doing school work." I explain.
"What about your friends? They want to do things with you and you say no, why?" mom questions.
"It's complicated mom.," I say. We wait in silence until we hear the front door open.
"I'm home kids," father says excitedly. Mom and I walk out together to see dad. The little kids push past me to go and see dad. Alexis slid past me, graceful as a gazelle, to see dad. Dad has brown hair, green eyes, and olive skin, just like Willow. "How was the first day of school boys?"
"Before they answer, dinner is served and it's getting cold so come on." mom says, rushing our family to the dinning room. Everyone sat down in the usual spots, meaning I was next to Ariana.
"It was awesome dad! Everyone was all like..." started Brandon. I tuned out everything that was being said and ate my food.
Time passed on and I was about to clear my plate when... "December, your mother and I would like to talk to you... alone. You 6 please clear the table and go to your rooms until we allow you to come out. Understood?" dad asked. They all nodded. But Ariana gave me a quick hug before leaving. And Alexis smirked at the fact that I was being talked to alone, which normally is a bad sign.
"December, are you hiding something from us?" mom asks.
"No, I'm not." I say immediately.
"Are you sure?" dad asks again.
"Yes!" I say a little persistent.
"Ok, your done. You can clear your plate and go do, whatever you want." dad says after a moment. I take my plate to the counter and run to my room at the opposite end of the house.
I close the door softly and look at myself in the full length mirror. My red hair in a fish tale braid over my shoulder. My bronze skin shining from the sunset outside. And my golden eyes look moist. I'm wearing my favorite jacket, black leather, and jeans, also black leather. I have a purple long sleeved shirt on under the jacket and I wear black combat boots. I have black make up on as well. I have winged eye liner on and mascara.
Who am I? I ask myself. I look around my room and find my brush. I sit on my bed and undo my fish tale braid. My hair is dead straight. I walk to my dresser and grab my pajamas. My room is sky blue and practically empty. It has a small closet, a bathroom, to myself luckily, a bed side table, a lamp, bookshelf, a mirror, and a dresser.
I hear a knock on my door and I open it. It's Ariana and Liam. Luckily my whole body is covered, for reasons I don't want to mention.
"Can we come in, De?" asks Ariana.
"Uh... yeah sure. Come on in." After they settle in on my bed I ask, "What do I owe the pressure?"
"I, we, wanted to know if everything's alright with mom, dad, and you?" Liam wondered.
"You guys everything is fine. They were just curious about how my day was, and they figured that you guys wouldn't want to hear about it." I explain.
"Ok, if you say so." Ariana says after a few moments. The two of them leave and I sit on my bed, waiting for something, anything to happen. That's when I started hearing voices to the left of my bed. I hear mom and dad talking fairly loud and listen.
"... you can't be serious? December would hate us forever." I hear mom say.
"She needs it. When was the last time the whole family has interacted as one, huh? She needs a therapist. My friend knows a really good one and he has over heard many of our conversations. He says it helped him get out of depression when he was going through a divorce." dad says.
They want me in therapy. I don't even know what's wrong! I say to myself.
"Maybe if we could let her have a little more freedom then she might be happier... Have you seen how little happiness she has? She told me today that she doesn't feel like she's qualified to do anything our other kids are doing. And she won't talk to me about her friends or school. I don't want her to feel unwelcomed by her own parents, so, no, no therapy for December Abigail Mathews." mom explains.
"It's to late Ainsley. I already signed her up. I thought you would be on the same page as me. Have her go once and if you hate it and she hates it we'll take her out. Ok?" dad asks.
"Ok. Only once, Jason." mom threatens.
"Only once, I promise." dad agrees.
I sit on my bed in awe. I take the knife from the bathroom and I sit on the bathtub railing. I roll up my sleeve and put the knife to my arm. I press down hard until blood comes out. I hate the way I live. But I want to keep cutting. I bring the knife to my left palm, and cut my skin. I cringe, from the pain and for the first time in a while I cry, pure tears of sadness...