The Mnemophobic

Chapter 2

Serenity's point of view

I don't know how long that ray of sunlight had been peeking through the gap in my hazel curtains before it found its way to my face; nor do I know how long it took me to finally become aware of it. I reached out and grabbed the cold polished side of the bedstead with my left hand, lifted myself up off of the carpet and took a moment to eye every corner of my room before exhaling all the frustration of last night away. The light prickled my eyes despite the fact that it was not at all intense but it did not take long for my vision to come around. Mornings are said to be a blessing; Salvation touched everyone who woke up to its glory, however, all I felt was my sore eyes and burning stomach.

I found the strength to get on my feet and drag myself to the bathroom only to witness the monstrosity in the mirror before me. My chocolate brown hair that usually fell straight to my shoulders was tangled from every end, my right cheek had a visible pattern imprinted from my night on the carpet and my eye lids were red and puffy. I splashed cold water on my face repeatedly until it had soaked most of my hair and baggy white shirt, which then, stuck to my skin. After a quick bath I felt new life spring in to me, almost as if the water had drained all the anxiety within me, taking it somewhere miles out of reach. The house is never really quiet but at this early hour anything other than silence would somehow seem unfitting. I walked down the long sturdy flight of stairs that curved in to the lounge. "Looks who's awake this early! It's only 8, I'm pretty sure normally you'd be out cold for another hour and a half". Ellis’s voice startled me for the solitude in the house made me believe I was alone. I ignored his presence and dragged myself across the wooden floor to the white tiles of kitchen. After pouring the cornflakes and drenching them with ice cold milk I took my bowl and sat down beside him on the large brown leather sofa. I munched down on my breakfast leaving droplets of milk on the coffee table. He took his focused eyes off the newspaper and glared at me for a moment but let it go. Milk ran down from my mouth to neck that I brushed off subsequently with the sleeve of my shirt. I rested my head on his broad brawny shoulders and his silence confirmed that he commended this action. Ellis was like me in many ways, thick brown hair, slightly tanned skin and a thin face. However, he had big, deep blue eyes with an undefinable sparkle to them while mine were small, plain and brown. It was unrealistic for me to think about how many ways we were physically alike when all we really shared was a sir name.

Ellis was my youngest brother but still had the pleasure of being 3 years older than me. He had a warmth radiate through his face that reflected upon his tender nature. I was an honor student in high school, but even then, Ellis could overshadow me on any given day. In contrast, Hudson barely made it out of college, but he shares his looks with Ellis and the only notable difference between them is Hudson's pure blonde hair. Had they been identical twins Hudson and I would have lived through more laughs than heated arguments. I was thankful for the presence of my brothers in my life but most of all for the eldest one, Ryan. With him the only thing I felt was an unbreakable sense of security. In my silence he would find and answer every single question and relinquish me from all my doubts. He presented himself as a father-like figure to the household that had lost it’s own a few years back. They weren’t mine and certainly didn’t deserve someone as fragile as myself between them, but still I would find them warmly welcoming me in to their arms time and time again. The undeniable truth was no matter how much I would try to run, I would always find myself coming towards them. After all, brothers or not, they were the only family I had.