Captive

twenty nine » m a n h u n t

"Her courage is that of someone who, without knowing herself, nevertheless proceeds. It is fatal not to know oneself, and not to know oneself requires courage." — Clarice Lispector.

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Jeremy

       "Mom, at least eat some of this." I say, sighing as I push a bowl of cereal in her direction.

       "I'm not hungry." Mom says, pushing back the bowl of cereal to me.

       "You haven't eaten anything since I got here this morning. At least try, for me." I say, frowning as I look at her.

       "Where's your Father?" she asks me, looking up.

       I sigh. "He's in his office, like always." I say, remembering when I got here this morning and made Zuri go back to bed. I went to check on my parents only to find my Dad in his office, staring at his laptop screen and writing things down on a notepad. He didn't even notice me when I opened the door. Then when I went to see if Mom was alright, I found her sitting on her bed, watching old videos of Octavia and I when we were kids, a bitter sad smile on her face and her eyes bloodshot. I left her there and went to my old room, deciding to stay the night.

       "Just eat Mom, please." I tell her before leaving the kitchen. I stop in the living room, only to see it a mess. A bowl of Cheetos are on the carpet, a blanket on the couch, the TV on mute and a lot of junk food on the table. This whole house is a mess. I start to clean up, picking up dirty clothes and grabbing leftovers. After I'm done cleaning, I walk upstairs to check on my siblings.

       Opening the door next to my old room, I poke my head inside Drake's room, his room was a mess too. Drake was sitting in front of his Playstation 4, his headset over his ears and he was furiously moving the controls on his controller, his eyes lock with his TV screen, playing a game I think is FarCry 4. He doesn't hear me, so I quietly shut the door before moving to Zuri's room which was across Octavia's room.

       I open the door softly, knowing that it is only ten in the morning and she's probably still sleeping. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion when I saw that she wasn't in her bed, or anywhere in her room. Closing the door, I turn around and move toward Octavia's room. When I open the door, my heart sunk a little in my chest when I saw Zuri curled up beneath Octavia's blankets, sleeping in her bed with one of Octavia's old stuff animals, Simba from The Lion King actually. No one has really touch this room since Octavia was kidnapped, wanting to leave everything how it was, it was too hard to step in here without breaking down in tears.

       Swallowing roughly, I felt the familiar squeeze in my chest, and move closer to the bed. I grab the blankets and tuck Zuri in, watching her sleep with a small frown on her face, squeezing Simba closer to her chest. Leaning down, I kiss her forehead gently before leaving the room, closing the door after me. Before I could go back to my room and start on my homework, I heard the doorbell ringing.

       Knowing exactly that no one was gonna get it, I walk down the stairs and to the door. Grabbing the handle, I open the door to see two people standing there, they stop arguing with each other before turning to me.

       "Can I help you?" I ask them, wondering who they are since I've never seen them in my life.

       "Yeah, actually, my name is Kendall Lovato, this is my brother Javier." The woman says on the man's right, she was wearing the Army camo pants and jacket, her hair tug into a neat bun. The man beside her wore a grey suit with a black tie and he nods at me.

       "So then. . .?" I trail off.

       "Your sister is actually being held captive by our sister, this is the part where you invite us in."