My Saving Grace (Book 3)

May 29, 2030

Jessica stumbled downstairs, woken by the loud noises of Alex and Scott talking and singing and laughing. She waltzed into the kitchen expecting to see them throwing food at each other, which wasn't an unusual occurrence, but was met by no one. She frowned realising it was Saturday and that Toby was coming home today for a couple of days.

She searched the rest of the house, planning on making her way down to their bedroom but stopping when she saw that he path was blocked by a large, taken apart bed. She could hear Scott humming in their bedroom and Alex giggling along. "If one of you is getting changed let me know, so I don't see anything that I'd rather not see!" She called, causing the voices and laughter to die down.

Alex suddenly appeared in the doorway, Scott close behind him. They both wore paint splattered tank tops and sweat pants. Their arms, legs and hair were covered in paint also. Jessica rolled her eyes. "Can y'all get anymore impulsive?" She stated, sarcastically, jumping over the bed and peering into the bedroom. It was empty of all furnishing, the bed in the hallway, obviously, and all cabinets and cupboards somewhere else. The floor was covered in a clear plastic and multiple paint pots sat around the room. The walls however were close to magnificent.

"Bringing back the painter in him." Scott whispered, leaning back against Alex's chest as Jess walked further into the room. The undercoat of the walls was white but drawn on top was a tree. It spread over one whole wall, where the foot of their bed usually faced. It's branches stretching and twisting and coming to an end at no particular point. It was only the outline, drawn mostly in pencil, but she could see exactly what it was.

"How long have you been up?" Jessica asked, turning towards Alex. He shrugged, stepping out from behind Scott to squash next to him in the doorway.

"I didn't really go to sleep." He admitted. Jessica knew why this was, he was worried. This weekend was the first weekend Toby would be home. It had only been a month and yet it was weird, not having your brother around all the time. They wouldn't tell Jess why they had "sent him away" either. All she did know was that he was safe where he was and that he called every night. It mustn't have been a bad place if he still called home. "Do you like it?" Alex asked knocking her from her train of thought.

"I think it's beautiful." She told him. Alex smiled, walking past her to pick up a tray that held paints of various browns and greens. He crossed his legs on the ground and began to fill in the trunk, stroke by stroke.

"Are you going to get Toby soon?" Jessica asked, this time directing her question towards Scott. He nodded and Jessica noticed the distant look in his eyes.

She only knew small amounts about her parents lives, never really finding the curiosity to ask them about life before they had kids. She knew how they met and what they both did as jobs. She didn't, however, know what created the sparks in their eyes and how the inside jokes came about. It was weird to think the two people she had lived with ever since she was only a few months old she knew barely anything about.

"I'm leaving now, actually." Scott whispered through the silence. A smile appeared on his face as he looked over at Alex. There was some sort of communication between their eyes, maybe an 'I love you' or a 'drive safely', Jessica didn't know. But one thing was for sure it was a positive message, judged by the stars that reflected out of Scott's eyes.

When Scott left Jessica sat down on the opposite side of the room, a bowl of cereal in her lap, watching Alex continue to paint. The room looked unusually big without all of its furniture. He hummed a song under his breath that she recognised. His brush moved in time to the tune, creating a texture to the bark of the tree with different mixtures of brown.

"What song is that?" Jessica asked. Alex's hand froze abruptly and his head turned a little to catch her eye before he continued again. A small smirk now played at his lips.