Colorless

Chapter 1

"Tyler!" My mother screams my name from downstairs but I just want to stay here in the warmth of my bed. "Tyler you better come down now and eat before you miss the bus!" I take in a deep breath and instantly  am hit by the smell of a beautiful breakfast. I open my eyes wide and jump out of bed. Black, white, and gray. 

The only colors I see.

There is nothing like knowing the beauty of life is just out of your reach. As if being a senior in high school isn't torture enough. As it happens to be, the only way to see the beauty of color is to find your true soulmate. See, Aphrodite figured it would entertain her more if she separated John and Mabel and watched as they tried to get through impossible obstacles to get back to one another. So if you were lucky enough, you came into contact with the love of your life and were granted the gift of True Sight. There are not too many instances where people find their "other half", so most settle for the ones they love then: always knowing that their epic love is out there somewhere. 

I get dressed and make my way downstairs.

"Tyler! Finally. Glad you could join us." My mother says sarcastically. I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe it was her widened smile or the abundance of food, but something about my mother was off.

"Why are you over motherly today?" I say as I grab a piece of bacon and take a large bite.

"Because your-" My mother began, but a voice overlaps hers.

"Your big sister has come to visit!" I turn to see the one person in my life who can quite literally drive me insane in three minutes or less.

Ryan. 

She has been out of the country with Marcus, her newly wedded husband. And if you could possibly have guessed it; her true soulmate. My big sister, the straight-A student, Harvard accepted, volunteering sweetheart, found The One. She was granted True Sight no more than six months ago.

She bumped into Marcus at a music festival and, as she put it, was "immersed in the colors of the world". They got engaged and soon after, were married. They decided they wanted to travel the world with their new gift of True Sight. So they spent the next four or five months traveling. Now she was back, for some reason. After not seeing her in such a long time, it was strange to see her in front of me. Her hair had grown longer, now touching her shoulders, and she was dressed like someone was going to invite her on a yacht any second now.

"Ryan. Yay." I lean up against a wall and watch as she takes a look around the house we grew up in like she had never seen it before. Great, I'm already annoyed.

"Well don't sound too excited to see me Ty." She said with the biggest smile plastered onto her perfect face. God, she is the biggest pain in my ass. I took a seat at the table and she took a seat opposite of me. Ryan grabbed the bacon out of my hand and replaced it with an orange slice. "Ty, please, at least watch what you eat." I roll my eyes and set the orange slice down and sit back.

"So Ryan, whatcha doing back home?" I ask as I fold my arms over my chest.

"Well, Marcus and I have decided to buy a home and settle down. We went out into the world and saw wonderful things Ty! The colors are so vibrant and wonderful. But we realized that it's the little things," she placed her hand on our table and tapped it softly, "that mattered the most."

"Oh, well that's great. I'm happy us little things were convincing enough to bring you back home." I stood up and pushed my chair in. "But I have to go catch the bus, so I'll see you guys later." I go to kiss my mother on the cheek when a sigh/pout noise comes from my sister. I turn to see her shaking her head. I know that sound. "What is it now Ryan?"

"Well, it's just..." She turns to Marcus who just shakes his head and reaches for my sister's hand. Whatever sign he was giving her was obviously ignored as she pulled her hand away. "Are you really going to wear that to school Ty?" I look down to see my outfit. I chose skinny jeans, a plain tee, and tennis shoes. It seemed pretty normal to me.

"Ugh, yeah Ryan. Why?"

"Your shirt is neon green and your shoes are navy blue Ty. You look ridiculous," she says with a giggle.

"Ryan," my mother says quickly and low.

"What? It's true. If you could see you'd agree with me!" I turn to my mother and roll my eyes. 

The thing is, my mother was never gifted with True Sight. Our father was just someone she fell in love with and spent her life with. So neither she nor I could see in color. That isn't something Ryan should feel so free to make jokes about. My mother looked from me back to my sister.

"Ryan, there is no need to harass your sister about colors, of all things."

"Look, how about I help you pick out something nice and matching." She says in her signature know it all voice.

"No Ryan, I'm going to miss the bus."

"Marcus and I will drive you to school! Just please, I can't let you leave the house looking like that," she says trying to hold back her laughter. I open my mouth but I think mom caught my vibe and stepped in.

"Just let her help you Ty." My mother says sweetly.

"Yay!" Ryan pushes me up the stairs and into my room. In no time she is going through all my clothes. Laughing at some things I own and joking about stealing others. She tells me to take off my shoes and top, but to keep the jeans, since they are black and go with everything. I pull my top off and roll the fabric in between my fingers. So this is green. I look down at my pants and smile. At least I got this one right. I figured since they were the darkest shade of jeans there, they had to be black. "TY!" I jerk and look up at my sister. "Have you even been listening to me?"

"No," I say easily. Ryan rolls her eyes and walks towards me with a shirt.

"I was saying that I could teach you about the shades of your clothes so you can match."

"Ryan it's fine. I have dressed myself my whole life and I've been just fine. It's not like anyone at school can tell the difference anyway."

"Still Ty," she says with a pout, "you should care." 

"Well, I don't." I hate this about my sister. She thinks she is better than me since she has True Sight. I mean, even before that she was a shining star, but it was everyone else that put her on a pedestal. She was so down to Earth before. But now, now it's like I don't even know her; like she's not even the same person. She pouts and whines and gets everything she wants. And she automatically knows better than any one of us.

"Ty-" But I don't wait around to listen. I throw on the shirt she handed me and put on the shoes she placed by the door on our way in. I grab my backpack off the bed and leave my room. Ryan meets me downstairs with a subtle frown.

"Ryan, ready to get going?" Marcus says easily: trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, sure. Let's get Ty to school." She exits the house first.

"Bye girls!" My mother screams. I wave and follow Marcus out of the house and close the door behind me. By the time I get to the car, my sister is already in the passenger seat, sunglasses prompted perfectly on her face. Drama Queen. I get in the car and Marcus starts the car.