Across the Map

3. Caleb

I didn't even wait for the alarm clock to go off this morning. It would serve no purpose. Liley and I were awake (well, if you count dead looking and bags so bad it looks like we got punched in the face as awake) and getting out of the house early didn't seem like the worst thing in the world. I pulled the covers off her, her eyes having a thick gloss over them and her mouth hanging open awkwardly. She looked like a living corpse, a shell of herself.

    For some reason, looking at her like that reminded me of when my parents had first started fighting. Liley used to always confide in our parents, sit on their laps, call them mom and dad. Everything. But when things started to get ugly, she would recede away from them, almost as if she was scared to talk to them in any way. I never knew what she was thinking those first couple of months. But I did know this. After my parents first quarrel with Liley, she became a complete shell. Her old self was gone, lost to desolation. I saw the old her from time to time, but only I could get a glimpse of it. No one else, not even our family. My heart had ached because of this for a long time.

    I snapped out of my daze abruptly, not wanting to ruin my day already. I looked at my sister, so pale and small, gazing into the nothingness of our white wall. I couldn't see her like that, even if it was just from a lack of sleep. I took her shoulders and shook her as hard as I could, maybe a bit too hard. Liley awoke instantly. I knew because after three seconds of shaking her, a hard object collided with my cheek, her fist.

    "What the heck was that for?" She whisper-yelled, knowing that our parents will still asleep, and not wanting to disturb the stillness.

    "I want to get out of the house early," I said, only telling her part of the truth, "Get ready". Liley looked up at me with a confused look, but ultimately shrugged it off and started trudging toward the bathroom.

    We were both ready about an hour later, slipping out of our room, trying not to make a sound. We knew that mom was probably awake, and that usually meant bad news for Liley. Her and mom usually didn't see eye to eye on everything, like Liley's decision to get angel bite piercings. My mom and I did fight, but not as much as she did with my sister.

    I crept out of the room first, making sure the coast was clear. I went into the kitchen first. The coffee maker was on, and when I listened very carefully, I realized the shower was on, perfect timing to run to my car. I knew that mom usually didn't have to things going at the same time though, so our window of time was slim. I looked back down the hall, seeing some strands of fire poking out of our bedroom door. I put my hand up and shook it as quick as I could manage so Liley knew we didn't have that much time. It was a code we've used for a long time now, basing the extremity of the hand shaking on how much time we would have until mom or dad come back. We've had some miscommunications with it, but overall, the system was a lifesaver.

    Liley shuffled across the floor as quickly as she could, probably going to get a slight shock from the metal door handle. I already had my shoes on, and she knew we didn't have time, so she ran out in her socks with her Timberland boots in her hand.