To Be Free

A Soldier's Coming Home

The days drug on and on and on and on and on and on and... You get my point. Sebastian still hadn't spoken to me after I dropped him off on Wednesday. I hadn't bothered to attend school or put much effort into anything. I just... Didn't care. My brain was on other things, well, Sebastian.

He shouldn't have cared about me at the party. I never promised anything to him so why did it bug  him so much to find me kissing another guy? It's not like I would kiss him, nor would he even let me, but even if he would, I definitely wouldn't do it.

Why am I rationalizing this? That's right, it's because I'm a crazy person that has conversations inside of her head. It's not for any other reason...

I got out of bed on Saturday and threw on a pair of skinny jeans and an old band t-shirt that I had stolen from KC. I pulled my hair into a bun and swiped mascara over my ridiculously blonde eyelashes.

I went downstairs to see that everyone was home. My foster mom looked at me with barely contained anger flaring in her eyes.

"Why the hell haven't you been to school since Wednesday?" She growled. Yes, that's right, she literally growled.

"I didn't feel like it." I replied with a shrug.

She sighed heavily and ran a hand through her greying, brunette hair. Max, her husband of fifteen years just glanced at me, his eyes full of sympathy.

"Kat, I used to be like you ya know? But then I ran into Max and he changed me. We settled down and are happy now. I know I'm not your mom and Max isn't your dad, but you bet your ass we love you like you are. Okay?"

"Spare me the BS. You guys fight worse than two teenage girls. I'm not going to 'change for the better' because some dude comes along and actually pays attention to me."

"We love each other Kat, I promise. I know you're seventeen now, almost eighteen, but I want you just to think about how you affect the people around you."

"Yes, all knowing Jedi Master Keri."

She rolled her eyes and pulled me into a hug. My arms stiffened at my sides as she continued to hug me.

"If you don't hug me back, I'll kick your ass." She mumbled into my shoulder.

  I brought my hands up to awkwardly pat her back... I'm not much of a hugger. The only person I can stand to hug is my brother.

She accepted my Frankenstein arm pats for the moment and then returned to the kitchen where the mouth watering smell of French toast was wafting in. French toast? Wait, no one in this house knows how to make French toast except...

"KC! I swear on all that is holy that if you're in that kitchen and not hugging me in the next ten seconds I will personally stab you in the eye with a fork. Your time starts now."

A large frame filled the doorway of the kitchen and I was engulfed in the familiar, comforting smell of my older brother. I pulled my face up to obtain oxygen and looked at his face. Nothing was different apart from a small scar that crossed the bridge of his nose.

"Hey kid." He stated, giving me a sideways smile.

  I was speechless.

"Have I rendered you speechless?" He asked with a chuckle. Damn him. Always knowing me.

"I missed you." Was all I could get out despite my previous appearance of confidence.

"Missed you too el mijito. Check out my new scar by the way! It's a mark from war."

He eagerly pointed to the bridge of his nose where a faint white line sat. It honestly looked like he bounced his face off of something.

"What happened?" I asked.

"A fight with a terrorist. It was epic but his knife caught me right here." His hands gestured wildly as he told the little story.

"What really happened?" I questioned more persistently.

"... I hit my face on a really sharp cupboard corner. But don't tell Delilah! She thinks I'm superman."

  Delilah happened to be my brother's conquest at that time. And yes, to any Plain White Tees fans out there, KC was delighted he could serenade her with 'Hey There Delilah' anytime he wanted. KC was against military marriages but he was completely ready to have a wedding with the girl he met a month ago just so he could play the song.

"Sometimes I don't think we are actually related." I mumbled shaking my head as he finally released me from his hug.

"You're thinking about my wedding again aren't you?" He questioned, his lips curved up into a smirk.

"Get out of my brain! There are private things in here." I responded.

"Don't worry, your fantasies about Johnny Depp are safe. I wouldn't dare use our sibling superpower to look at those... Gross things." He said with a shudder.

"Hey, he's pretty hot." I shrug, turning towards the kitchen again.

"Maybe for a grandpa. People have weird fetishes I guess. Remind me never to take you to a nursing home for community service hours."

"You're a whore."

"A painted one."

"An experienced one."

"Douche! You just ignored my supernatural reference!"

"Fine. Jerk."

"Bitch."

A voice suddenly cut between our banter,"Ladies, ladies. You're both beautiful. Now why don't you grab some French toast and head to the living room so that Max and I can have some peace and quiet while you guys catch up." Keri insisted.

"Depends," KC countered,"where's demon child at?"

Keri sighed and pointed to the dining room we had just walked out of. Veronica was heatedly talking on her fake iPhone to some poor imaginary friend. Her cheeks were red and one hand was knotted into her hair. Veronica was my foster mother's actual kid. Apparently she'd been watching Keri talk on the phone lately.

"She looks pretty busy, come on El Mijito, time to go play video games until our brains turn to mush." KC said, grabbing a plate of French toast and quickly exiting the room.

That my friends, is how you properly spend a skipped school day. Sebastian wouldn't contact me again until Saturday night.