Stay Strong

Chapter Eleven

I got home that night around seven thirty. My 'family' was sitting in the proclaimed family room. The only one who noticed was Peter who shoots me a dirty look.

Valentine was not present.

I go to walk up the stairs and then I'm noticed, "Andrew, dear, where have you been?"

I sigh inwardly and walk back to where my mother called me, "I've been out."

She narrows her eyes and loops a couple strands of dark hair behind her ear.

Peter snicker, "My my! Aren't you becoming such the little rebel Ender."

I grit my teeth, "No, I've been out with a friend, maybe you should try it Peter."

"Andrew! That is no way to speak to your brother." My father sits a silent observer on the entire matter next to my mother on the sofa as my mother scolds me.

My father sends me a calculating look and then speaks, "Peter, leave."

Peter's draw drops when he is spoken to. "Fine!" He gets up and trudges up the stairs.

"Peter! Get back here!"

"What dad!" Peter appears at the bottom of the stairs.

My father gives Peter a cold stare, "You're going to be out of this house by Monday." Peter just looks blankly at him. "You can't stay here forever, son. You're twenty one for crying out loud! You dropped out of college in the first week, and you can't keep a job!"

Peter gets an angry look on his face, "You can't kick me out!"

"Yes I can. My house and I won't have a freeloading son who can't do anything for himself in here!" My father is shouting while my mother sits there with an open mouth.

"Fine. I'll get my stuff and leave." He storms up the stairs and a few minutes later he returns with a knapsack. "You're gonna regret this." It doesn't seem to be directed at my father it seems to be directed at me.

Peter and I make eye contact and if looks could kill, I'd be a goner. He opens the door and shoots one last look at my parents before slamming the door.

"Sit down Andrew."

I obediently sit down across from where my parents sit. My father leans across the short table between the two sofas.

"I know we've been hard on you Andrew, but it was because we had to." Ugh, I already know where this talk is going. It's going to be another one of those 'tough love, we can't let you do anything for yourself now's talks.

I'm saved from the continuance of the talk when the front door swings open. I half expect Peter to be back to kill me but it's just Valentine.

"Geez what did you guys do to Peter? I just saw him driving like a madman down the road." Valentine sets down her bags and sits in the chair Peter had been in.

"We kicked him out."

Val just shrugs, "It had to be done eventually."

I chuckle, "Well, I'm going to go to sleep now." Not really, it's barely eight o'clock but I promised Carly that I'd call her when I got home so now's better than any time to get out of here.

I walk up the stairs that have years of family portraits on them, I'm in less than three of them. The rest are full of my older siblings and parents, all have fake smiles plastered on their faces.

I shake my head as I walk up the staircase of fake family memories. And in a way, I'm happy I didn't grow up here. A home of fake memories, full of people who care so little they didn't fight for me when I was taken.