Sardines

Chapter 2

2 years later

"Mel come down and get the table ready!" Yells mum. Ugh I hate doing the table, I bet you its take away again. Mum can't be bothered making dinner so it’s always Thai or fast food (which I don't mind) but I wish she would cook something for once. 

"Why do I always have to do the table? Why can't Fin do it for once?!" I yell back, “He’s older than me! Isn’t he supposed to be the responsible one?!” He is 3 years older than me, 19, and doesn’t do any chores and hides away in his room down in the basement. I call it his ‘cave’ and somehow the girls he brings home can actually stand it down there, I tried to drag him out of his room for dinner once and I nearly suffocated in there.

“Ahhh! FIN COME DO THE TABLE!” Screams mum. *thump thump thump* that is his way of saying no, why can’t Melena do it? That’s all he says. What if? Why can’t? Whine whine whine all day I mean I thought he was the older one.

“FINE I WILL COME DO IT!!” I yell, I jump up and knock my cup of tea of the table and I goes all over my bed and leaves a stain. “AGHH!” I yell. *thump* I jump down the staircase and dash into the kitchen and grab our shitty placemats, food stained napkins and bent cutlery.

“Thanks honey, you always help me. I don’t know what I would do without you,” Says mum. Well she is lucky to have me. I am the only one holding this family together (well what’s left of it anyway).

“It’s ok mum but I will be 2 minutes, I spilt my tea over the bed,” I quickly wet a cloth and run up the stairs. I have upstairs all to myself because it’s such a small house there is only 1 room there (mine), a bathroom and a lounge. Downstairs has the laundry, kitchen, basement, mum’s room and the TV room. I don’t know how mum can pay for all of this, I can see she is struggling her way through every day but she always know some way to keep us alive. Although we have the bother of our landlord (we rent the house) and he is always asking for rent (I secretly believe he has a crush on mum). I go into my room and try to rub the stain off with a strong hand but I accidently hit the framed picture of dad.

Oh god. Not again nonononno, I feel tears well up in my eyes and start to roll down my cheeks, he died 2 years ago and I still remember the day mum looked at me that way. With big brown eyes like I wasn’t her child. I crawl into a ball and huddle into the corner, silently crying. I miss him. I always have, without him there is a hole in the family. But he would always look out for me, sure he loved mum and Fin but we shared a bond that could never be broken.

He was mine.