The Streets

Chapter 12

I writhe under the darkness,

That's seeping into my bones.

I cry into the light,

That's scalding every pore.

It's changed us all,

And taken our hearts,

Moulding them

Whichever way they want.

It settles inside us,

A demon's curse.

And we can't fight it,

Because it stays unheard.

Chapter 12 (Dev)

The following week was extremely stressful for Kat and I. We knew that we didn't have enough money to survive for long, and I was searching desperately for jobs everywhere. I eventually found one at an ice cream shop that let me work for them on weekends for pretty much the entire day. It was hard work with barely any breaks, but at least it meant we had more money coming in.

But even with the added income, the end of the month brought even more stress. After paying for another two weeks in our room, the most we could afford, money was tight. Two meals a day was generous. Each meal was like a half-meal and although Kat was trying hard, it proved way harder to potty train Leah than we had expected. Combined with the expenses of her food and vitamins, new clothes and creams, and her diapers; we had barely enough money to spend on anything else.

As we were forced to survive on less and less nourishment, and our clothes were much too small for us, and we were thing and exhausted all the time, I began to consider other options. The money that I put away at the end of each week from Kat and I's jobs was altogether enough to get us at least another week at the end of our two weeks limit, but not enough for food on top of that.

It broke my heart every time I sat up in bed, listening to Kat moan in her sleep from the nightmares that were brought on by the endless hunger, and watch Casey's face after meals begging for more but staying silent and smiling and laughing like it was enough, his face gaunt with hunger. Fire, who lived off of our scraps, was now barely being fed, and he often disappeared in the middle of the day, probably trying to find other food for himself, but he always came back for the night.

On the way home from the ice cream parlour on a Saturday night, I was passing through a particularly shabby part of the neighbourhood. I passed a market under the sleek cover of darkness that was supposed to be being watched by a young man who had fallen asleep under the canopy.

As I was walking past, almost without thinking, I snatched three sandwiches and hid them beneath my coat, continuing on my way without stopping. When I got to the end of the street, I turned onto the new street and stopped. Slowly, I slid down the brick wall behind me, staring at the sandwiches held in my hands.

I kept telling myself over and over again that I needed to go and put the sandwiches back, but I couldn't get myself to move. Finally, I stood and started walking, holding the sandwiches close to me.

Tears slid down my face as I walked hurriedly away from the market, towards our hotel. Once I was just outside the door to our room, I stopped and collected myself, wiping the tears off of my face and waiting for the sniffles to subside. Leaning my head against the cool, wooden doorframe, I waited. When I was ready, I looked up, plastered a smile onto my face, and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Dev," Kat greeted me tiredly, opening the door to let me past.

As soon as I was through, I held up the sandwiches for my siblings to see. Casey squealed and ran over, taking the sandwich from my hand and immediately ripping open the saran wrap covering. I swallowed the welling tears and deposited the second sandwich into Kat's outstretched hands.