Random One-Shots

Family Feud

-Pretty Short One Shot-

December takes care of her sister Sunny, but they barely manage to stay afloat. In the book I was planning to write this was the prologue. The idea was to get them interested and curious. .

"Sissy?"

I don't bother to look up from making our all-veggie tacos, "Yes sweetie?"

"Why aren't we normal. Like all the other kids from my school?"

I quickly set the spoon I'm holding down, and look over the counter at my little sister, who's sitting at our dinning room table, glaring at her homework. It takes me a moment to get past the lump in my throat, and regain breath before I respond, "What do you mean by that?" I fake ignorance.

"Well everyone at school has normal families. Like, they all live with their parents-"

I cut her off quickly, trying to end the discussion, "Not all of them, what about Jess, and Joseph?"

"...Well, yeah, but even they live with their grandma and grandpa. And they say their parents are coming back, just not for a while." There's a pause, I stare at the plates in front of me blankly. She looks up at me, and I can't bare to return the gaze. "But my mommy and daddy aren't coming back."

It sounds more like a question than anything. "No, Sunny. No, they aren't." She starts to talk again but I continue, causing her to go quiet. "However, that doesn't mean we aren't a normal family. Every normal family is different." As I continue to talk I resume making dinner, trying to end the conversation.

"No, your lying." That pierced my heart, but Sunny continues, slowly getting louder. "A normal family has a mommy and a daddy, and normal families don't have to get rid of their siblings. And they different things for lunch everyday, and-" She starts crying as she stands up and screams at me, "YOUR A BIG LIAR AND I HATE YOU AND I HATE OUR FAMILY. I WANT A NORMAL FAMILY!"

"GO to your room." She stares at me in shock, big tears running down her face, and her nose starts running. I glare at her, I had managed to not yell before, but now I couldn't stop it, "SUNNY, I TOLD YOU TO GO TO YOUR ROOM." She sniffles but quickly complies.

Leaving me staring at the doorway she disappeared into.

The doorway that was covered with a blanket, to help pretend we're a normal family who could buy a door.

And her homework still sits on a folding card table, that we use as a dining room table. That's next to two old plastic chairs, to help pretend that we're a normal family who owned a dinner table and chairs.

And I notice the pencil I had to practically steal from my classroom -just so we had one- had rolled off onto the floor sometime during the argument.

And all the other stupid things I try and do, to pretend that we're a normal family hit me, and I fall to my knees, biting my tongue to try and hold in my screams.

I move myself to a sitting position.

I sit there, on the floor, behind the counter, where Sunny wouldn't be able to see me if she peeked, and I lean my head back against the cupboards.

I think to myself, and I find myself mouthing the words I keep repeating, "I'm trying, I feel like I'm trying so hard. But am I? Am I really?"

I think back, regretting decisions, 'I shouldn't have let Mikey, and Jazzy go. We could've found a way. I should've let Sunny eat that ice cream instead of saving it, that wasn't even a big deal. I should've just gotten her the toy she asked for yesterday. I should've tried to work just a bit more. I could've stopped this. I could've-' And then I stop because I can't think straight, and the memories become too much to bare. And I almost scream, but I remind myself that Sunny's home and I have to be strong.

And I curl into a ball.

And I muffle my sobs so Sunny won't hear, as I cry into my hands.

What would've happened.

Their dad abandoned them years ago, and their mom died birthing Mikey six months before. Sunny has no recollection of them, but has been told stories.

Sunny says they 'got rid of their siblings' because that's all she really understands. In the book it would come up later that they weren't making enough money to support and care for the youngest boy, Mikey, who was only an infant. Especially after he got sick. So the eldest girl, of all the siblings, Jazzy took him away to a relatives to see if he could stay there. With promises to return as soon as possible.

This takes place months later, and Jazzy hasn't come back or sent any news, this causes Sunny to start questioning their lifestyle and December, who is worried sick about both of them, to blame herself. Suddenly December is thrown into an adult role to the point she has to drop out of high school just to make enough to support them.

Their life starts crumbling when an old classmate of December's finds out about their predicament. Her, her brother and his friends help them out till, a month later their found out by Sunny's teacher. The teacher reports them, and the two are separated. Thankfully December turns eighteen eleven months later, and Sunny was still up for adoption. They're quickly brought back together, and December adopts her sister for good.

Eventually they find out Jazzy never even tried, feeling like she grew up too fast, and holding a deep hatred for her siblings because of it. Jazzy lies about helping their brother, to get them off her back. And quickly ditches Mikey at an orphanage a town or so over before taking off to Los Angelis.

December immediately sets out to find her brother, but is informed weeks later he hadn't made it a year in the orphanages care. He'd come down with pneumonia and died after a week of fighting. He was buried in the Towns cemetery, so his older sisters visited him, Sunny however, unfortunately had no recollection of him. And PS they never saw or heard from Jazzy again.

The End

With Authors note 1069 words total