Frozen Yogurt

13. The Morning After

I wake with a start, that was some crazy dream. I look around my old bedroom and everything that happened last night comes back to me and with that I throw back the covers on my bed and head over to Everleigh's room.

"Everleigh?", I call as I knock on her door.
"Hey Everleigh are you up?"
With no answer I twist the door knob and peer into Everleigh's room.
She's not in her bed.

I run down the passage to the kitchen where I find my mother making breakfast. I ask her if she has seen Everleigh, "I thought you just went to wake her up?"

"Well she's not in her room, I'll go check outside." Before her disappearance, even when we were kids, I remember how she always loved being outside in the garden.
We used to have this huge tree that she would climb and stay up there for hours doing I don't know what.

When I open the sliding door I see her laying on the grass in her pyjamas. Quietly I walk towards her and sit by her feet, she's just staring up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. Randomly she says, "That one looks like a dog", lifts her arm and points up to the sky and I look up to see what she sees.

"Everleigh what are you doing out here?"

"I just felt like I needed some air and it's been awhile since I've been able to do this kinda thing you know", she replies sitting up.

"Well come inside because Mom's making breakfast for us", I say getting up.

"Just give me a minute, tell Mom I'll be right there", she says calmly lying back down.

I look down at her figure before walking back inside. She seems so different. I get that a traumatic experience like being kidnapped changes a person but I guess I thought Everleigh wouldn't be that different from the last time I saw her. I'm sure after a couple of days she will be like her old self again.

I finish helping my mother set the table just as Everleigh walks in and sits down at the table. Once we've all served ourselves my mother breaks the silence, "So, Everleigh, how are you feeling this morning? Did you sleep okay?"
I look over at her to see her stuffing her face clearly unaware of my mother's questions, I almost burst out laughing at the sight but I keep it together with a smile on my face. I poke her leg under the table which causes her to look up and my mother starts laughing and because it's so contagious all three of us end up in a fit of giggles.

At that moment my father walks through the doorway into the kitchen, "What are you ladies laughing about so early in the morning?"
"Nothing", Everleigh replied with a smile.
We then continue to eat breakfast with some small talk and then my mother asks, "So, what are you girls doing today?"
Everleigh and I look at each other from across the table and then back to my mother and shrug. "Well your father and I are both working today so you will have the house to yourselves", she says.

By then we had all finished eating and I offered to help my mother clean up but she dismissed me with a wave of her hand so I decided it was about time for a shower. Once I finished, I knocked on Everleigh's door and asked if she felt like going to the mall or something.
"Yeah, I feel like I need some new clothes", she said.

As we were walking from one shop to another people kept looking our way as if we were aliens. I suppose they were just surprised by the sight of my sister. She did look a little pale and fragile but what do you expect from someone who just came out of captivity. "Hey, let's go in here", she said. I helped her pick out some clothes and she went to try them on.

After some time I realised she still hadn't emerged from the changing room. I walked in and heard sniffing, she was crying. "Everleigh? Hey are you okay?", I asked tapping lightly on the door.
"Yeah I'm fine", she said trying to hold in her tears.
"Can I come in?"
She unlocked the door and I saw her sitting in the corner with her knees pulled up to her chest and wet patches on her t-shirt from her tears. I wondered how long she had been sitting there and instantly went to sit beside her, letting her cry on my shoulder.

I wasn't sure how long we sat there together with only the sound off her sniffing and me stroking her hair in an attempt to soothe her. Everleigh became silent and I said, "Let's go home."
After I made us some sandwiches for lunch I asked if she wanted to talk about why she was crying, "I don't really wanna talk about it right now Becca."
I conceded and suggested we watch a movie.

We must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew my parents were home and the sun had gone down. We all sat down at the table for supper and my father asked, "So girls, what did you two do today?" Everleigh kept her head down and continued eating her food, I told them we just went to the mall and got Everleigh some new clothes. I think my parents could tell we were not in the mood to talk and didn't ask any further questions.

Later that night, I thought it's about time I go back to my own home but I wasn't sure if leaving Everleigh with my parents was such a good idea so I asked her, "Everleigh? Do you think you'll be okay here with mom and dad?"
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah but I wanted to make sure you're okay first."
She smiled and said, "Don't worry sis I'll be okay as long as you don't stay away for to long."
"Okay. And call me if you wanna talk," I said and pulled her in for a hug.

My bags were packed and I said goodbye to my parents. I felt like I was leaving a piece of myself behind yet, as soon as I stepped thought their front door I felt like a weight had been lifted. It was pretty dark out when I arrived back at my apartment around 9:00 and I felt exhausted. I walked up the lengthy flight of stairs all the way up to the 5th floor until I reached my door.

Just as I reached out to turn the key into the lock I noticed the door was slightly ajar and I immediately forgot all about my bed. I opened the door slowly and cursed when it began to creak. I could barely make out anything through the dark so I felt around for the light switch. When I flipped the switch it was like my whole world had been turned upside down and a tornado had struck my apartment.