The Almost Untitled

Family Ties

I watch as the rain races down the window, pooling together at the bottom of the panel, gathering with the competitors it had previously battled with. My eyes focused on the bud of liquid , gliding smoothly, diverting between other drops , creating its own path. Unique.
My door swings open, creating a gust of wind that sends the papers on my desk flying through the air. I glance momentarily at the floating sheets , admiring the gravity that pulls them to the carpet that rests beneath my toes.
"Breakfast. When you're ready. Dove! "
I snap out of my daze and turn my head towards my mother ,carrying my younger brother in one arm, a towel in the other.
"Sorry , erm , I'm on my way" 
"Don't waste time love, I'm working later and your watching the kids don't forget, oh and I've left you a list of jobs to do. I'll need them doing before I get home, I'm not working all day to tidy up after you three. Okay ? Okay?"

I am pretending to ignore her.  I'm pretending I haven't heard what she said. I'm pretending I'm in the world my mum calls 'doveland' . It's my favourite place to hide from the world. My own brain.
Her eyes shrink as she stares at my , she's tapping her foot loudly on the laminated floor of the landing , my brother Liam writhing on her hip, kicking her thigh.
Before she explodes from rage, I decide to step forward before her , sliding past my mother, closing the door behind me.

There is silence as she follows behind me , and I speed up as I pad down the stairs. My mother towers over me with her impressive height of 5'11 . I am 5'7 , average height for my age, 17. 

I approach the table in the kitchen , laid out with toast , jam, orange juice and cereal. My sister , Piper, sits with her face glued to her phone. I sit across the table from her , looking at the animated mirror that is my twin sister. We are the spitting image of each other, out features identical, excluding the colour of our hair. My sister has always been the epitome of a rebel in our family, dying her hair a deep shade of purple , the colour that matches her nail varnish.
My blonde hair contrasts to her purple, I am more placid . More plain. I prefer to blend than to stand out in the crowd . My sister has always been one to make herself known. It's one of the things I love the most about her.

Piper lifts her chin and observes me staring at her. She grins at me, then her eyes divert towards my mother . They then roll and point straight back at her phone. My mother and sister have never really made much of an effort to get along, they make no point of pretending to possess the bond that some mothers and daughters do . The kind where mother and daughter go on shopping sprees or have girly chats . No. Not this household .

My mother is a very professional woman, her job as a lawyer kept her busy and stern. She is an incredible figure of authority, rather than a caring mother. She tries, no question about it. But people can try for hours on end and dedicate their whole life to changing. It doesn't alter the outcome if it simply isn't meant to be .

My mother pushes the list towards me with her free arm whilst she wrestles Liam into his high chair . My other brother Noah races toward the table at incredible speed , diving for the toast at the centre of the table, scattering silverware.
"Noah!" My sister and I yell in unison, resulting in another twin grin. She smiles at me for a while then looks over at my mother.
"Estimated time of return this evening Alison?" She asks my mother confidently.

On our 14th birthday, my father walked out of the front door and failed to return, slamming it hard after a heated argument with my mum that was never explained to us . My mother threw our cake out of anger violently , splattering cream and candles in every direction of the kitchen, my youngest brother screeching in his Moses basket, Noah cowering behind my thighs, tugging at my top as I stood back, keeping my distance from the monster that had been unleashed in front of me. My sister marched up to her angrily, slamming her palms into my mothers shoulders, forcing her to slide towards the cool tile floor, her back against the glass patio door.  Whilst Piper yelled and my mother sobbed , the contrast between my sister and I became entirely apparent. I was a breeze and she was a tornado.
My sister blames my mother for my fathers departure and since that fateful day, my sister has never called my mother 'mum' . She explained to me that this was because on the day of my mothers breakdown , it was made clear to Piper that a mother was supposed to be everything my mother wasn't . Her name from then on, to my sister, became Alison.  Piper decided she could be her own mum.
I disagree, but although the views my sister and I have differ , we do not bicker about it.

My mother snaps her head towards my sister , sipping her coffee, steam clouding her glasses.  The annoyance at my sister was painted clearly on her face. My sister smiled sarcastically up at her .
"8", mum snaps at her. She pours an essentially full cup of coffee down the sink, checks her watch and flicks her hair behind her ear.
"I'm late. Again. Right . I'm off ." My mother rants.
My eyes focus on the crumbs that Noah has split all over the table cloth. I count them to distract myself. There are 23 . It sparks my attention that this is the same number of our house, and I can't help the chuckle that escapes my lips. .

I haven't realised that my mother had been talking to me until Piper kicks my hard in the shin under the table . I jerk my head upwards , revealing to my mother that I haven't been listening. My mouth is dry and I reach for my glass of juice , bringing the bitter liquid to my lips , tasting the twang on my tongue.
"Nice to know you're paying attention Dove. Job list . Brothers . Dinner tonight.
Piper. Shopping, lawn mown, boys bath and bed . Okay . Bye then" and with that she marches out of the door, the heels punching the hallway as the carry my mothers frame out of the front door.

Noah reaches for the milk , his clumsy arm clattering with my glass of juice , sensing it clattering with my plate , spilling its contents all over the table. I jump up quickly , yanking a towel from the shelf and mopping up the citrus spillage. Liam begins to scream at the commotion , and my sister sits him and on her lap, bouncing him, attempting to calm the storm and appease my sobbing sibling. 
Over the ruckus Piper chuckles , nods at me then grins. "Just another day in the madhouse Dove. Let the fun begin".