Reaper

Chapter 1- I fall down the stairs of hell

I woke up from my sleep with a jolt, dripping with sweat as usual, breathing heavily. I brushed the sweat off my forehead with my palm, exhaling loudly. Sluggishly, I made my way out of bed, my head hunched over as I made my way to the door. I stepped on some kind of plastic thingy I had lying on the floor, and it jabbed into my foot, making me scream out in pain. I hopped around like some kind of idiot, cursing as I slammed into my wall and my drawer, making my way to the door in a hopping sort of manner. I began to put my weight on the door, reaching down to open it, but it opened before I had the chance to do it myself. I fell forward where the door used to be, flying out of my room at an alarming rate. The speed of my fall made me fly down the stairs, my body bouncing down each step, making a painful reminder where the step and my body made contact. At last it all ended, my legs somehow managed to find their way over my head, my feet dangling in front of my face.
My little sister Melody came rushing down the stairs after me, screaming to me something like "Sorry! I didn't mean it!". She eventually got to the bottom of the stairs, and helped me to my feet. She cried out a number of apologies, asking if she could help.
I shrugged her off with an "I'm okay", and "I'm fine", and I made my way back up the stupid stairs back up to my room.

I rubbed my head like I had nits in the shower, using soap to wash the slightly bloody hair clean, wincing as I went. When I was done, I made my way out of the shower and dried off with a towel. I stood still and looked at my reflection in the mirror, seeing my messy black hair hide parts of my face, still shiny from the water in the shower. My blue eyes stood out from the black hair, like the moon at night, the bright lights in a sea of darkness. My pale skin was turning red from the heat of the shower, itching me tempting me to scratch it. I walked out of the bathroom after I was dry and begun to get dressed, then made my way down the stairs I had my earlier event on.
"Feel like breakfast now Toby?" Melody asked me, still with a hint of guilt in her eyes.
"Um, yeah, I guess so" I replied. "What are we having?"
"I think I'll make us omelette today"
"Do you want me to cook?" I asked, not taking no as a answer.
"No, I'll be fine" She replied, reaching for the fridge.
"Please," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "I don't want you to have to do everything today."
She gave up whispering a little "Thanks", and sat down at the table and pulled out the paper, reading it like Mum used to. I began to start cracking the eggs, and cooking them, adding small amounts of ingredients while Melody wasn't watching. I began to think of Mum and Dad, how they left this world in front of us, just two years ago. It's just been Melody and I here, the foster care allowing us to stay at home, as we were so capable by ourselves, we didn't need to go into a foster home. We've been at home alone for the last year and a half. Melody and I only got to grips with the reality of Mum and Dad's death last month. Up until then, we cried ourselves to sleep, not wanting to face the reality. Eventually we got over it. I wonder what they would think of us now.
"Careful!" Yelled Melody, making me have a tiny seizure, almost dropping the pan. I had the egg hanging of the side of the pan, taunting me as it dangled off the edge of the pan. I carefully re-adjusted it, saving the loss of breakfast for this morning. I slid the omelette onto the chopping board, rolled it up and cut it up into smaller pieces and arranged them on two seperate plates. Melody and I sat down at the table and didn't speak a word to each other. Eventually I found the courage inside me to speak.
"So, um, what are you doing at school today?"
"Not much, just the usual."
"Are you still doing that art project?"
"The comic? Um, yeah, I am."
"How's it going?"
"Uh, good, yeah."
"Cool..."
"Yeah..."
We sat and didn't speak for a while, only breaking the silence by the sound of our forks colliding with the plates, an awkward silence forming between us. We didn't make eye contact often, and when we did, we looked away the instant we realised we were looking at each other. Why weren't we looking at each other? I felt so distant from each other.

In the few minutes before we had to go to school, we were watching the news. News about singers, news about actors, news about the American president again, news about actors, nothing interesting. I switched off the news and told Melody that we needed to leave, not looking directly at her face. I stepped out the door, Melody behind me, and we started our trek to school.