Anti-Academy

Disturbed

Max POV

I rub my eyes tiredly as I turn down Elmsfort Avenue. Marie woke me early this morning with the sound of her vomiting in the bathroom.

She thinks I haven't noticed but I know she's been ill every morning for the past two weeks. I may be ignorant of a lot of details and afflictions a woman's body goes through monthly but I do know the signs of pregnancy.

Having had a few scares in high school I know the signs. Luckily those turned out to be bad cases of the stomach flu. Thank God. I learned my lesson after the second scare. I don't take any chances anymore. Regardless of those scares, I know my sister well enough that something this big could never have gone unnoticed.

I haven't said anything because she hasn't. I'm not sure if she hasn't because the reason hasn't occurred to her or if she's nervous of my reaction. Hell, it could be a combination of both knowing her like I do. I kept my back to the door even when I heard the toilet flush. 

I don't want to force her to share. We may be twins and still live together at the age of 23 but we give each other privacy. She doesn't question my one night stands or drunken binges and I don't question her nights out.

I love her and would go to bat for her over pretty much anything, still, I do not ever want to know about her sex life. I am entirely grateful she's feels the same.

Yawning, I pull into the driveway in front of the large three story house. I really wish AJ had found a way to extend this meeting for another day or so. I understand that the Academy has two major teams in this area but I really don't want to deal with team shit today. I have enough to worry about at home.

Sang has me worried. I know that Marie and I made a huge mistake waiting three years to come back for a visit. At the time we decided it couldn't be helped and we took steps to bridge that gap by getting Sang something to communicate with us.

Now, I am achingly aware of that mistake. When Sang ran around the house to greet us. I didn't even recognize my own sister. Her long dirty blonde hair hung in a mess. Her clothes which were small enough to fit a child were to big for her. When I wrapped my arms around her I could feel the bones in her back and ribs through her thin shirt.

As soon as I could that afternoon, I had a very long discussion with my Mother where she explained what had been going on. She said Sang had been going through a vicious rebellious stage. She refused to eat most of her food and to take care of herself hygienically. Mother said it had become extremely hard to get her to do anything she's asked to do and Sang spends almost all of her time in her room.

My anger got the best of me that night of our first dinner together. But when I saw her pick out the smallest piece of chicken and only get three carrot sticks, a small scoop of green beans and mashed potatoes...I kind of lost it. My sister was wasting away and no one was going to say anything!?! No! That was not going to happen on my watch. When I demanded she eat more and placed more food on her plate; the look of horror that crossed her face made me pause. Still I only had to look at her again before I could see the necessity of my actions.

Mom started crying at the table explaining again how awful Sang's been behaving. I caught the look of betrayal on her face when Mom told us all. As much as I felt sorry for the betrayal she felt when Mom told me the truth I was forever grateful to see Sang actually eat that night and every time since then.