The Crutch's Sister

Flash

I had woken up, stiff and sore. It had been two weeks since I ran away from the boys. I had decided to hide in plain sight. Miss Medda let me stay in the theater while I hid out. I'd made myself a hammock in between the curtains. I eased my way onto the floor and walked onto the stage. I sat down and tried to read a book Medda had given to me. (A/N: The passages from the book Kicks is reading are from Hans Christian Anderson's Thumbelina. THEY DON'T BELONG TO ME!!) "She...was...d-d-ain-ty...and...fair...to...see, but...she...was..no...tall-er...than...your....th-um-b. Thubee?" I asked. 

"I think it's pronounced thumb!" a voice shouted. 

"Joel! Don't be rude!" Another voice hissed. I jumped up and looked into the seats. A boy and a girl were sitting there. They both had messy black hair and bright blue eyes. They seemed to be in their early twenties.

"Who are you? You aren't supposed to be in here." I stated, slipping the book into my pocket. 

"Don't worry, kid. We're from The World. We've got an interview with Miss Medda." The girl said, walking up to the stage.

"She's out right now. You'll have to come back later." I said, backing away.

"We can wait." The boy said, following the girl. "I'm Joel and this is my twin sister, Ida."

"Nice to meet you." Ida said, smiling warmly. I quickly shook both of their hands.

"I'm Kicks."

"Wait. You're Kicks?" Ida gasped. I nodded. "Oh...Oh gosh. We've been trying to find you and get an interview, but no one has known where you've been since you came back." 

"Aaand now you sound super creepy." Joel interjected. Ida blushed with embarrassment. 

"Sorry. I get excited when I see a story forming."

"It's no problem." I smiled. I sat down on the stage. "Do you both write the stories for The World?" I asked.

"Goodness, no." Ida chuckled. "I'm the writer, Joel's the photographer. He actually took the first picture of you. I wrote the story for that." Joel and Ida both smiled, proud of themselves. I chuckled.

"It's nice to finally know who took that picture." I said quietly.

"For an aspiring singer, I would've imagined you wearing nicer clothes." Joel stated. I looked down at my clothes. I hadn't changed my clothes since I ran away.

"These are more comfortable than a dress." I covered up. Joel squinted at me and jumped up on the stage. He leaned in and looked into my eyes. "What are you doing?" I asked, pushing him away.

"Seeing if you're lying. I have a knack for sniffing out liars." he declared. "And you are." I looked down, embarassed. 

"I'm actually not that well off. My brother and I were kicked out of our home when we were very young." I mumbled. 

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Kicks." Ida murmured.

"It's fine. It only made us stronger and closer." I said. I immediately was overcome by extreme sadness and regret. I felt hot tears prick my eyes. "Excuse me." I whispered, running off the stage. I slammed the door to Medda's dressing room and curled up on the floor. "I ran away from the only people that genuinely care about me."  I thought. "They'll never forgive me. I'll never win back their trust." I stayed there until it was time to get ready for the show. I put on a soft yellow dress. I dried my eyes and walked out onstage. I brushed past Miss Medda, who stopped me. I looked at her and she gave me a tight, warm, loving hug. The kind a mother would give to her child after a bad day. I hugged her back and she kissed my forehead in a maternal way. She smiled at me and I walked onstage. I sighed and started to sing.