Tory took a picture of two little children, the boy aving his arm around the younger's girl neck. When I took it, I started to remember;
"This was taken one day before the crash. Look how happy we were. He, after he fought his sickness, and me, being proud of my big brother."
*Tommy's POV*
When Liz' friend told me about her past, I felt the biggest shame and anger in my whole life. She was my little sister. The girl I always loved to play with whenever I could. The girl who always made fun of me as I made fun of her.
And now when I look at her I can't find the five year old's shining of happiness in her eyes. It's gone, replaced by some sort of deep sadness.
I took the glass of water and gave it to Liz. She didn't only faint. I saw it. She broke down. Tory stood up and signalized me to go to the kitchen. Liz was just sitting there, fixing the wall in front of her.
"It's getting late and I need to get tomorrow some things done. Could Liz please stay here over night? I saw her once when she was in a state like that. That was when N...Nate died. Give her some music or a guitar, if you have one. Music and Art are the ways she usually deals with problems. When she's gotten better, try to talk to her. I think you two really need to catch up on. I'll get her in the morning."
"Yes, of course she can stay here! You can too, if you want to. I'll call you or send you a message when she's gotten better, ok."
"That'd be nice. Thank you for everything."
"No, I have to thank you. Thank you for finally letting me meet her. For telling me about her. For everything. Eleven years is a long time..."
She nodded with a smile and hugged me goodbye. I walked back to the living room, taking the guitar which was standing in the corner. It was a black fender. It belonged to our Dad. I strummed down a few strings and saw how her head shoot up.
"You play?", she asked me with a bit of surprisement in her voice.
"Of course. You?"
"What do you expect from a girl living with a member of Green Day?", even though I was standing behind her, I could feel the smile on her lips. I handed her the guitar.
"Mine looks pretty similar...it' not the same, but almost..." she let her hand softly slide over the instrument. "Billie gave it to me in London...it means so much to me..." after that, she played a few chords and let them melt into a song. She played a few songs I didn't really know and a few songs by Green Day. Her voice was great. Really great.
But watching her play made my soul hurt. She was just like Dad; the way she looks, the way she plays guitar, the way she holds the guitar - but also her childhood. She had none.
Our Dad grew up at an orphanage in the U.S. He spent his whole childhood there, being threatened like an animal.
"Wow...you're pretty talented..."
"Thanks.", she smiled shyly. "How 'bout you play something?" She gave me our Dad's guitar back. I played 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' by Green Day. She sang the vocals with me and it was a pretty deep moment, because we both knew exactly what the song means. "You're great!" she exclaimed. "How long do you play? The guitar looks pretty worn-off."
"I play since I'm ten...you and Dad used to come to the hospital and Dad had always the guitar with him. After...well, you know what, I didn't stop. Henry got me the guitar and yeah..."
"So it was a present too? Wow, it has to mean a lot to you..."
"Well, I wanna share it with you. It was Dad's one. Look, he had a picture glued on it." I showed her the back of the guitar. There was a family-picture of us four. "Here, I found the same one a few days ago. It's for you." I handed it to her. She took it with tears in her eyes.
