Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
When the last day happened, I didn't know it was the last day.
It started off completely normal. Mom and Dad made breakfast; french toast with blueberries as toppings. They pestered me about my grades, that my skirt was too short for school, that I did not need to wear the small amount of make up I did because I was beautiful without it. I, being my normal teenager self, told them both that their opinions didn't count because they were my parents.
Thomas, my brother, sat beside me and played with the syrup bottle until it slipped from his tiny fingers and clamored to the floor with a loud thud. Ozzie, the little pug we'd had for a few years, eagerly ran to get some of the tasty treat before my mother bent down to wipe it away.
Tommy stared at me with wide, innocent eyes when I chuckled at something a friend had sent me. "What is it? Can I see?"
Hurriedly, I clicked out of the message and went to show him one of the pictures I had stowed away for this occasion. It was of Grumpy Cat, complaining about Monday's. He would never know that my friend had sent me a vulgar message about a guy in her class. I had always protected him from that. I always would.
Until I couldn't.
Tommy walked me to the bus stop while my parents watched from the porch, just to make sure he was alright on his way back. I ruffled his hair, kissed his forehead. Told him he would be on his very own school bus in no time. When the bus came barreling down the road I watched to make sure he had made it inside of the house before I stepped on to the metal beast.
My friends and I spent the day talking about a party that would take place tonight. Courtney had managed to get a bunch of beer and Brett had somehow gotten his parents to lend him the beach house. Everything was looking great for us.
When I got home my parents asked me to watch Tommy. I remember being mad at them. I remember wanting to scream until I was blue in the face. I still remember their tired eyes, their messy hair, their slumped figures from the late work shifts.
I remember nodding my head like an obedient dog and heading upstairs to change into something much more comfortable for a night in with my baby brother. Their relieved sighs were heard even when I reached the top of the stairs and although I was disappointed about not being able to go to the party, taking that little bit of weight off of my parents shoulders made it worth it.
Mom kissed my forehead and ruffled Tommy's hair before she left with a quick goodbye. My father nudged my brother and told him to be good for me and then he left, too. Tommy grabbed the corner of my sleeve and dragged me to the white couch sitting in the middle of the large living room. He let go when we got there and jumped on the bouncy fabric, the springs beneath it almost sending him into the air.
"Careful, Tommy." I tried to scold him but the anger died in my throat when I saw how excited he was to just sit down and watch movies with me.
"Sorry," he mutters weakly, still holding a small smile. "Can we watch Tangled?"
