Destiny Awaits: A One Direction Fan Fiction [On Hold]

Chapter 28- Make Me Proud

Chapter 28

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I was thinking about the last time I saw my brother, right before he moved out for good. I was only five years old, but the memory stuck out, crystal clear in my mind.

Pottstown, like any small town, held its secrets. I didn't know that people talked about my family or others behind closed doors. I didn't understand why Suzy Union, the Mayor's daughter, had hundreds of Barbie dolls, while I never had even one. You see, I was five. I was too young to understand, or at least that's what I was told.

My parents struggled to pay the bills and put food on the table, but I didn't even know it then. All I knew was that I shouldn't complain if breakfast was just crackers and cheese, or if Mommy came home late from work. I knew better than to ask too much for christmas, or to want expensive toys and clothes. And I sure as heck knew never to complain about it.

I know they tried their best to keep us happy, and even though we didn't have much, we did have the one thing we needed; love.

I had all the love that I needed. I had an absolute best friend; my brother. We had to share a room in the little basement of our trailer, but we made a game of it. It was our kingdom; he was the king, and I was the princess. My brother always told me how much he loved me, or showed me it. If Mom and Dad were still working, he'd come scare away the monsters for me at night. In they day, he'd take me to the community park, and would push me on the swings, which is exactly what he did that day.

It had been a blistering hot summer's day, no breeze to be found. It had been hot and dry all summer, and the grass was all dead, the ground so dusty that when the wind blew, it looked like a desert. I remember there had been a sweet flowery smell in the air that day, because the florist down the street had to throw some of her bouquets out, they were so wilted. My brother had slathered sunscreen all over me--he was always so protective. Then, hand in hand, we had walked to the park just down the road.

Usually, the park was full, but everybody was inside. Since we didn't have air conditioning, my brother decided to push me on the bright blue swings, get some breeze going for me, cool me down. It had felt so fresh, the wind whipping past my face, had made me feel so free. I even remember the feel of the worn rope that my little hands were wrapped around, giving me calluses on my palms.

He pushed me on those swings for about an hour or so, not complaining about the intense heat the whole time. He must have been dripping sweat, but he never showed his discomfort. He was more focused on keeping me entertained.

"Onika, why don't we take a break?" he asked sweetly, not pushing me at all. I know that if I had wanted to stay on the swings, he would have obliged without a single complaint. But I diligently followed him over to a rickety old picnic table and sat down on the seat across from him.

"Thank you Andre" I said, giving him a toothy smile. "That was so much fun, we'll have to do it again tomorrow" I said excitedly. I was already planning all the things we would do tomorrow, all of the adventures that we would have together. Instead of saying thank you, or giving me his signature grin I was so accustomed to, he just frowned.

"Don't you remember what day it is?" he asked me patiently. I just shook my head. I didn't know the days of the week yet, even though Dre was trying to teach me. I just couldn't keep track of them all.

"I don't know Dre, you tell me" I said, shrugging my shoulders. Why was he tearing up, I had thought. He shouldn't be sad, tomorrow we were going to have even more fun. And then the next day was the day Mom said she had off, so we would definately have lots of fun then too. No need to be sad, right?

"Onika, today is Thursday. And what was going to happen this Thursday?" he asked calmly, even though tears dripped down from the corners of his bright blue eyes. I scrunched up my eyebrows, trying to think of my answer. Thursday sounded familiar, and it sounded important. I just couldn't put my thumb on it. I remember Dre getting that package he had been waiting for in the mail the other day, the one with one of those uniforms. Camouflage, he told me it was called. That's when it hit me.