Heartbroken

Chapter 7: Allegra

            "Allegra. Allegra! Wake up!" I heard Mercy scream-whispering in my ear, and I cracked my eyes open, unused to the amount of darkness. I groaned, shifting underneath my sisters weight and glancing at the alarm clock. I rolled my eyes, not surprised at how Mercy could get up at 7:00 in the morning. She could get up at 2:00 in the morning every day and still have enough energy to get through the week.

"What do you need, Mercy?" I shoved my face back into the pillows. Mercy grabbed my shoulders, trying to get me to wake up.

"It's your birthday, and you promised me that we would do something fun!"

"Isn't sleeping fun?" I could practically feel the eyeroll from her, and I laughed a little, remembering that we weren't so different. I pushed the covers off my legs, and Mercy dropped to the floor, already dressed. She bounced on her bed, trying to wait patiently. A few minutes later, we snuck out of the house, the fact that our guardians weren't even home not mattering to us. Whether they were here or there, they were always a part of our lives.

Mercy ran to the car, her excitement a steady stream of happiness that started to rub off on me as I started the engine. I glanced in the mirror in the car, wincing when I gently probed my bruised face, and was reminded of the events of last week. I looked over to Mercy, a different person now than she had been that day. I sighed and closed my eyes before pulling out of the driveway.

After Mercy had hit the wall, my uncle fainted and I took Mercy to our bedroom. Her hands were covered in blood after being cut from the ceramic, and I was surprised that her head wasn't cracked. It must have given her a concussion, though, because she didn't really remember what happened, though for me it feels like it was yesterday. I focused my eyes on the road, if only for the reason that I was trying not to cry. I shoved the memory out of my head.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, watching as she rolled down the window to stick her face out toward the wind. I laughed, remembering all the times that I used to do that as a child. "Where do you want to go?" I asked again. "If you don't answer soon, I would have to decide, and I might take you back to the school that you're missing."

Mercy squealed as I poked her in the side, flopping around in her seat like a fish on dry land.

"I want to go to the park!"

I smiled as I continued to drive. I found myself doing that a lot when I was with Mercy. I pulled into the parking lot, and Mercy jumped out of the car when the car wasn't even stopped.

"Mercy!" she looked back at me and smiled, and then ran off to climb to the highest point of the playground. I followed, watching her and hoping that she wouldn't fall. She waved to me from the monkey bars, and I waved back, plopping myself under a shady tree and leaning my head against the bark.

My mind wandered back to the day when Mercy accidentally broke the ukulele, and when she got hurt. I wrapped my arms around my chest, as if trying to shield myself from the bad thoughts. The ukulele was a gift from our grandma, who passed away shortly before our mom died. She used to play us songs, and taught me to sing and strum, which I taught to Mercy. Whenever I played the small instrument, I could always hear my grandma's raspy voice singing with me and imagine her soft smile she always carried in any situation.

You're not alone, no matter where I might be going.

You're not alone. And it's okay if we're not knowing where we'll go,

The world's a better place with you inside.

So stop trying to hide...

That song that she wrote struck a chord with me now. She always seemed to know exactly how I was feeling, and she put those words into songs.