Midnight Walk

MIDNIGHT WALK

-Claire Pierce

There she is. Laying in the hospital bed because of me. We were just playing. I thought we were anyway.

Even though my sister and I are seven years apart, she always loved and cared for me. She never really had very many friends. Not very many boys liked her. Again, I never knew why. She looks so pretty with her choppy black hair and she died it all different fun colors. She does this cool thing with razors. I don't know how she does it. She walks into the bathroom with a sharp thing and walks out with a red stripe pattern on her arms. It looks like she trying to be a tiger. But she is going to have to make them black is she is going to do it.

The stripes never got her a boyfriend either. Well, until Wynter. He was her first. I could see why she liked him. He was just like her. I remember the first time I met him.

I was nine, my sister sixteen. We were laying around doing nothing in our apartment. We don't have a t.v. like all of the other kids in my class. There was a knock on the door. Scarlett jumped onto her feet quickly and ran to the door. I ran behind her. When she opened the door, I saw a boy wearing a jacket that said "My Chemical Romance". I am not sure what science had to do with love but Wynter and Scarlett knew why and they loved it.

They would sit on the couch together all snuggly. I wanted to join them so I tried. Scarlett would push me away and say, "We are listening to MCR,"

Then Wynter would grab Scarlett's chin and say "Your My chemical romance"

Then they would start kissing. I walked out of the room then.

I look at my sister now. She is still asleep. I was told she may never wake up. I think it's better for her to never wake up then to die. I don't want to have a dead sister.

The second time Wynter came over he brought me some candy and told me to go away. So I walked into my bedroom. A few minutes later, my sister and Wynter came in.

"Alright kid. You have to leave," he told me.

My sister leaned up against him, grabbed his shirt and said, " it's okay babe. It's not like he is going to know what's happening,"

" he's ten,"

" he is also autistic,"

"Alright," Wynter said.

He smiled at my sister and slowly took of his jacket. Then I saw the stripes on his arms.

"You want to be a tiger too?" I yelled.

He stopped leading Scarlett to her bed. He pointed to the door and yelled at me to leave.

He used to love to be with my sister in her bed. Now that her bed is at the hospital, he won't go near her.

I remember when he loved to sleep with Scarlett so much that he would climb through the window at night so he could be with her. I think he talked in his sleep. Every time he came over, it was no longer quiet in my room.

It's silent now in this room. It may not be mine but my it's my sister's. Why did it have to be my sister's?

I remember when I was eight, my sister and I were going to have separate rooms. Mom told us one morning that since Scarlett was fifteen, she deserved her own room. My sister didn't say anything. Scarlett was probably just shocked. Split us up? We have been so close for so long. I screamed. I didn't want my sister to go away. I love my sister so much. I want to share everything with her. Mom agreed with us and let us keep sharing a room. Scarlett must have thought she was still leaving because I heard her screaming at mom later that day.

When she came out of mom's room, I hugged her and said, "it's okay, mom already said that we are still sharing a room,"

Scarlett doesn't like hugs from me or mom. So she just pushed me away. That night she snuck out the window. Scarlett doesn't like it when I tell mom she takes midnight walks, so I don't.

But now it doesn't look like she is going to take midnight walks. She would have to take out all of the tubes and that would make a mess.

I will go take a midnight walk and tell her about it.

I remember months ago Scarlett went on a midnight walk and she came back all super happy. I asked her why and she held up her hand. I saw a shinny ring on her finger. I smiled and nodded because I did not know how to react. I know girls like jewelry and stuff but Scarlett never liked diamonds.

I walked out of the hospital and down an ally. It was dark but I could still see.

I remember about a month after the midnight walk with the ring, my sister took another midnight walk. She was even happier than before. She stood in the middle of the room smiling at her stomach for a long time. I don't know what she ate but she liked it a lot. It must have been ice cream or chocolate cake.

I walked over and sat on a trash can. I didn't feel like walking anymore. Even if I was for my sister.

I remember when mom died. It was just after Scarlett started getting fat. Her tummy was really big. I asked her what she was eating so much of and she just shook her head. The next morning, I found my mom in her bed with a knife in her heart. I cried a lot. I didn't have a dad like the other kids in my class. My sister didn't cry. She was too sad to cry I guess.

After mom died, Wynter and Scarlett started sleeping in mom's room. I was left alone in my room. I don't like sleeping alone.

I kicked a rock on the ground. I wish it wasn't my fault my sister was in the bed. I wish she was back in her bed at home.

Scarlett's tummy got really big and Wynter never left. My sisters stomachs it so big all her clothes didn't fit her. She started walking around in one of Wynter's giant shirts.

One morning, Wynter walked out of mom's room, saw Scarlett and walked over to her. He lifted her shirt and kiss her fat tummy. I thought it was gross. Scarlett seemed to like it though. She smiled at Wynter and they kissed. I walked into a different room again.

A cat walked up to me.

"Hello cat," I said.

"Meow," it said back.

"Scarlett is in the hospital because of me . Her tummy has been really big so I thought she needed to run. To exercise. So I took the ring she wears all the time. She chased me. Then she tripped and fell. It looked like she peed in her pants and she went to sleep. Too much exercise I think. Wynter ran out from mom's room. He looked at me then at my sister. Then he took us to the doctors,"

"meow," the cat said.

I started to walk back to my sister. I was done with my midnight walk. I felt something sharp hit my back. I turned and fell over. Above me, I saw Wynter.

Then he said, "That's what you get for almost killing my child,"