Alps ✰ Ethma

THIRTY THREE

Ethan Pov.

Emma yawned & lifted her head off of my shoulder, the soft grey blanket slipping off of her shoulders as she leaned forward & set her empty plate onto the coffee table in front of the couch we were on. The plate that only had a few drizzles of deep brown syrup left on it clanged gently with my plate that I had previously set down in the same spot. The credits to the episode of 'Jersey Shore' rolled & Emma picked up the remote between her slim fingers, pressing the power button to turn the tv off. I sighed in content. Emma & I had decided to just have a lazy morning, seeing as Grayson was still sleeping. The doctor had told us it would be normal for him to sleep for awhile anyway because of the medicine that had been pumped into his veins during the surgery & his stay at the hospital. Medicine or not, I was still worried sick about him, he's my other half whether I act like it or not. He's my twin. Emma had calmed me down a lot though. Just one touch from her warm skin & my nerves would be flooded with immediate calmness.

"I'm gonna go take a shower a sec." Emma's voice brought me out of my thoughts & I exhaled deeply, letting my clouded mind breathe. "Mmk." I replied nonchalantly, flicking my wrist in order to easily brush the blanket off of me that we were previously sharing. Emma sauntered out of the room & down the hallway, heading for the bathroom that was located upstairs. I stood up from the couch & grabbed the two sticky plates off of the coffee table, walking down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen. I pulled the dishwasher door open & after quickly finding the plates & forks off, placed the dishes in the correct position on the rack. I dropped the forks into the small basket of utensils & swung the dishwasher door shut again, brushing my damp hands off on my joggers. My nose wrinkled as I saw the two wet spots my hands left behind on the light grey fabric. It bothered me how the darkness of the spots were so random & contrasted badly with the lighter fabric. I rose an eyebrow at my thoughts. I was starting to sound like Grayson.

I shook my head clear of that thought, running a hand through my messy hair before beginning to walk out of the kitchen. I stopped in my tracks as I heard the front door open & heavy footsteps heading towards where I was, hoping it was only my mom & not her cruel husband. My hopes were diminished as I turned to see the usual cold eyes that belonged to my father when he walked into the kitchen. "Where's mom?" I asked in a monotone voice as I watched him ungracefully drop his keys on the counter. He rose a dark eyebrow at me & crossed his arms, leaning against the edge of the counter. "We drive separately to work if you didn't know." He mocked & my eyebrows lowered at him as another question popped into my head. "Why didn't you come and see Grayson at the hospital? I called mom and the call didn't go through because she was busy receiving business calls...but your call went through and all I recall you saying is that of; 'I'll be there soon'. What happened to that?" I questioned & he rubbed his lips together boredly. "Work got busy right after that." He answered simply. "Do you even know what happened to Gray?! Know that he could've died?" I asked & he shifted his foot against the cabinet while shrugging, his eyes widening comically. "No. I don't. But I'm glad that didn't happen because he's my only son and without him I wouldn't have one." He replied, dragging his eyes around my face as if to scan everything that's wrong with me. My fingers involuntarily twitched along with the strings of my heart being pulled at. That hurt.

"How did work get so busy that you weren't able to ask your boss if you could leave to go see your own possibly dying son?" I inquired & my father clenched his jaw. "If I didn't stay the extra shift, we might've all died because of how much money would be lost. Lisa barely makes anything, I'm the one who pays all of the bills. Including the health bills. You would be on the streets if it weren't for me." He explained & I scoffed at his flawed argument. "Yeah, heard that one before." I muttered & his eyebrows shot down quickly, uncrossing his arms as he straightened out his posture. "Are you being a smartass with me?" He gritted & I swallowed slowly. "No. Never mind." I said, hoping that the subject would drop & if it didn't then that the shower water to be heard from upstairs wouldn't stop running for awhile. My eyes snapped back into focus as the collar of my t-shirt was suddenly grabbed, forcing me to look into the angered face that belonged to my own blood. "You know, I've had just about enough of your bitchy attitude lately. I haven't been able to release any stress lately because of your stupid whore of a girlfriend and," He started & my blood boiled at the words he used on Emma, "I have a lot of anger I need to let out." He whispered next to my face, my eardrums practically picking up the evil grin at the end. I shivered with slight fear, not having had to face any issues related to this in awhile.