Family Secrets

The Day They Came

"Amelia! Get down here!" I heard at a ripe six in the morning. Of course. Why would I want to sleep in? I sat up and stretched out my arms. Rolling out of bed, I slid my socks on and headed down the stairs, waiting to see my impending doom.

"Jesus, you look like a mess. Well, you need to watch your sister. We have to head out." My dad said, taking a sip out of his coffee mug. I nodded. My sister was sitting on a chair with her hazelnut hair in the messiest pig tails known to man. She quietly munched on her yogurt bites. My parents hugged the two of us and headed out. They never exactly told us what was going on but it seemed important so I just went along with it. The second the door was shut, my sister hopped off her chair.

"Lia? Can I go back to bed?" She said, her blue eyes showing the exhaustion she was feeling. I laughed and nodded. "Can I sleep in your bed with you?" She said with a small smile, knowing that I was going to return to bed regardless.

"Yes, Olivia. But only one stuffed animal." I said, knowing she had already planned on bringing six different toys with her. A fair thing however, being that she's only five. We headed up the stairs. She walked straight to my room, but I turned into the bathroom. I looked into the mirror and I realized what my dad had seen. My light brown hair was barely in the bun I had left it up in the night before. The bags coming from my light brown eyes made them look as if I were a cartoon character, but an antagonist at that. I splashed water in my face and headed back to my room. Olivia was curled up with her small dog, which was previously mine when I was young. I laid down and we drifted off to sleep.

A door slam woke the two of us a half hour later. I shot up while Olivia continued to lay under the covers, lightly shaking.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." I said calmly. She nodded and gripped onto the brown and white dog she had just been having a peaceful moment with. I crept out of my room and down the stairs. The kitchen was empty but I could make something out in the living room. I slowly approached to see Luke. I wave of relief covered my body.

"Well, someone is what, five hours late from their curfew?" I said smugly. Luke turned and I could feel his blue eyes piercing me through the darkness. His dark brown hair was completely blended in with the shadows of the room.

"I'm sixteen. I fell asleep. Sue me." The boy spat, rolling over. Soft footsteps came down the stairs. I turned to see Olivia clenching her puppy. The terror on her face turned to joy when she realized it was her big brother. Without warning, she ran over and jumped on top of him, causing a groan from the exhausted teen.

"O, not now please. I'm exhausted." He mumbled through the pillow he was face deep into. The five year old rolled off and sighed, looking back to me. I shrugged.

"Well, Luke. Better get your butt in gear because you have play practice soon. It's Saturday. Dad will kill you if you miss." I said, hating to be the bearer of bad news. I've been in Luke's place plenty of times but I do not need our parents coming after me. The worst part of being the oldest. Luke sighed and rolled over. "Hey, I have to get Alex from his friend's so you have the easy job. You're good at acting. You act like you like us all the time." I added before my brother could spew complaints my way. He stood up, grabbed his bag, and headed out. Olivia turned to me and smiled. We both knew we were all set to sleep until nine, with no more interruptions. We ran up the stairs and jumped back into my bed, quickly falling back asleep.

"Psst. Lia. Wake up." I felt Olivia nudging me. I opened my eyes to see her holding my phone above my face. Eight Thirty. I turned to look at her, knowing I could've slept that extra half hour. "Lia. We need to get my brother. I miss him." She whispered. I sighed and sat up. Though the age gap between Alex and Olivia seemed almost record breaking, those two would do anything for each other so I knew it was time to go. I grabbed my keys and we headed to the door, only for Luke to slam it open.