EVERYTHING WAS STILL PACKED NEATLY IN THE BEDROOM. Deep cyan eyes gazed over the towers of boxes that decorated her bedroom floor.
Her room was located in the attic; the creamy white bed sitting next to the yellow tinted window. The only boxes that had been unpacked were clothes, text books for school, and shoes. Pages of self written guitar songs along with CDs marched across the wood, pinned down to the wall with nails.
A guitar sat on the edge of her bed. It was an ordinary brown, wooden, acoustic guitar. The only thing strange about it was the intricate carvings of flowers and the name Kali Beer permanently marked on the guitar's side.
Both sides of the bed were warm; two bodies laying beside her. They were her brothers; their black hair splayed out onto the twisted sheets and soft breath hitting their rosy cheeks. The two had just turned two months a week ago. The celebration was brief, cut short by their aunt bringing them into her home; not like they'd remember it anyways.
"Kalina?" Maryann Beer knocked ever so softly on the open door. She didn't look like the three in the slightest. Her hair was long and her skin was a scream color; while Kali's hair was short and she had porcelain skin that burnt by being outside for more than three seconds.
"I told you not to call me that." Kali stated, a little more harshly than she would have liked. The woman didn't blink at her rudeness and gave a short nod.
"I made apple pie. I hope you like it." She set down a plate on the dresser along with a cup of what looked like apple cider. The warm scent of fresh baked pie made her mouth water and her stomach growl underneath her crossed arms.
"I'm not hungry." It was true; she didn't feel much of anything right now. She just wanted to sink into the soft blankets that tickled her bare feet and drown into nothingness. She supposed that's what her parents had wanted before it happened.
"Honey. You haven't eaten ever since you've gotten here." Aunt Mary sighed. She wore a bright yellow sundress with patterns of sunflowers decorating it top-to-bottom. Her bright blue eyes twinkled as they always did in these types of situations.
"You won't be able to protect your brothers, if you don't take care of yourself."
Kali sent a quick glare at her aunt. The two had never been close, in fact, Aunt Mary had no clue that she and her siblings existed until she got a phone call from the police. Kali's mother was known as the black sheep of the family. She never cared for the family business of baking, but longed for the urge to write instead. She became an author and took care of three kids on her own.
"Who are you to give me advice when you can't even keep track of your own kids?" Kali murmured once she heard Aunt Mary leave the room. After a few minutes of debating, she crawled out of the bed and grabbed the plate of apple pie and scampered back to her siblings. She couldn't leave them alone. Not after what happened.
It took thirty minutes for the twins to wake up. Cooper woke up first, as he always did. He'd developed a habit of waking first to crawl onto his twin and fall asleep again. Kali would have smiled, if it weren't for their current situation.
It took twenty minutes for the three to crawl out of the attic. Cooper and Cameron were held up by her side as Kali made her way down the stairs, fussing just the slightest as she walked. The stairs were as old as time and creaked loudly underneath their collective weight.
The sound of the door slamming against the wall made her take a look behind the stairway. Her deep blue eyes narrowed at the teen who came crashing inside. His dyed blue hair was styled in a mohawk that copied every heavy metal singer ever.
His emo black sneakers stomped on the stairs, his shoulder roughly bumping into hers.
"Move, cunt." He growled.
"Fuck you, cocksucker." She snapped back.
Kali made her way down to the living room and found a play area made of yellow and red fence. The wooden floor was covered with a soft carpet and all sorts of toys were scattered everywhere she looked. She set the twins down, making sure the gate was secure before walking away.
The thought of being inside was suddenly intolerable. The air in the house was stale and the air conditioner had been off for a week. All the plants were dead and smelled like it too.
She didn't know where she was going until she got there, although once she smelt the stink of her cousin's breath, her destination was inevitable. She let herself through the side door of the bakery and put on her roller skates.
The Moxi Jack Boot Roller Skates had been a birthday gift in July and was also, quite simply, her favorite birthday gift of all time. Even at twenty, if one of her friends asked her the nicest thing she had ever been given, she would think of the plum colored roller skates with black laces and fat wheels. It was her favorite thing she owned, better than her guitar, her autographed baseball hat, even the thick leather jacket tied to her waist.
She slipped into the sidewalk. Kali had permission to ride around town, as long as she came home before sun down. She thought nothing of the rule, as it had been set generations before hers, all the way back to the 1800s. She was allowed to go as far as the apartment on June Street, any further and she would be grounded for three months.
It was five degrees hotter out there, but there was a pleasant breeze that pushed her along. She decided to ride faster, kicking her feet as she zoomed by a crowd of girls wearing high heels and colorful shirts. Kali wore no protective gear.
She was thirteen and believed she was faster than anything, even that blur of green she blasted into before landing onto the concrete.
