Seventeen year old Safaya Bennett must navigate young adulthood under the stresses of her sins, her crumbling relationship with her twin sister, Rue, and a crippling mental disorder that makes her very dependent on her relationship with Nate Jacobs...
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You're probably wondering which one of us is the shittier sister, the answer is it's both of us.
Safaya didn't leave her room for another thirty minutes after she arrived home. She went underneath her bed in search of that Nike box. Silently praying that there was a crumb of cocaine left to give her even a slight buzz, there was nothing. There was no alcohol in the house and if there was, it would have been pretty hard to drown her sorrows in it, with our mom sitting in the living room.
I was at the dining room table eating a bowl of cereal. Halfway paying attention to whatever murder mystery my mom had playing on the television when Safaya entered the kitchen. She had cleaned herself up from when she first got home. After wiping her makeup off, putting on dry clothes, and crying every remaining tear left in her body, she left the safety of her room in search of something to eat.
She was stressed. For the first time in a long time, she had to solve her issues without the help of drugs or alcohol or even Nate whispering sweet nothings in her ear, convincing her everything would be okay. Even though we were seventeen, in many ways my sister was still like a child, there were so many basic young adult mental skills that she still didn't know. The concept of problem-solving was something she couldn't really grasp, or maybe she didn't want to grasp, I'm not sure. If she wasn't completely shutting down then she was having a tantrum, and since she wasn't keeping herself locked in her room; I assumed she was going to start throwing herself on the floor and screaming.
Safaya grabbed a box of Cheerios from on top of the fridge. Instead of being a complete asshole, I decided to speak. "We're out of milk." I said, taking a spoonful of my cereal and putting it in my mouth.
"I have to pick some up from the store, honey." Our mother chimed in, glancing at us from over the side of the couch. "How was your session with Dr. Stevens?" She asked.
Saf sighed. "Fine." She lied. "I'll just find something else to eat I guess."
I think my mom babied Safaya from a young age and that sort of behavior just kind of transferred into young adulthood. It only got worse when Dad died and my Mom didn't know what to do. It didn't help that Nate spoiled her too. He knew that she had an affinity for photography ever since she begged him to be her model for her growing portfolio. He knew we didn't have the money to spend on a stupidly expensive camera so he bought one for her, with like three different lenses and a bag too. Whether it was with attention or gifts, she always got what she wanted.
Except when it came to his heart.
"Maybe Nate can go get you some food? Since he has all that free time, ya know?" I said without thinking. I wasn't trying to piss her off but intentions didn't matter at this point. I said what I said and it set her off.
Safaya was at the sink washing dishes when she smashed the glass cup in her hand out of anger. "You know what? Why can't you ever just shut the fuck up, Ruey?" She gave me a cold stare.
