Duplicity [h.s]

73

Aven Brooks

Port Chester, 2012
3:28 am

"Aven...Aven!" A heavy grip on my shoulders repeatedly pushed me into the bed. My eyes flew open from their rest, startling me to the point I lost my breath. My eyes were glazed from my sleep, my glasses not on so I couldn't see clearly. The room was dark, but the hallway light showed me the silhouette of my mother over my bed.

In startle I sat up, breathing heavy.

"You need to get up." She says in urgency.

"What time is it?" I reached over and grabbed my glasses off my nightstand, sliding them on my face so I could see better.

"3 am, I'm getting your sister and we're going to grandmas." She grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the warm bed, my bare feet meeting the cold floor. I didn't even get to respond as I was already being dragged out of the room from her fast pace, half awake and scared about what was happening.

"Why are we going to grandmas?" I keep blinking my eyes in the hope to rid the blurry sleep from them. The light of the hallway was so bright.

"I'll tell you later." She shortly answers in urgency, barrelling both of us into Winnie's room. In her crib she was fast asleep, my heart was racing. I didn't know what was going on, but I was scared. It was the middle of the night, she looked so startled.

She let go of my wrist and went to grab Winnie asleep in the crib.

"Mom you're scaring me." I stood in worry, my pyjamas.

She turns her head back to me right before going to grab Winnie, seeing the expression in my face and examining it. Quickly she came back over to me and kneeled down on one knee, putting her hands on my cheeks and meeting her blue eyes with mine.

"Don't be scared, everything will be alright. No one is in danger, I just need to get you to grandmas as quickly as I can. She waiting for us with tea and snacks, okay?" She pulls a faint smile to make me feel better.

I nod, still unsure of what was happening.

"Now grab your inhaler and get your shoes on, don't leave the house until I'm with you."

"Is this about dad?" I murmur in discomfort, her face falling.

Mom's been different since dad passed away, it's been almost a year. She's gotten better with coping, but some days she's totally off the walls from it. Maybe this was one of those times, I don't blame her. I miss him too.

"No sweetheart, everything's okay. I just need you to do what I ask." She tucks my hair behind my ear before standing up and turning back to the crib, waking up my toddler sister.

I nod and hurry back down the hallway to grab my inhaler off the nightstand. Quickly I pop off the cap and pump the medicated air down my throat, feeling it open my airways for a moment. After that, I run out down the stairs and towards the front door, slipping on my shoes. I was still in my blue pyjamas, she didn't even give me time to change.

As I got my shoes on, she came thumping down the stairs with Winnie on her hip. In urgency, she hurried towards me at the door, the same time I jammed on my second sneaker. Winnie was half asleep, barely keeping her head up.

Mom slips her sandals on and opens the front door to the dark night. Immediately I heard the sounds of crickets within our front garden, the unstable porch light being the only reason I could see. It was cold.