SYDNEY

Emmery and Meg dropped her off at her family's home before driving off and singing at the top of their lungs.

"Idiots," Sydney laughed before walking up the gradual slope of their lengthy driveway to the isolated house. The woods arced around her home, almost embracing it, or wanting to reach out and brush their limbs of velvety green pines against the warm wood and glass exterior.

Making it to the oversized wood door, she typed in a key code into the oiled bronze handle. Sydney watched the light flash confirming the code followed by the sound of the dead bolt retreating, granting her access to the place she once called home. For the past year and a half, every time she entered the lofty house, she felt the heavyweight in the back of her skull knowing his presence would never fill the home again. She wouldn't hear him call out to her when she arrived home from school, or shout goodbye and to be safe when she was leaving with friends.

That feeling lasted but a moment, as she stepped into the house and was bombarded with another presence, the one that tried holding this home together.

"Syd! Is that you?" Her older sister called. Not waiting for Sydney to answer, the dark blonde rushed out from the kitchen to the front door. "Why weren't you answering your phone!? I was worried sick!" She whirled the spatula around in the air emphasizing the overflow of worry she had. Once she was finished with her yelling she placed her fists on her hips and she huffed a string of loose hair out of her flushed face.

Guilt nawed at Sydney's stomach, she knew all too well the concern when someone didn't come home and not being able to get ahold of them, only to find out hours later when police came to their door in the late evening to deliver the news. But still she found herself lying about the events from earlier, "Sorry, Racheal. I left it in the locker at school and by the time I realized I was missing it the school doors were locked. I should've borrowed Em's or Meg's and let you know, I'm sorry."

Her sister let out a sigh of relief. "I would have appreciated it if you had let me know, but come keep me company while I cook." Racheal invited walking down the short hallway to the kitchen. Sydney kicked off her dark blue Vans dropped her book bag by the stairs then walked into the kitchen aimed towards the refrigerator.

As she poked her head into the fridge to retrieve a water bottle a dull ache consumed her shoulder, 'probably from running into that tree...I'll need to remember to take it easy on it.' She rotated her arm in hopes of getting some circulation better flowing through the aching muscle then proceed to hop up on the counter and took a sip of the cool refreshment.

"So how was your day?" Racheal asked as she cooked some sort of meat.

"It was alright. Gym was boring as always, the guys hogged the basketball court, leaving no room for any of the girls, so me and a few others played volleyball instead. But in statistics we had an exam, so I am pretty such I aced that. Oh! And our history teacher-"

"That's Mrs. Hays the older lady right? What her son's name? The one who asked me about before even though he's at least eight years older than me? " Racheal asked.

Sydney nodded, "Benji, she talks about him pretty often, but yeah that's her. She told us we are going to be doing a project soon on mythologies or urban legends, trying to refine our research skills, and so it can match with our English material."

"Oh, sounds fun. Do you know what you are going to do or is she going to choose for you?"

"Well she's going to pick our partner, then her partner and I will agree on a myth from the selection she's chosen."

"Well that sounds interesting," She mused giving the pan a shake to flip some of the ground up pieces of meat.

"So how was work?" Sydney inquired before taking another sip of water.

"It was good. Lindsay is still so annoying."

"What'd she do this time?" She prompted.

"She mixed up blueprints! I mean, if I hired her as an architect and she made the mistake of mixing up blueprints I'd fire her on the spot! Unless she works harder she's not getting the job any time soon."

This caused Sydney to laugh but before she could say anything else their brother, Aaron, came storming in the house.

"Hello!?" Racheal asked leaning away from the stove to see down the hall to the entrance. "Aaron, Bud! Are you hungry? I bet you are. Looks like you've had a long da-"

Without skipping a beat, he lep up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door closed once he reached the second floor.

As the deafening sound verberated into silence, Sydney watched Racheal swallow hard, but look back to the sizzling pan in pain to shuffle the food around.

"Sis, don't take it personally." Sydney whispered softly.

Racheal swallowed hard once again, going back to stirring the meat she was cooking and looking absently at the box of pasta she had yet to start boiling.

"Do you want me to go talk to him and see what's up?" Sydney questioned.

Her sister smiled over at her, a smile she had seen all too often since their father had died, empty and lacking its spirit. "If you would be so kind, Syd."

Nodding she hopped off the counter and started up the stairs feeling anger begin to pour into her bloodstream, ricocheting off her the walls of her veins, motivating her to give Aaron an unsanitized piece of her mind. When she reached Aaron's bedroom door she brought her fist up and began bagging on his door, ignoring his heavy music that was crashing into her.

After a minute or two of beating on his door Aaron's music toned down and the door opened.

His dark eyes found me before he spat out, "What do you want?"

Aaron's floppy black hair, which he died shortly after their father's passing, dipped into his fragile dark green eyes, and was striking against his pale flesh. He was thin and slender, a full head taller than Sydney.

"You know what. Why are you talking to Racheal like that!? She has done nothing but put up with your shit, and what the hell have you done for her in return? Do you realize how difficult it's been for her especially! She has to take care of us!" Before he could answer, she shoved through him and his doorway into his room following the stinging scent of cigarettes.

"Sy-"

Beside his metal bunk-bed was little parity dish, a little white bundle with swirling and spinning angry grey smoke weaseling out of it, like one would see from a chimney in winter. But it wasn't winter, and this was Sydney's final straw.

"You're smoking in here!?" She yelled at him.

"Sydney-" Her older brother started reverting back to his old self.

Aaron started getting into the dark things and into surmountable amounts of trouble ever since Dad died. Sydney and her sister couldn't find a way to stop it or bring him to deal with his emotions. Sydney had hopped that seeing her go to therapy would encourage him to follow in suit. Their sister thought it was just a phase and hoped that he would grow out of it, but now one and a half years later Aaron was still in that 'phase,' and showed no signs of picking up the comic book club, or going back to the swim team, all things he loved when Dad was still around.

While they had yet to catch him doing drugs or smoking, there was a noticeable lessening of whiskey every now and then but they had let him slide. But this was becoming too much. With her dad dead, Sydney couldn't watch her brother tourture his body and continue to descend into depression and anger any longer, because if he did, she was sure she'd lose him too.

"No Aaron! You can't do this shit! You're going to hurt yourself, it's not healthy. And not to mention second hand smok-" Sydney felt herself beginning to ramble, losing track of her point as her emotions started overflowing.

"Sydney, shut up. It's not like you know anything. I'm sorry if I'm the only one in this house that cares that mom fucking left us, and dad did to-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! He didn't leave us!" She spat trying to refrain from fully screaming at him. "Why do you keep saying that?"

"Ye-"

She didn't really care to hear his flimsy argument. "No. You know just as well as Racheal and I know that Dad was killed by a drunk driver! The thing you're going to turn out to be if you don't cut this crap! And mom, since when have you felt so deeply wounded by her absence? She's never been here for us. Dad and Racheal put their lives on hold for us, and this is what you do in return." She felt her eyes water up and throat tighten as a sob began to crawl out of her chest.

"Sydney-" Her brother frowned, he reached out to hold Sydney.

Harshly stepping back from him she carried on, one arm extended out keeping him at bay. "No, don't you 'Sydney' me, not when I know right when I forgive you and step out that door you are going to continue doing this. This isn't all about you." Cool tears started to tumble down her warm cheeks leaving a sting in their wake.

"Bu-"

Still, she cut him off once more. "No Aaron you don't understand! We lost out mom, now we've lost our dad; I don't want to lose you too. I can't lose you too. How would Racheal feel!? She would've lost her mom, dad, and then her brother! And would Dad want this for you? No he would tell you get up on your feet and get back to doing what you're doing. If Dad could be would be her-" By now her tears were coming like waterfalls, nose burning and stuffy.

Her heart pinched together as she cried to herself thinking about their broken family.

Aaron stepped close, wrapping his lean arms around her and enveloped her into his almost frail body, taking in his scent. It was so similar to their father's. Sydney found herself wanting to just bury herself in that scent. The scent of love, warmth, family, and sandalwood.

Together they stood there standing in his room, crying and hanging onto each other, as if they were each other's rocks, and if one were to let go, they would drown. And Sydney hated to see that it had gotten to this point, but if one of them let go, she was sure the other would drown.