chapter twenty six

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~Marley~

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~Marley~

Mornings were always Marley's favorite part of the day, she loved nothing more than waking up to her rug warm under her feet as the sun shined brightly through her window. She loved how the wind danced around her small room when she opened the window, the sound of birds chirping in the sky as the train that rode down the railroad tracks behind her house roared loudly. She loved the fact that just for a second - those first few moments when her eyes fluttered opened - everything was okay.

She wasn't thinking about how hot the room was, an effect of the air conditioned being broken for years now, or what she was going to try and find around the house to make Cole for breakfast. For those first few moments, nothing else mattered other then the simple fact that she had woken up.

That somehow, she managed to survive another day.

She was now officially one day closer to giving her brothers the life that they deserve. One where they wouldn't have to worry if they had scrounged up enough money to keep the water running that month. Where they won't have to worry if there will be enough food in the house to survive before they're able to afford more, or if the door stayed locked the night before.

She was sitting on her bed, her nose deep in the book in her hands when she heard the sound of Cole's footsteps running up the stairs. A smile fell onto her face at the sound of his feet hitting the hardwood floor with each step he took until they became louder, swinging her bedroom door open quickly. Her smile dropped from her face when she finally saw the state he was in.

His blue eyes were filled with tears as he ran towards her. A sob leaving his lips as he jumped onto the bed, hugging her tightly as she ran her hand up and down his back, trying her hardest to comfort him without even knowing what was wrong.

"Hey buddy," she said softly, holding him tightly as he cried. "What's wrong my love?"

"Marley," he mumbled out, holding onto her with such fear her heart broke at the sight. His body was shaking as he cried, something that he hadn't done often. The boy was the sunshine to her cloudy day, always laughing and smiling, it broke her heart seeing one of her favorite people in the world so heartbroken. "I'm sorry if I wasn't a good boy like you told me to be. I'll clean my room like you asked, I promise. I'll rinse my bowl off in the sink the first time you tell me to. I swear I'll be better, Marley, I promise, please."

"Cole, what are you-"

"I thought he was still asleep," Luke said slowly, walking into Marley's room with sadness written all over his face. "I swear Mar, I thought he was asleep."

"Please, don't let them take me away," the small boy begged as he held onto his sister with everything inside of him.

She looked back up at Luke, her eyes now matching both of theirs as they filled with tears. Shock ran through her body at the realization that Cole finally knew what was going to happen. She had tried so hard to make sure Cole was kept in the dark about the struggles in their life, her and Luke doing everything they could to put the pain aside and give Cole a small sense of normalcy. She had felt as though she failed, for now sitting in front of her was her baby brother, begging her not to leave him the same way almost everyone else had.

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