the girl in red

vi. is it day or night?

(a/n: not fully edited, so excuse any little grammar mistakes or wordy sentences!  hopefully will be able to edit it soon.  enjoy! <3)

Saturday, December 13th, 1975

Lafayette, Indiana

Annika had crawled out of bed half an hour ago and Dimitra guessed she had gone on a walk with Judith or Alina. That was her..."thing". She craved the outdoors and the fresh air in whatever way she could get it. Dimitra laid in bed, now, book in hand. Judith had tossed it to her that morning and she read it religiously, not wanting to get up from bed just yet. The cover was ruined last repair, but she could make out the words "The Godfather" at the top. Someone had mentioned it before, but she couldn't remember who.

The curtains were pulled open, letting in the morning light. The lamp still shone from the bedside table, though it did little to light up that little corner of the room. Dimitra had to practically press her nose to the page to read the words, but she didn't want to put in the effort to move. It had taken her over 5 minutes to get comfortable, and she didn't want to go through that process again. It was almost time to get up, too.

Time seemed to go too fast and too slow all at once. Dimitra could've sworn that she had gotten through half the book but it had only been a few pages. Her head slipped off the pillow and landed roughly on the mattress, prompting a long sigh from her. Downstairs, she could hear Judith moving around the kitchen with Annika most likely perched on the far counter, cereal bowl in hand. Dimitra tossed the book onto the ground by the bed and rolled over, pressing her face into the pillow.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Dimitra groaned into the pillow and clasped her hands over her ears. "If you turn on the lights I will chop off your dick."

"...okay, then. It's time to get up," Maxim said.

"I don't wanna," she mumbled into the pillow.

She squealed as the covers were thrown off. Maxim grabbed her ankles and pulled her down to the end of the bed.

"Don't you da-"

The room flashed before her eyes as she was thrown over Maxim's shoulder. How, she didn't know. Dimitra genuinely couldn't remember him being that strong.

"Maxim Kuznetsov, put me the fuck down!"

"Shush!" Judith yelled from downstairs, making the siblings immediately go silent.

Maxim tossed her back onto the bed and sauntered to the door without a word, though the floorboards creaked loudly under his feet.

"Get dressed. Warm. It's cold outside for once."

Dimitra glared at him from the bed and raised her middle finger. He grinned over his shoulder and pulled the door closed, locking her out from the world once again. She flopped back onto the bed, the sheets crumpling underneath her.

"I'm serious!" Maxim yelled from the hallway before his footsteps faded.

"Ugh!"

She sat up and flipped off the door once again before finally looking towards the closet. Her movements were purely robotic from there. A pair of old jeans were tossed onto her bed, followed by a thick grey t-shirt and a fur coat she'd stolen from Dima. Her pajamas were discarded in the makeshift laundry bin by the dresser and her outfit was slipped on, the shirt frizzing her hair further. She pulled on a pair of thick wool socks and slipped on the jacket, buttoning the front.

She pulled open the door as she walked over to the vanity.

"Nice hair."

"Shut up, Dima. Yours ain't any better," she said over her shoulder.