Behind this Bloody Smile

Chapter Two

   I woke up in pain, my head throbbed as my 5:45 am alarm went off. I sighed as I tried to rob my head and turn the alarm off without opening my eyes, but all I did was smack a sleeping Anna as she rolled next to me. My body was stiff in the position I lay in, begging me to not move or to keep moving as I slowly turned to the side. I looked at the old nightstand that stood above me and grabbed the alarm clock by the wire before yanking it down by the cord, once it smacked down onto the mattress I turned off the alarm just as Andy slowly walked into the room holding his toothbrush in one hand and the old flip phone in his other.

"Good morning. You don't have work today, I texted your boss saying you didn't feel good." He said in a very calm and quiet voice. I nodded then slowly dragged my upper body up into a sitting position as Annabella turned back towards me, leaning her upper body into my lap before wrapping her arms around my waist and snuggling my stomach as she sighed in her sleep. "Dad left after he smashed your head with a bottle," Andy whispered as he sat down by my feet. "He came back earlier but then he left again, I don't know where though." Andy's words filled in the blanks as I tried to piece back the earlier night events. I nodded as I understood what my mind had managed to understand, Andy took that as his cue to leave, standing and walking away as I blinked away exhaustion. Andy had left the phone at my feet as I slowly grabbed it and hit the green call button, watching as the screen lit up with no new messages. I sighed before clicking the phone shut and placing it on the nightstand. I looked at Anna with a slight smile before I slowly peeled her arms away. Once Anna was on her side, I slid out of the bed as my feet hit the cold paved floors. I grabbed the side of the nightstand and began to pull myself up as I pushed off with my legs. Once I had made it to my feet, my knees buckled and fell back to the mattress. The sudden movements made my worsening headache scream to the point where my eyes felt like small bombs in my head. I laid back down as I clutched my head in my hands and tried to hide my eyes as I pressed my face into Annas' back. Hoping for relief and comfort as she scooted closer, I felt my thoughts become hard to understand as I slowly relaxed.

My eyes fluttered open again, this time though, Andy was staring down at me. Andy was crutched down next to me calling my name, I could hear him but I couldn't respond. I felt like a thousand drums banging in my head but with earplugs while standing right next to them. What I did notice in all this pain though, was that his clothes had changed. Instead of sweatpants and a loose white shirt, he had skinny jeans with a chemical romance shirt on making him look more feminine and masculine. But that had become normal, I had noticed that he would rather be more feminine than masculine.

"Micheal? You with me?" I stared at him for a little longer before I nodded in understanding. "You passed out, I'll take Annabella to school. You need to rest, I think you might have a concussion." I felt the large bandage on the side of my head as I touched it slightly while I thought of what Andy had just said. I shook my head no, slowly. I slowly got up. I used him as something to steady me before I walked out of the room towards the closet on shaky legs. I grabbed a pair of ripped black jeans and a plain dark green shirt and some underwear before I headed towards the bathroom right next door to my room. As I closed the old white door a memory surfaced.

Andy and I had stayed home from middle school and worked to clean the house for our dad's friends. Our dad had come home early so we locked ourselves in the bathroom in fear of him and his friends hurting us. Andy then brought up running away again, of course, I shot the idea down telling him just a couple more years before I was 18. But the abuse then wasn't that bad, he cared if people saw the bruises. He doesn't know, he hits to kill and every day the abuse gets worse and the years become longer and longer. And so did the scars.

After I did my bathroom stuff, Annabella was up and getting dressed. Talking about all she planned to do today to her bear. 6:00 am. We had to walk to school every day, after a 30-minute walk I would walk another 15 to work all day at my job then at three P.M. I would walk back again to walk them home. After that, I would walk another ten minutes to work till seven in another store. Every day this repeated, for Andy and Annabella to have a future, for me to put food on the table, and to keep the bills paid.

As we walked out of the old house, I started a long journey of already hating the day, Annabella skipping, twirling her pink dress while Andy just stared at his old ruined blue snickers.

"What would you do if you could get in contact with mum and our brothers?" Andy whispered to me as we crossed the road. I looked at him for a second making sure he wasn't joking. I had nothing to say, I just stared at him, a mix of feelings about our 'mother' rushing back to me. The time when I found out I wasn't hers but an affair by our father, she just kept me until she couldn't look at me anymore, she then forced our father out with me but he had decided to 'steal' what was his. Andy and Annabella, are the youngest two. After that he ran, we had moved for years before he finally didn't care.

I looked at Andy regaining myself before I cried. I smiled at him before I just kept walking. Truth be told, if I could find her I would send them back, away from our father, away from this life that we are trying to survive in.

"Sorry I asked......I-" Annabella jumped into his arms as she laughed with pure joy, not knowing at all what was happening.

"Kale, can we get ice cream?" As Andy did his best to hold her they both knew she was getting too big for that, killing Andy was not on my agenda today. I shrugged my shoulders to her question as she slid out of Andy's grip to keep walking with a slight pout on her face.

Today was a beautiful day. I noticed that fast, the birds were singing, the sun was shining, and the wind was cool. But somewhere on this day, it would become a little cloudy, a little more cold, dark and unforgiving. Today was the day that we would find out there are no demons in hell, they're all in human form. And they are a little too close for comfort.