The Ties of The Sun and The Moon

Alyssa

Alyssa's eyes darted around the store, tapping her foot and waiting impatiently for her beer. Her eyes landed on a newspaper, the headline saying: "15 Year Anniversary Of James and Alyssa's Tragic Death." 

She eyes moved downwards, looking at the cashier and holding eye contact. "What?" She asked in a stern voice.

"You're buying alcohol, I need your ID." The cashier responded.

"It's for my father." She replied, a frown forming on her face.

"Then I need his ID, kid." He said, pulling the bottle of beer away from me.

"Do you see my f*ck*ng father anywhere near me? No. You gotta let go of your trust issues for this one, buddy." Alyssa smiled, pulling the beer closer to her again while setting her money on the table.

"Buy something else, kid. I'm just following the rules." He responded, pushing the money back to her. Alyssa rolled her eyes, taking the money back. "May I have that newspaper instead?" She asked, pointing at the newspaper she was eyeing earlier. 

"This one?" He asked, holding up the newspaper and waving it in her face. She nodded. He handed her the newspaper and got her money. Whilst calculating for her change, she used the newspaper to hide the beer. She smiled sweetly at him and exited the store calmly. 

Once out of the store, she ran tripping over her heels. "Kid, get back here!" The cashier yelled, rushing out of the store. With a loud screech, she was almost hit by a champagne car. The kid in the car- about her age- peeked out the window to see if she was ok.

Impulsively, she ran to the passenger side of the car and entered right away. The boy in the car- his ID said his name was James, but how could she be sure that was his actual name- looked shocked and froze, his hands over the steering wheel.

"Drive! Go!" She yelled, leaning back in the passenger's seat. James- as his ID said- sped up the car and drove away as fast as possible. The car reeked of a nauseating air freshener, but at least the inside was very clean. Alyssa lay back, strapping on her seat belt and chugging her beer.

"What the f*ck was that about?" The boy asked, stopping the car near the village's park.

Too tired to respond, Alyssa raised her right hand which was holding a bottle of what used to be beer.

"You stole a newspaper and beer?" He yelled inside the car, questioning the decisions of Alyssa and chuckling. 

"I only stole the beer, I bought the newspaper to hide the beer." She responded, chuckling and finishing what was left of her beer. He chuckled.

"I'm James." He said, introducing himself. He didn't really need to introduce himself because of his ID, but it was nice to hear that he didn't have a fake ID. "Alyssa." She responded, choking on her beer.

"Then the newspaper you chose is quite ironic, huh?" He said, smiling at her. She looked down at her newspaper forgetting it's headline. 

"Oh, I just chose it cause it had my name on it." Alyssa responded, reading what she could see.

"Officer Nolan- Executed. Victim's parents- devastated. Isles of Sheppey-" She read before coughing and gagging. James unlocked the car, and let her go out. She gagged once more before throwing up in a public trash can. 

"What brings you to consume alcohol, Alyssa?" He asks, holding her hair back and offering her tissue.

"It helps me relax. The world becomes nothing, but my thoughts when I drink." She said before throwing up more. She sat on the grass, wiping her mouth with the tissue he gave her. 

"I'm taking you back home, where do you want me to drop you off?" He asked, ushering her to the car.

"Marigold street- blue house." She said, tossing away the tissue. 

"Alright, let's just stop by a different convenience store to get you water first." He said, driving her to a store. 

Within a couple minutes he returned to the car with a big bottle of water. He handed it to her and she drank what she could.

"Marigold street?" He confirmed. She nodded, trying to sober up.

She was dropped off at her house, leaving the bottle of beer in James' car just in case.

"Mother, I'm home!" She yelled, walking into their kitchen to find a snack. F*ck. The only person there was her father. She backed out of the kitchen, hoping he didn't notice her. He turned around, a beer in his hand. He almost resembled her. 

"You went out to buy a damn newspaper? A newspaper?" He yelled, banging his beer on the table and breaking the bottle. "Put that the f*ck down." He yelled, stomping towards her.

"Dad- wait." She said, backing out. He grabbed her by her hair, his fingers carving into her scalp. He bashed her head onto the counter, bruising her cheek. "Get your hand off me, please!" She cried, hoping her little sister wasn't home to see this.

"You're talking back? You're talking back! I thought I had knocked some f*ck*ng sense into you!" He yelled, bashing her head into the counter one more time. Coming down the stairs, Ashley- her little sister- cried, wondering what was happening. "Mommy! Daddy's hitting Alyssa!!" She cried as their father let go of Alyssa's hair and marched towards her.

"Joel!" Their mother yelled at their father, picking up Ashley before he could even touch her. She rushed towards her and put a hand on her face. Ashley ran into the bathroom to hide.

"Tell you daughter not to touch my money, let alone waste it on a newspaper!" He said, curling his hands into fists and breathing heavily. "Your money? Your money!?" She yelled. "Your money is untouched! Check your wallet." Alyssa screamed while he whipped out his wallet to see that nothing was stolen.

"That ought to teach you not to buy stupid sh*t." He said, walking away.

Their mother looked at Alyssa, confirming if you could check on Ashley. Alyssa nodded, picking herself up to wash herself in their bathroom. Newspaper in hand, she entered the bathroom of her room, washing away the blood and icing her bruises. 

"Alie, may I come in?" A tiny voce asked sadly. Alyssa sighed and opened the door to her room. Ashley was outside, offering a stuffed bunny to her. "Take this, I know your sad." She said gently.

Alyssa took the bunny and smiled gently. "Thank you. Go to be, Ashley. It's late." 

Ashley ran into her respective room and close the door before their parents knew they were still awake. Alyssa took the bunny and tucked it into her bed. She lay down and stared at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep.