LEATHER & SMOKE • 𝖤𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝖶𝗂𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖺𝗆𝗌 & 𝖠𝖻𝖻𝗒 𝖠𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗌 (𝗋𝖾-𝗎𝗉𝗅𝗈𝖺𝖽)

𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 - 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭 (𝖾.𝗐)

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - 𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗉𝗌𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋! 𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝗑 𝖿𝖾𝗆 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋
𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 - 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗏𝗂𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗁𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆
𝖼𝗈𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗀𝖾, 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝗂𝗌 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝖾𝖺𝗇𝗌 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗈𝖻𝗇𝗈𝗑𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌, 𝗇𝗈 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗉 𝗌𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖺𝗅𝗌𝗈 𝖻𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾.
𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 - 𝖽𝗋*𝗀 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾𝗋/𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗏 𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾, 𝖻𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾, 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝖽𝗈𝗇𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗒 𝗀𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗅𝗈𝗇𝗀, 𝖼𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗅𝗈𝗅, 𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀

The sweltering blaze of the summer Texas sun made your thighs stick to the leather seat of the 97' Buick as you exited the car.

You looked up at the pale yellow house, peeled siding, and a crooked white picket fence hugging the perimeter. It was familiar. It was home. Memories, good and bad, rested in the floorboards.

Standing in the driveway, the strap of your tank loosely hung off your shoulder, backpack slung over one arm, and the other weighed down by a suitcase.

"Hey- kiddo! You're late."

A man shouted from the front porch, waving his hand excitedly.

"I know. I'm sorry. Traffic was bad moving' through Houston." You gave the old man an apologetic smile as he met you halfway, pulling you in for a familiar embrace of musk and pine.

"Jus' glad you made it safe, is all. Dinners on the table. Hope yer hungry- I think I made too much." Joel smiled, the wrinkles on his face looked deeper than what you remembered.

He escorts you into the house, taking your bags, and relieving you of the extra weight.

The house looks the same, but at the same time different. Smaller maybe? The furniture was in the same positions, the walls the same color, although slightly faded from the years.

"Can you go get yer sister? Tell her supper s' ready." The man asks as he turns to the staircase off the entry, bags in hand to put them in my old bedroom.

You tense, my body physically rejecting the idea of your sister- well, step sister.

You were hoping to make it here before she did, giving you a few hours of peace before she'd ultimately ruin it.

When Ellie came into this family, it didn't take long for you to become jealous. She quickly clicked with Joel, bonding with him over things that he took an interest in; building shelves, working on cars, hell, even playing guitar.

It's not like you thought your dad loved Ellie more or anything. You knew that you'd always be his little girl that got perfect grades and stayed out of trouble, but seeing how his face lit up when Ellie was by his side, grease smeared on her cheek made your heart seare.

You start to head up the stairs, following Joel's lead when you remembered she hasn't slept up there since she was a kid.

During Ellie's angsty teen years, she had begged Joel for days to let her move her bedroom in the basement, claiming "a growing girl needs her own space."

Joel always shot her down, but Ellie wouldn't let up. One night when I couldn't sleep, I got out of bed to get something to drink only to be met with Ellie's 16 year old string bean self pushing her mattress over the railing, and ever since then, the basement has been her territory.