Always

[one] | three Carters and a Caleb

[one] | three Carters and a Caleb

Bang! Bang! Thundering footsteps came rushing down the polished mahogany stairs; almost brought it down. Sawdust came swirling down at the sides of the stairs.

      "Abigail Rashel Carter! Stop stomping down those stairs!" Ms Carter shouted over the racket, as she peered out of the living room. A single mother to two teenagers, Gina Carter's hands were full. But she didn't mind, she knew her late husband and her had raised good children. However, that didn't stop her from being annoyed with her rambunctious children.

      "Sorry!" Abigail apologised as she reached the landing, with a small giggle. She came down and gave her mother a tight hug. Then let go before she twirled as she hummed into the living room to the kitchen. Her mother's questioning gaze on her back.

      Abigail was the second child; she came as a surprise for the family. But a welcomed surprise. Gina watched her daughter as she twirled, before she shook her head and walked back into the living room with a small smile on her lips. Gina knew her husband would be hiding his smile behind the morning newspaper if he saw Abigail now.

      Abigail didn't know why, but she felt as if she was on top of the world. She felt as if she was a cloud, just floated by, enjoying life as much as she could. As if nothing was going to go wrong, she didn't care if events might turn her life upside down. As long her loved ones weren't the ones hurt.

      As she entered the kitchen, she was greeted with the sweet, sweet smell of toast with butter. Abigail inhaled the scent deeply; as though it was the last time she was ever going to smell it again. She remembered how much she loved the smell of buttered toast when she was younger, the memory made her smile. She looked around the kitchen. Bright, morning sunlight came shining through the rectangular, huge glass kitchen window that looked out to the backyard.

      "You really should get dressed. Caleb is coming over in a few minutes." Her brother, Harry said in a dry tone as he took a bite on his buttered toast. Abigail turned her head to look at her brother in curiosity. Her brows furrowed as she realised every time Harry mention or even hears Caleb's name, he would turn stiff and distant.

      After a moment of silence, she finally asked. "Why do you always do that?" Her voice was quiet and soft, as she sat down across from Harry. She reached over, and grabbed a piece of toast from the plate. She chewed on it as she waited. "Why do you always turn stiff and distant whenever Caleb is mentioned?" she asked again, when he only gave her a cold glare. His eyes would have been terrifying for other people. "Well?"

      "It's nothing." He answered gruffly, as he turned back on his toast as he finished it with one bite. Harry stood up abruptly, the friction created by the chair and the tiled floor made a loud scratching noise. Abigail stared at his back with a sinking feeling, as she wondered what happened to them, as she wondered when they had become distant.

      Abigail chewed her toast, and continued to stare as Harry washed his dishes and continued to ignore her. "You know you'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that." She pointed out, her tone a matter-of-fact as she gave up at the staring game. It wasn't long before her infectious, bright giggle filled the air. She clapped like an entertained child, as she saw Harry smile a faint smile.

      It was worth it.

      Harry, being the first child and the new man of the house at the age of twenty-one, took it upon himself to look after his mother and little sister after the departure of Abigail's and his father. Over time, as the responsibility rested on his shoulders, his smile faded into nothing.

      Abigail looked closely at her brother, as she noticed why some people mistake them for being twins. He had the same silky-looking, midnight black hair as her; however, Abigail's hair was longer and wavier which contrasts their pale skin. Both had one silvery grey eye and one bluish-green eye. Both have inherited their mother's high cheekbones, the graceful facial structure. However, there were differences between the two. With Harry's features were more chiselled and Abigail's was softer. Abigail smiled as she thought of the most obvious difference between them – the height difference, Harry being almost a metre taller than her, with his six foot two frame and him being three years older than her.

      Harry turned around, as he felt Abigail's burning gaze on his back. He faced her, before he said in a voice as annoyed as he could manage his voice to be, "What? What the hell are you looking at?" He narrowed his eyes to add an effect. But it didn't work as Abigail saw the humour in the depths of his eyes before it faded.

      "Nothing." She replied, her tone nonchalant as she shrugged her slender shoulders as she made her face seem calm. Abigail was about to make another comment when a small knock rang through the air.

      The Carter siblings looked toward the door way to the kitchen simultaneously; however the sibling's responses could not be more different. Harry scowled immediately at the sight of the younger boy, his body becoming rigid as his eyes darkened. While Abigail immediately stood up to greet her friend with that infectious smile of hers, before she felt a jolt of embarrassment as she suddenly realised what she was wearing in front of Caleb.

      Abigail looked down at herself, and she felt blood rise to her face. The bunny decorated pyjamas and the fluffy bunny slippers. "Morning, Caleb!" Abigail enthusiastically waved, with a bright smile as she tried to hide her embarrassment. At the corner of her eye, she saw Harry roll his unusually coloured eyes in exasperation. "I'll go change, you wait here!" She didn't wait for his response; she just sprinted out of the kitchen and up the curved, mahogany polished staircase and into her room.

      Caleb moved quickly aside as Abigail passed, her wavy midnight black hair in a ponytail, following behind her like a tail of a comet. He repressed a smile as he felt his lip twitch as Harry proceeded to give him a cold, menacing, dark glare. Caleb supposed that it was Harry's way of warning him to not get too close to Abigail.

      Caleb frowns at the thought. Because that was the problem: who can't help but get close to her? She was everything he wanted, everything he thought he needed. She was brave, caring, open-minded, supportive, trustworthy, warm-hearted and loyal – and everything else positive he could think of. And he couldn't help but wonder whether he thought of her as a friend or something more.