Three Years Later
Angelic Chisai: Age 20
Bruce, Clark, and David Timberland: Age 5
Lily Minnie: Age 21
Kevin Minnie: Age 8
I release a short grunt when my lids ajar on its own. Trailing my eyes towards the alarm clock, 3:37 a.m. I lay there and stared at the two red dots.
I couldn't hear anything except the large branch's irritating sound outside tapping against the glass window.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
I should really call the landlord to cut that branch off.
Inhaling a fathomless breath, my legs made contact with the floor. Tiptoeing past Lily, I halted and watched her sleeping on the twin-size bed across from mine. Her mouth is wide open, arms and legs are twisted unnaturally like she is doing yoga while sleeping.
Heading towards the kitchen, I listen to my soles slap against the cold tile floor. Digging through a purse, I grab a small key hidden in the tiny ripped hole. Bending down to the lowest cabinet, I unlock it. Pulling out the cabinet, I can hear the sound of footsteps behind me.
A warm hand pulled me up, and my eyes met a pair of green-brown eyes. "Don't do it," Lily whispered, closing the cabinet with her foot. Grabbing the key from my hand, she locked it. She placed the key back into the hole and wrapped her arms around me.
Four months, it's been four months since I quit using sleeping pills. Three weeks after our parents passed, I couldn't sleep at night due to stress and depression. I went to the doctor, they prescribed me sleeping pills. They warn me to use it wisely.
I didn't.
I abuse the pills nearly every night. If I didn't, I would sit in the bed's corner and stare at absolutely nothing. As time passes, the number of pills I use increases.
One.
Became two.
Two turned into three.
And so on.
Because "A little bit of this and the pain will disappear."
I would've overdosed if Lily hadn't caught me and forced me to throw it all up in the toilet.
I loathe myself because I almost lost my brothers because of my foolish actions.
Although Lily wasn't any better, around the same time, I started using pills; she would go home drunk nearly every night after her job. At first, I would only whiff a little alcohol in her, but it got worse with time.
When she caught me overdosing on sleeping pills, she cracked and started breaking into tears. We sat on the cold bathroom floor for the rest of the night and cried our hearts out. Our brothers caught us; they didn't utter a single word. They simply ran to us and embraced us. Our broken family fell asleep on the freezing tiles that night.
After that, Lily and I finally stopped turning a blind eye to the situation and agreed to keep each other in check.
Our parents' death took a heavier toll on us than we would expect, we were on the verge of becoming an alcoholic and drug abuser.
"Let's go to sleep," Lily whispers and takes me back to bed.
I laid down. She tucked me in and kissed my forehead before she went back to her bed. After roughly 283 taps on the window, I can hear Lily's light snores.
Finally, my lids granted me the luxury and temporarily blinded me. Hearing the birds chirping, I release a yawn and open my eyes once more.
After several minutes, I decided to stand up - no - crawl towards Lily. Grabbing the blanket on the floor, I threw it back on her. Lily works night shifts, so she is out like a broken lightbulb until works again tonight.
