Broken Strings

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - N I N E

"People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for." 

- Harper Lee

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Mira pouted her lips, trailing after her brother. "Please, please, please. Can you please play with me?"

She slanted her eyebrows, making an angry face as her brother walked away from her, shaking his head 'No'.

"I'm going to tell Mommy you're being a jerk again." She smiled and walked after him. "No, I'm gowing to twell her you failed your math test and then hid it in your room so she wouldn't see it."

She followed her brother until he stood outside Mommy's room.

"Hey Mommy isn't home and you can't go in there. Oooo I'm going to tell on you."

Ryan ran a frustrated hand through his hair before turning back to his little sister. 

"First of all, Mom already knows I failed my math test. That's why she's making me take those stupid tutor classes. Second, I'm going to tell mom that you're annoying me again."

He smiled at his sister as she crossed her arms and stomped her feet, angrily. 

"Third, I'm going to tell Mom that you stole her lipstick, again." Ryan smirked as Mira looked up at him, surprised.

"I did not take it. Mommy gave it to me." 

Ryan let out a irritated sigh. He looked at the closed door. The key was in his hand, hidden so his sister couldn't see it. 

He'd taken the key from his mother's purse after Disneyland. He needed to find the pills. He was going to find the pills.

"Hey Mira, I'll play dolls with you. Why don't you go get your dolls and we can play in the living room?"

"Rweally?" Mira jumped up and down before running across the hall to her room.

Ryan turned and faced the door again. He knew his mother had locked it to keep everyone out. He quickly unlocked the door, slipping instead and rushing over to the dresser.

He opened the first drawer to find a bunch of socks. He quickly shut the drawer and opened the second drawer just as his sister called for him.

He pushed aside the shawl his mother had used to covered everything in the second drawer. 

Ryan opened the blue box to find a bunch of letters. He closed the box and opened the gray box instead. 

His eyes widened as he found many pill bottles, some empty and some full. He grabbed a bottle, hiding it in his pocket and closed the drawer as Mira walked into the room.

"Ryan! You said you play with me."

"Yea let's go." Ryan gave his sister a faint nod before following her out his mother's room. 

He pulled out the medication bottle, discretely looking at it as he followed his sister. 

Gleevec. He was going to find out what was wrong with his mother.