All Of Me

3

When I arrived home, my mother was in the kitchen putting some finishing touches on dinner before Brian arrived, and Paige was no where to be found. Gone off with some friends as usual I assumed.

I ran upstairs to change into some jeans and a hoodie and came back downstairs to help Mom with dinner. She took one look at me and narrowed her eyes. "Why do you insist on dressing like a bum every time Brian comes over?" She sprinkled some basil on top of a pot of...something, and carried it to the table.

I followed her with a bowl of corn and we both sat them down on the large oak table. "Just because he's uptight doesn't mean I have to be." I responded. She rolled her eyes and huffed out a deep breath, probably planning to respond with something like "He isn't uptight." even though she knows he is, but the doorbell rand, interrupting her.

I ran to answer it and was surprised to see my sister on the other side, with a bruise circling one of her blue eyes; her hair and clothes were a hot mess too.

I gasped. "Paige! What h-" But she covered my mouth. "Hush. I don't want mom to know." She spoke quietly, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me up the stairs to her room.

"Who was that, honey? Was that Brian?" I heared mom calling from the kitchen. "No, it was Paige! Be down in a minute!" I yelled. She shut her door and dug into her purse, finally tossing her make up bag at me.

"I need you to cover this up." She gestured to her bruise and started to smooth out her hair. "What's going on, Paige? Where did you get that bruise?" I worried as I dug into her make up bag for the needed supplies.

"I ran into a door. How do you think I got it?" She rolled her eyes.

I sigh as she sat down in the chair at her desk and I began covering up the large blue circle with make up. It looked really bad.

"Paige, what are you doing?" I was genuinely concerned. We couldn't fight each other's battles anymore. As kids, I beat up any kid that picked on Paige, but I couldn't go around beating people up anymore.

She sighed and shook her head. "I've got it under control. Don't worry about it." She tried to reassure me but I laughed at her as I finished covering up the evidence of the pounding she took from someone. "Apparently." We both laughed.

I stopped trying to pry it out of her, because she wasn't going to talk. If anything it would just make her shut down and not speak to me at all.

She changed into a navy blue dress and coral jewelry and I rolled my eyes. Why did everyone insist on dressing up for this man?

When we walked back downstairs, Brian was already there. Lucky me. Dressed in a monkey suit, no less.

He said 'Hi," To Paige and I, but that's all we ever get. He isn't exactly rude, but he doesn't break his neck to get to know his girlfriend's daughters either.

We all sat down for dinner and Mom said grace over the meal. My mother is a fantastic cook, even though I wish she had made the meal for a reason other than me being stuck at the table with Mr. McSnooty for an hour.

"This was a wonderful meal, Leanne." He said to my mother, taking her hand in his. I wanted to barf. He reminded me of George Clooney. His salt and pepper hair was perfect, much like my life was before he came along.

My father was a good dad to Paige and I, his drinking didn't start until I was fourteen and Paige was twelve. He was never violent or even funny. He was clumsy. He was still the same sweet daddy I knew, he just couldn't walk right or he would knock stuff over.

The night he died was one of the worst nights of my life. No fifteen year old girl should have to bury her father, or see the mangled car they pulled his body from.

I was brought back to reality when Paige wiped her eye with her hand and I gasped when I saw her bruise showing through.

Before I could quietly ease her away from the table to fix it, the faint discoloration around my little sister's eye caught mother's eye.

"Paige, what's that on your eye?" She stood from the table and walked around to Paige, taking her chin in her hands and tilting her head to examine it. "Oh my goodness!" Mother exclaimed. "Mom, don't." Paige said flatly, turning her head away.

"What happened? Paige McKenzie Greenburge, tell me right now." Mother was worried, but also angry. I could tell by the way her voice cracked when she spoke.

Paige shook her head and clenched her jaw. "Why don't you go with Brian and leave me alone? You're good at that." She never raised her voice, and I could tell she said the words out of hurt and not out of anger. Paige resented how much of mom's time Brian took up.

Mother was speechless as Paige stormed off to her room, probably because she knew it was true. I stood and walked to my room before Brian had the chance to say something stupid and I'd have to be immature. That happened before.

When I got back to my room, I checked my phone and had a text from Tripp,

"Hows the romantic dinner for four going? lol" I laughed and shook my head at his text. As much as I'd like to have talked to Tripp, I was exhausted. Between the stress from running into Chelsea, Paige, and then having to eat with Mr. Bean, I was exhausted.

I shot Tripp a quick text to tell him I'd talk to him tomorrow, and then everything went to serene blackness.

I dreamt of my father. Bouncing me on his knee on Christmas as a child. The earliest Christmas I remember. Paige was 5 and I was 7.

We got Barbie dolls and new dresses. I remember how proud Daddy was that he picked out the Barbies all by himself for us. I still have mine. I miss Dad. Paige has always been angry with him for drinking and then driving. She says he took himself from us in a fit of selfishness. Sure, it was illiterate, but no sense in being angry with the dead. It wouldn't hurt anyone but me.

Paige's actions were fueled by the bitterness she had toward our father.

I just hoped she could get whatever it was going on in her life under control before she ended up with more than a black eye.