The Manhattan city lights looked like stars in the night sky from Adrian's tenth floor Brooklyn apartment. Thai takeout boxes lay open on the counter in the kitchen. We always ordered too much food to consume in one night. Adrian cracked open a Samuel Adams Boston Lager and flopped down on the button-back brown leather couch next to me.
"Everything alright?" he asked, watching me flip through Netflix aimlessly.
"When are they going to upload the new season of Riverdale?" I asked.
"I don't know hon," he chuckled. He took the remote from me and asked again. "You okay?"
"No. I'm annoyed." I shifted trying to get the remote back.
Adrian pulled his arm further so I couldn't reach. "Clearly. Want to talk about it?"
"Do I want to talk about how my little sister always tries to play me for the bad guy, while she goes around acting like the angel?...No, I don't."
"Okay," he said, offering the remote back to me.
I continued scrolling mindlessly. "I mean she's such a hypocrite," I added.
"Why? What happened?"
"She's been on my case about how we need to be there for Mom through her surgery and treatment, then she goes and signs with a talent agent." I gave up on Netflix and turned to Adrian. Clearly I needed to vent.
"She's just a teenager, bae. You can't expect her to drop her whole life to take care of your mom." He made sense. But I wanted him on my side, not trying to be logical and all.
"I'm not saying that. But who does she think will take her to auditions, or go with her on set if she books a job? Mom certainly can't. And I don't have time for that."
"Obviously, you mom supports her if let her sign with an agent."
"No, mom just lets her do whatever she wants because she's the golden child." And that's what pissed me off the most.
"Isn't there anyone, family perhaps, that can help while your mom recovers?"
"No."
"Okay. Well the best thing you can do right now is be supportive with your mom's treatment. Your sister will need you for that," Adrian recommended gently.
"I know. I will. But I will not be her on set guardian." The last thing I wanted to do was accompany my sister on acting jobs. I couldn't just drop everything to go chasing her stupid dreams. Some of us had actual lives to live out here in the real world.
"Fair enough," Adrian said pulling me closer to his chest. I loved how I fit just perfectly there, safe and secure.
******
A severe thunder storm warning flashed across the TV screen mounted in the corner of the hospital's waiting room. I muted it when the weather man interrupted The Ellen Show with his exaggerated dooms day voice. In the mini kitchen area, a half empty coffee pot stood next to the large canisters of sugar and powdered creamer. Kelci and I had already drank two cups each of the nasty burnt tasting crap, and my head still felt fuzzy.
I paced the waiting room, pausing to stare out the window every now and then. The wind picked up and the sky began to darken. Huge raindrops tapped on the window sill drowning out Kelci's incessant typing.
At the round Formica table, Kelci hunched over her laptop. Loose pages of notes and school books took over the entire surface. Her assignment, an English paper about her interpretation of Isaac Asimov's quote "Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome," seemed a bit morbid given the current circumstances.
YOU ARE READING
Pillars
Teen FictionFor as long as Kelci can remember she has always wanted to be an actress. Her sister, Lorin's, harsh critiques and the fact that her father abandoned her when she was a toddler fuels her self-doubt. The only thing she is sure about is acting. When s...
