Our Own Earth

Tough and Rough

(Viewer discretion advised. No sexual content or anything, just life struggles. Death/Drinking/Drugs. Nothing to bad though)

"Iris, dinner is ready." Iris heard her grandma say from downstairs. Iris rolled her eyes, she hated living with her grandma. She just turned 21 and she still lives with her grandparents, or at least her grandma.

    Her grandfather died 2 years ago of a heart attack. Maybe that is why she stayed for so long. She was afraid that if she left, her grandmother might've died alone, without her there for her support. She already lost both of her parents when she was 6. They both died in a car crash. It wasn't their fault, it was the taxi driver. He apparently was on drugs and crashed the taxi in a ditch. She didn't know much about her parents but she could still see her mother's smile and her dad's huge beard that he refused to cut off.
"Iris!" Her grandma yelled from downstairs.

"I'm coming Grandma, don't yell." Iris always helped her grandma with her pills, and doctor appointments in exchange for a warm bed and food on the table. Even though they didn't have much money, and relied on Iris and her waitress job, they were doing pretty well. They had a fine house, big enough for the both of them.

  Iris walked downstairs leaving her earbuds and phone in her bedroom. Grandma always used to get onto her for walking around with those in, it made her look like a teenager, she would say.

   Grandma got the potatoes and set the on the table carefully. Iris could tell it was heavy for her.

"Let me help you." Iris stood up and grabbed the bowl of gravy, with a spoon.
"You sit down grandma." She scooted a chair for her grandma to sit in. Once she was seated Iris grabbed the big rotisserie chicken that had been in the oven for the whole day, and set it in the middle of the table. Iris wasn't the only one who loved to cook, she offered to cook for her grandma, but her grandma was to stubborn to give up cooking. No matter how much harder it got as the years went on her grandma would get up and make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Her grandma always used to tell her, "The best part of the day is dinnertime. It's when the family gathers around by the table and tells about their day then eats." Iris would just smile, but she always would think of what it would be like to eat at the dinner table with her entire family again. Her mom scooping out the potatoes and peas and serving it to her father and her. And her father making his weird jokes, that made them laugh. Those were some of the happy memories she could never get rid of, even if she tried. When they were done eating and telling about their day's memories, they went upstairs for bed.

    Iris laid in her bed and put her earbuds in. She could never fall asleep without them. It was impossible, no matter how hard she tried there was no way for her to fall asleep without it. She looked through her window, the window that she used to climb out on the roof. She smiled at the stars, and then before she knew it she was asleep.

——

Barry watched Wendy, he smiled at her as she drifted asleep. He laid there for a good 5 minutes thinking of what Mikey had said about his dad. It made him worry a bit. He did care about his father, he just didn't want anyone to know that he did. He felt ashamed of who his father had become, and thinking about it made him think that he wasn't that much different from his dad. He wasn't an absolute drunk, like his father, but he did do many things his father has done in his life. He looked at Wendy, she was fast asleep. Cheating was one of them. He had a girlfriend and he just ruined her trust. She might not have known the he did, but he knew it.

   He carefully got out of the bed and put his clothes on, making sure Wendy didn't wake up. He studied the room to see if he had left anything, then left. He didn't want to just leave her, but he wanted to check on his father. For all he knew he could be passed out on the floor. He thought about the memories he had of walking downstairs for a sip of water late at night and finding him passed out with his head on the table.

   He took a deep breath as he arrived. He had his own key so he could get in. As he creeked open the door, he stepped in.

"Dad?" He whispered. He looked around, then his eyes narrowed to the couch. There his dad was, laying on the couch. Beer bottles on the coffee table. He looked at him for a moment to think. He smiled slightly, relieved that he was on the couch. He creeped in to clean up the place a bit. He grabbed the bottles and put them in the trash.

    He went into the closet and grabbed a pillow and two blankets, he decided it was best for him to stay the night. He'll leave real early in the morning, so no one knew he was there. He sneaked over and put the blanket over his father. He put the pillow on the floor below the couch and laid down, covering himself in the second blanket. He drifted to sleep.