Every day is the same…
Courtney went to work after roughly an hour of scrambling through paperwork while munching on her buttered toast and sipping her tea. The tea was raspberry flavored.
Then dad would toss some food onto the table for us as soon as he would awake. My brother always finished first. Then my dad. I never finished my food. My dad would receive a phone call from the manager of his job. “Echo, we need you in a half hour early from now on.”
He’d rush out the door, cussing about his job and racing his car off to work.
Later, my brother went off to school, and I’d stay in bed, sick and throwing up. Before leaving, my brother would ruffle my hair and smile. “Don’t worry, Nathan. We can go to Freddy’s later if you’re feeling better.”
But I never feel better.
And so I would sleep.
Courtney would get back hours later and wake me up. At 4PM, my brother would be home again. They’d both sit at the end of my bed and I’d do homework with my brother.
Courtney had my pain medication ready for 5PM. I’d take it with some water and then my brother and I would play Final Fantasy 5 or Super Mario Kart. We’d laugh sometimes and sometimes I’d have to stop and curl up from pain. 6:30PM, dad would get home and he’d give me a hug. He told me there was a present for me. He reached into his bag and pulled out a golden plush rabbit.
“His name is Plushtrap. Take good care of him. And watch your fingers. He kind of a finger trap.” He patted my knee and walked out of the room.
I would sleep again. But then I would wake up at 12AM to my dad’s voice.
“H-Hello? Hello? Uhh, I wanted to record a message for you… to help you get settled in on your first night.”
Just work again… just dad and his work…