Beside You {Rave}

[Deleted]

O W E N B O W E R S - F O X I can hear Duncan leaving; his feet heavy on the creaking, wooden floor. However, I don’t bat an eye at his absence anymore, for he’s conditioned us to it. He’ll be gone for days at a time and no one will even treat it as something out of the ordinary. I’ve never really cared what he does, but the slightest whims of curiosity always float at the back of my mind. I can’t begin to fathom him actually finding company with other people, for he’s incessantly rude and pushy around us. However, I also can’t see him spending days upon days alone, for he always has to be doing something. I glance over to the bed beside mine to see Cody still in a deep sleep, his arms wrapped defensively around the old pillow that was beneath his head. I knew he expected Duncan to be gone, but he would expect me to be right where I was now, in bed, either sleeping or waiting for him to wake up so we could proceed about the day together. But today he would roll over to the unfamiliar sight of not just one empty bed, but two. Because today, I was going to go find out what my little brother did for days on end, and if it was actually as exciting as it was to him. However, I didn’t want to alarm Cody, so I silently tip-toed over to the desk and pulled out a piece of paper, careful not to open the drawer too loudly. I scrawled across the page a simple note that read: “Gone to see Duncan. Be back soon. –Owen.” I wasn’t really sure whether or not Cody would approve of my actions, but he wasn’t awake to correct me, so I slipped on a plaid flannel over my white t-shirt and headed out the bedroom door. The rest of the house was just as quiet as our room had been, nothing to be heard but the sound of my own feet on the floor. The lights that usually flicker in an unsteady glow are dark; everything is still deep within the realms of sleep. I don’t spend long in the dark kitchen, pausing for only a moment to make sure my venture in here hasn’t caused my parents to wake up. Duncan can walk past them without a word and they won’t question him, but if I was to try the same procession of actions, I would be stopped and questioned about everything I intended on going and where I planned on going. A few moments have passed, and no one’s come in to see what’s going on, so I make my way to the front door, which has been left slightly ajar. There’s no doubt in my mind that it was Duncan, who usually made his way out in such a hurry as to forget to shut the door completely. Or maybe he just didn’t care, for that was a possibility too. The morning sun is the first thing to greet me today, and instead of replying, I only turn away in disgust at the sudden change in brightness. It doesn’t take me long to orient myself with where I believe Duncan to have gone, as even though he is smart, he doesn’t tend to be cautious. He throws things around as if they’re all made of plastic, even though many of the things he tosses aside are made of the most fragile of glass. His footprints can be seen in the dirt path that leads away from our home, and it only takes me a little bit of following it to spot the messy tufts of dirty blond hair peeking out in the distance. The place that he’s led me to doesn’t strike me as strange, as anything run down and abandoned tends to be a place he’s attracted to. However, the girl at his side does strike me as strange, and if wasn’t for the urge to remain hidden, I would shout out; “Duncan’s got a girlfriend!” It was only curiosity that kept me crouched behind the bush, watching him push open the solid steel door. It was only in curiosity that I stayed hidden as Duncan and the girl vanished inside. It was only curiosity that drew my attention to the girl sitting on the rooftop, seemingly unbothered by everything that was happening. I knew that I must have been visible in her range of vision, because from where she sat I was sure she could see everything. The smoke that fell from her lips swirled towards the sky in a wisp that matched that of delicate smoke on winter mornings, a shiver running down my spine as it slowly drifted on, and on, and on. She seemed in this state of oblivion, either that or she didn’t care. How nice it must be to not care about the way branches bend at the wrong angle or the way shoes don’t line up against the wall correctly. I stepped out of my shelter in the bush to make my way quietly across the field. The grass compressed under my feet, what was left of it anyway, as we had had a rough winter. It came to my attention that it was not likely that Duncan would be listening for me now, as once he was absorbed in something, or someone (if you get my drift), he was gone. He wouldn’t become aware of anything else until he wanted to, and it took more than the snooping curiosity of an older brother to break that. I wasn’t completely sure how the girl got up there, but I figured if she could do it, so could I. The bricks of the building had worn away and cracked in a way that appeared to me as that of a foothold. My shoes weren’t made for the activity, however, and their worn soles provided less than traction on this type of surface. On my entire venture up the wall, more often than not I felt myself internally panicking over each slip, as this wasn’t the smallest building. The sight of the top sent a newfound sense of relief through my bones, and with one final heave I pulled myself over the edge. Once I made it to the top, it took me a moment to remember why I had been so determined to get there in the first place. It was the sight of the smoke that brought my senses about me, and with a sheepish grin I stuck my hand towards her, “Owen. Resident watcher of younger siblings that only tend to get themselves in more trouble than they can deal with. And you are?” template by chelsey