Nobody's home

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Lister both longed for the weekends where he could go home and also dreaded them with a fear that was not what one might expect from a boy getting to see his parents. Dinner was always a quiet affair where his father might ask each of the children in turn if they had accomplished anything that week. Lister always kept quiet, making small comments about practicing or a certain assignment. Then he would help his mother with the dishes, or endure some form of speech from his father before retiring to his room. But tonight his Father and mother were away on some company trip, his sisters were out and his brother was away somewhere. 

All but one room in that grand house was cloaked in darkness, the only light pouring in like a sheet of pale blue over everything it touched. The soft familiar glow of a screen pooled over Lister's face as he sat in the alcove of his window. The window was open and provided a breeze which swept away the smoke of the roll-up in his mouth. Lights flickered across his face as the game ripped through the carnage of a COD match. 

All through the house was a quiet that blanketed any sound, Lister heard nothing.

Lara Jean Reynolds

[Lara Jean Reynolds]

When the parents were away and on a weekend no less, the most likely thing any “normal” kid would do was throw a party or do something that would usually be disapproved by the adults. However, that was not the case in the Reynolds household. Her mother and father were gone on a company trip and what did Lara Jean decide to do with the sort of freedom she had?

She went to the movies instead and watched the latest rom-com premiering. She could have done it even when her parents were home but the seventeen year old was not the kind who liked being in a crowd so anything to do with socialising and whatever that involved a lot of people was totally out of the question.

After the movie ended, she stopped by Starbucks for a drink to-go before heading home. Once the door opened, she was surprised to find it so dark. Why didn’t anyone bother to turn on the lights? Her enhanced vision did not help. She could not see any better through the dark, but she could at least tell she was alone downstairs.

Lara Jean turned on the lights before walking up the stairs and headed for Lister’s room. She thought he might be home, probably for the fact that like her, he had nowhere specific to be besides staying in. Still, she knocked first. “Lister, it’s me, Lara. Are you in?” If she wasn’t going to get an answer, she would walk in and find out for herself.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

As there came a rapping on his door one singular thought ran through Lister's mind. Shit. The noise almost made Lister jump backwards, ending his tale rather abruptly with a crash. He leaped from his alcove, face-planting in the process "F-F-Fuck..." A sticky liquid ran down his face as his nose pumped out blood. Aware that his sister would have no doubt heard the crash, Lister pushed himself up to the door. A pause, the joint that was in is mouth was quickly ejected to the floor. He's deal with the burn later. He opened it a crack.

"Y-Y-Yo..." Blood was still streaming down his face as he stared at Lara "H-H-How wa-wa-was the film?"

[Lara Jean Reynolds]

In the silent air, the crash from inside the room could be heard obviously from where Lara Jean stood. Eyes widened, she gave another knock. The girl was worried and wondered what the hell was going on in there. She doubted a robbery was taking place - I mean come on, what were the chances of that?

"Lister-" she started to shout for him, but her words came to an abrupt stop when the door slowly cracked open. Relief flooded the older sibling when she heard her younger brother's voice. "It was alright. Laughter, tears, you know the usual," she replied, her words rushed. "What are you doing in there? I heard something crashed. Why don't you let me in?"

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Lister squeezed through the crack and closed his door behind him. He gave his older sister a small smile "I was just playing a game, you freaked me out. I may have fallen over in the rush to get to the door that's all." He said all this at jet-speeds but took a pause. Why can't she come in? Try as he might no great reason came to mind. So he went with a shit one "No. M-My room's a t-t-tip, you can name-barely walk inside. Why don't w-we...uh...go down st-stairs and we can watch something?"

Lister hoped to god that his sister wouldn't press any further into the matter of his door, or smell the smoked that lingered on his clothes. No one knew about his self-medication. No one. And he was going to keep it that way for as long as he could