Wrong Side of Town

We lived on the edge of town in a neighborhood that had a pretty terrible reputation. The houses on our street were old and rundown and there was more than one front yard that looked like a garbage dump.

When I pulled up outside our house, I turned off the engine and took a second to prepare myself for what I would find inside. My eyes wandered over the exterior of house as I wrestled with my thoughts. My parents had bought the house many years ago before Savannah had been born and it was the only asset that we owned.

Our house was more or less the same as all the other houses on the street. It was an off-white color that was starting to yellow. Once upon a time, we’d had a picket fence but one night after drinking too much, Dad had reversed his truck into it. He’d never bothered to fix it up so now it lay there defeated, much like the inhabitants of the house.

We didn’t have much money to fix up the house so we had to make do with what we had. Which wasn’t much. Dad worked manual labor at the stables outside of town and we survived on that. When Dad had a bad week and didn’t go to work and ended up getting drunk instead was when we really struggled.

The days that I didn’t volunteer at the Penthill Community Center, I worked at a small drugstore in Statlen. I only got one or two shifts a week depending on availability, but I saved every dollar I earned. I knew enough about the world to know that you had to work hard at something if you wanted to get ahead in life.

Nathan had earned a scholarship to Penthill University and I was planning on doing the same. He lived on campus in student housing because he couldn’t wait to leave home and get away from our alcoholic father. I couldn’t blame him but I missed having him around.

As for Savannah, she worked at a diner in town a couple nights a week, but I didn’t like her taking too much time away from her schoolwork. She needed to keep those grades up as best as she could if she wanted to get a scholarship.

“Nate, wake up.” I poked my brother in the arm.

Sometime during the half hour car ride, he had fallen asleep and currently had his head resting awkwardly on his shoulder. I hated to wake him, but there was no way I was letting him sleep in the car.

“Mmmm…what?” he groaned, slowly opening his eyes. Amber orbs peeked out at me from beneath his lashes.

“We’re home, get inside.”

Nathan let out an incoherent groan, and we both got out, letting all the cold air in. He stumbled to the front door as I followed him.

Once we were inside, Nathan stumbled off towards the living. When he disappeared, I stopped and listened for a moment, but the house was silent.

There was no light peeking out from underneath Dad’s door which was a good sign. Even though it was only ten o’clock, he’d probably been drunk enough to pass out. I was just glad I wouldn’t have to deal with him in his drunken state. I’d been dreading it since his phone call earlier tonight.

* * *

The next morning, Savannah and I were sitting at the kitchen table when her voice broke into my chaotic thoughts.

“Hey, um, Dad threw up in the living room last night before you got home.”

I glanced up, startled, and met her dejected amber eyes. She swept her long, honey brown hair to the side as she continued speaking. “I tried to clean it up as best as I could; it was really gross.”

I heaved a sigh. Cleaning up vomit was not something my sixteen-year-old sister should have to be doing. That wasn’t her job. It shouldn’t have to be my job either. On days like today, I felt like a complete failure.

“I’m sorry you had to do that,” I said with resignation. I reached out and took Savannah’s hand in mine.

She shrugged. “I heard him on the phone with you last night talking about her.” I knew she was referring to our Mom and it pained me that she couldn’t bring herself to say that word. “He went into his room not too long after that.”

I was just about to say something when Nathan strolled into the kitchen looking like death had kicked him in repeatedly in the shins. His eyes were bloodshot and his naturally tan skin was a shade lighter than usual. Alcohol definitely didn’t agree with him.

“Ugh, my head.” He slid into the chair at the table across from Savannah.

“Nate! What are you doing here?” Savannah was looking at our brother like she couldn’t quite believe he was here.

Whenever Nathan dropped me home, he never came inside the house. He wanted to avoid Dad as much as possible. The last few times they’d come face to face, they’d gotten into really bad arguments. Since then, Nathan had stayed away from the house and Dad.

“Nate had a bit too much to drink yesterday, so he stayed the night.” I stood up and went over to the counter to pour Nathan a cup of coffee.

Savannah looked thoroughly annoyed as she took a sip of her OJ. “You’re such a stupid head, you know that, right?”

He smiled at me gratefully when I handed him the coffee, before shooting Savannah a dirty look. “You should kiss the ground I walk on, brat. My good looks and biting wit are far more superior to yours.”

Savannah let out a strangled choke and I patted her on the back before resuming my seat. “The only thing superior about you is your age, and I don’t think that being an old fossil is something to brag about.”

“You are such a brat,” Nathan said with a glare.

“You repulse me.”

The expression on their faces grew more serious as they spouted obscenities at each other.

“You stink like man sweat.”

“You have small girl hands.”

Nathan’s mask slipped and he cracked a smile. “Damn.”

Savannah burst out laughing and I couldn’t help but join in. “Yeah! I won!”

“We’ll see about that next time.” Nate was trying to look mad, but an affectionate smile was curling around his lips as he studied Anna.

My mind couldn’t help but take a mental snapshot of this moment. It was hard to believe that despite everything the three of us had been through at such a young age, we could still have moments where we truly laughed and forgot about the problems in our lives.

The Markson kids were no pushovers.

We weren’t going to crumble just because life wasn’t going our way. We were going to do the best we could with what we had. One day we would beat this because we were strong.

“I’m gonna get ready for school. I’ll see you next time you decide to drunkenly stumble into the house.” Savannah stuck her tongue out at Nathan before walking down the hall and into her room.

“Love you, brat,” he called out after her.

“Love you, too!”

“That kid’s an angel.” Nathan turned back to me.

“I wonder who she gets it from,” I said, taking a gulp of my coffee. It’d gone tepid because I’d let it sit for too long when I’d become absorbed by Nathan and Savannah’s banter. They always teased each other like that but it never got old. They were so alike, and I was the odd one out.

Having fun wasn’t something I had time to do. It wasn’t something I allowed myself to do. Not when life was so difficult and serious. I preferred to stick firmly to reality instead of having short-lived moments of happiness. In my world, there was no point in being happy.

“Hmmph,” Nathan snorted, then lowered his voice. “So, uh, he’s not up yet?”

I shook my head, knowing very well that he was referring to Dad.

Nathan slumped back in his chair, his hands balling up into fists as he released the cup of coffee. “Guess he won’t be going to work then. That’s so typical of him. Why the hell should he care if you and Anna get fed or not, as long as he has a bottle of rum to himself at the end of the day?”

My throat felt dry when I swallowed. I knew Nathan wasn’t intentionally trying to make me feel bad, but the reality of the situation always killed a tiny part of me.

Day by day, the situation eroded away at me. The situation eroded me. Eventually, I would become a soulless, mindless shell of a person, only existing until this life was over. Some days, I wished this life was over.