A Day to Remember

Storm clouds gathered outside of my window, and the first sign of rain was made evident by the small droplets landing quietly on the glass. It soon began to pour and of course thunder and lightning followed. The sound comforted me. It made me think of a time and place when life was good, and all was simple. I rolled over in bed to find Rhyan curled up in my blankets fast asleep, once again. For the past week or so, I made sure not to bring anyone home with me, because somehow I knew that she would wind up there, in my bed, curled up in my blankets, asleep. She was far more important than getting laid anyway. Not to mention that I had been planning something very special for the day, and I didn't want anything to spoil it, whether that be girls in bed or a lack of sleep due to nightmares. I leaned over to gently kiss her forehead, and check the time. I knew she hadn't been sleeping well, so I didn't want to wake her. It was still early but I wanted to get our day started the right way, so I thought I'd make breakfast. I slipped out of bed, out of my room, down the hall and into the kitchen without a sound. All those years of sneaking out and breaking in sure came in handy. I promptly decided that pancakes was the way to go, and began making them from scratch, the Thatcher way; meaning they were impossibly delicious and full of chocolaty goodness. As I got started, I figured a little music wouldn't be a bad thing, so I turned on the radio in the kitchen; keeping the volume down to where only I could hear it. I was singing along to Mumford and Sons, as well as dancing when I heard Rhyan sit down at the bar behind me. I placed her coffee mug in our Keurig and pressed the button for it to brew.
"I like hearing you sing. It's been so long since I've heard your voice that I almost forgot what it sounded like." She said softly, and so, I put on a show. I started dancing wildly and singing louder as I flipped pancakes. Finally they were finished and I topped them off with whipped cream and busted out our favorite syrups, strawberry and chocolate. I handed her the plate full of decadent chocolate chocolate chip pancakes and her coffee mug with an enthusiastic TA-DA! She giggled and clapped her hands like she was a kid again, and seeing her smile made my heart soar. I would give anything to see my sister smile.
"My favorite!" She squealed as she poured on the chocolate syrup.
When she took a bit she started to talk with her mouth full, "Oh. My. God. You've out done yourself. Just when I thought the famous Thatcher pancakes couldn't get any better- you proved me wrong!"
I laughed and let her continue eating, filling her plate with more per her request until she slumped over on the bar.
"Full?" I laughed.
She nodded in response and sat up to take a sip of her coffee.
"What are your plans for today?" I asked.
She was still drinking her coffee, so she shook her head slightly.
"Good, because I declare today to be....." I began to drumroll on the bar, "Thatcher Siblings Day Out! When you're done go get dressed, but be advised. It is raining " She simply smiled and began to clear her dishes.
"No, no Miss Thatcher," I said, taking her dishes from her. "I said go get dressed. "
She gave me a funny look and then headed off to her room.
Half an hour later she emerged, and we were off.
Since it was indeed raining, I decided on bowling for our first stop. Now, if there is one thing to know about the Thatcher's , specifically about Rhyan and I, it's that we are highly competitive. Highly, meaning that things could get ugly, fast. However, seeing that I planned the day for the sole purpose of making my sister happy, I went prepared to swallow my pride and throw a few games, but not so many as to create suspicion. I was, after all, the champion Thatcher.
The bowling alley that I chose was far enough away from all Soc hangouts, and this bowling alley had just been renovated and was now decked out in neon and black lights. It reminded me of a club I would frequent in Cali.
I let Rhyan choose the lane, and it became obvious very quickly that we were both rusty on our bowling skills. So I put up the bumpers on our lane, telling her it would be our little secret. Even with the bumpers, she still beat me 3/5 times.
I finally decided I had had enough, and we moved to phase 2, indoor go-karts. This was something I was extremely confident about. I had been racing for as long as I could remember, so I had to make sure I got the best kart possible. Apparently, Rhyan didn't like that it took me so long to decide, because she started yelling at me to hurry. I made my decision, and we got ready. When the light turned green, I was off. She was nowhere insight, I was so far ahead. We went around the track a few times, and I had to let her win twice to even the score. Poor thing, she tried so hard. On our last go around, she told me she was done, and began to pout.
"Putt-Putt?" I asked and she nodded enthusiastically.
At that point, we were both tied 5 and 5, but I knew that we were both exceptional putt putters and this would make or break the score before lunch time. We decided on 1 game before lunch, because the indoor course was huge. It was like none I had ever seen before. It took us a good hour and a half to get through it, and it was close, but she won. So during lunch, she talked trash about winning, while I kept a big smile on my face. I hated losing, but if this was making her happy, I didn't care. When our lunch was finished, we made our way to laser tag, because pretending like its a real life call of duty where you get to shoot at your sibling and snotty nosed kids is the way to go. Despite the fact that Rhyan was tiny and good at hiding, I was even better at being sneaky and finding her. Causing me to win all three games of laser tag, putting me ahead by two. Now 8 to 6, the only thing left to do was play arcade games. At some point we overheard a group of guys hovering over a pool table talking trash, so we decided we would go for a joint effort and do a bit of hustling. They didn't seem to like that very much, but it was a definite win for us. That's when I told Rhyan to pick a place to eat, call in what she wanted and we would get it to go. She hesitated, but obeyed. When we got the food, I drove her out to the lake. I had a picnic blanket in the trunk of my car, and I laid it out on the ground, cranked up the radio in my car, and presented Rhyan with the "reigning Thatcher" award before eating dinner.

The sun was already starting to set by the time we finished up, and I got an idea. I cleaned off the blanket and put everything away, then I turned the radio up even louder. A song she knew was playing, and she began to hum along. I grabbed her arm and started to swing dance with her. It had been a while since I had done a more formal dance but I got the hang of it fairly quickly. She just laughed and smiled. Then I decided to ask her what I had been meaning to for a while.

"So, about you and Dallas." I said
She looked down and grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah?"

"Is that an official thing?"

She laughed, "Well, yeah."

"For how long?" I inquired.

"Since you disappeared with Audrey and wound up in the hospital." She got quiet., and I knew why. I felt guilt and shame come over me.

"Oh... Were you ever going to tell me?"

She thought for a moment. "I guess I just didn't really think about it. It all happened really fast. I, I really like him, Owe." She was looking down, and I could hear her voice cracking. I placed my finger under her chin and tilted her head back so I could see her eyes.

"No, it's more than that.... You love him, don't you?"

She met my gaze, eyes welled up with tears, and nodded. I didn't know what else to do but smile.

"I just wish I didn't have to find out from Jax," I laughed. "I have to admit though, I didn't like it at first, but after seeing the way he reacted with the .... Bob, thing..... I realized how much he cared for you. He earned my respect, and what you need is someone to take care of you because we both know that I've done a shit job so far..." I paused, choking back tears. "Rhyan, you're an amazing person. I'm sorry I haven't paid you the attention you deserve. I'm happy that you're happy, and that you finally have someone to take care of you instead of the other way around. However, if he breaks your heart I will gladly kick his ass." I stated. She said nothing, but threw her arms around my neck. I just stood there, holding my little sister tightly in my arms, cherishing the moment.
"I love you, Rhye."
"I love you too." She whispered.
That's when the sound of a motorcycle grew louder and Dallas appeared. She just looked at me. When he came to a stop I greeted him. "Right on time." I said. I turned to Rhyan. "Enjoy. The house is all yours."
She eagerly jumped onto the back of his motorcycle, but before driving away, said said thank you and hugged me again.

Once they were gone, I sat alone on the hood of my car for a bit, listening to the radio. I was content and reveling in my successful endeavor to please my sister.
Then, my phone interrupted my deep thoughts, when a text from Two-Bit came through inviting me to their house. I thought it might be nice to spend some time with everyone, so I got in my car and drove to the Mathews'.

I had just arrived and walked through the door when everyone was heading into the kitchen. That's when I saw what everyone was gawking at. Audrey was yelling at Soda, who had apparently just told her about Hunter and Jelly. She started to bawl, pushed her way out of the room and ran upstairs. Everyone quickly left, but I wanted to make sure she was okay.

I heard her screaming as I walked up the stairs to her room. Upon opening the door, she stopped. An uncontrollable desire to hold her and comfort her arose, and before I could stop myself, I had my arms wrapped around her tightly. That's when I saw the empty syringe in her hand.
She left it fall to the floor as she turned to face me.
"Audrey, where did you get that heroin?" I asked, now supporting all of her weight because her knees buckled.
I managed to hear her muffled answer before she began to cry into my shoulder. "You." She said.
She must have taken it from my room. I was concerned for her. Heroin could be extremely dangerous and while I reckless threw away my life, she had a lot more ahead of her than I did. Suddenly, she kissed me. I jerked back in surprise, but she persisted, placing her mouth forcefully against mine and slipping her tongue into my mouth. She had a fist full of my hair and pressed her hips into mine. How could I resist? So, I picked her up and eased her down onto the bed. I didn't waste any time. It almost felt like a dream. I slid off her pajama bottoms and lacy underwear, then pulled off her sports bra. Leaving her naked in front of me. When I tried to step back and admire her, she pulled me by the belt loops of my pants, back on top of her. She shifted her weight and flipped me over to the bottom. Soon I was naked as well. She straddled me on the bed, and at long last, I received that which I so desperately wanted to possess.