“Go back to our parents.”

“I’m very sorry, young master. But they aren’t here.’ Ms. Julia had to give the unpleasant news as soon as I walked into the manor that was supposed to be my home, climbing up the huge spiralling staircase stemming to three floors above, it was unbelievable. “Your father is on a business trip.”

“Apparently.” I had to mutter. Got to admit, Ms. Julia, the stout handmaid, was quite the kindest and warmest of all the stuck-up maids who worked around here. But I couldn’t deal with the fact that she had to turn into my messenger, exchanging news about the dos or whereabouts of my parents. “What about mother?” I asked her.

“She’s… at a dinner with her colleagues.”

I sighed. “Mother’s still there?”

“There were some matters she had to deal with at the company.”

“While knowing about the tough day I’d been through?”

“You already know that. They wished you good luck for your match! That’s more than enough!”

“But why wouldn’t they bother to come?”

 “What are you talking about? Of course, they would want to. They were just… busy! Obviously!” Ms. Julia exclaimed enthusiastically, her expression in great conflict with what I was feeling, dead inside.

“It’s okay, young master. I’m sure they’ll make time for you. I promise.” She smiled her sugary smile and strutted off to complete her evening chores.

‘What b*llsh*t.’ Ms. Julia might be faithful and trustworthy, but that wasn’t a promise she was going to be able to keep, I’d promise that myself. My parents had drastically changed ever since their supposed new business sparked up. They were never at home, they were never physically or mentally or even emotionally there for me and dear Carrie. They probably never had enough rest, food or any of that sort for themselves either. Just working, working, working non-stop. We barely saw each other anymore. I was beginning to worry about this. I was beginning to worry sick about them.

I shook my head and lazily went up the stairs, the very soles of my feet were profusely throbbing like hell.

But it was the silence that bugged me the most, Carrie never lets me inside without tackling me and eventually holding on to me as tight as a koala until I walked up to my room.

And I did just that without her. It felt strange. Really strange that I actually considered giving the door to her room that was right next to mine a firm knock, receiving no response. I barged in instead.

And there she was, my little princess, all cuddled up next to the bottom of her bed. A light sob filled the room, followed by a hiccup as she realized I was there. She immediately uncurled herself from the heap that she made and ran towards me, her eyes glistening with tears.

“Corey!” She cried.

“Care? Are you, all right?”

She tilted her head side by side and wrapped her tiny arms around me. I always thought that she was considerably smaller than normal kids her age. She was barely six years old. But she surprisingly looked and behaved like any child much younger than that. She began to whimper against me.

“What is it, Care?”

She shook her head again.

I pulled her head back from me, caressing her tear-stained cheeks as I wiped away her tears and stared into her reddened eyes, contrasting with the light blue in her irises. “Tell me, what’s wrong?”

Her head quivered again, even more vigorously this time.

“It’s ok. You can tell me. You can tell your bro anything.”

She continued to resist.

But she decided to say something anyway.

“I missd you.” She snivelled.

Oh, that was why she was sulking. But… to the point of crying?

“Missed me? I missed you too, sis. But I come back home every day, why would you miss me?”

“I thot yor never comin bak!”

“What? Who told you that?”

“Juli!” That was a name she gave Ms. Julia, they had grown considerably close. But why would she say to Care that I would never come back?

“You must be mistaken. Maybe she meant I won’t be back early.”

“Reely?”

“Well, I’m here.”

She sniffed, nodded and detached from me, agreeing to my statement. Whatever Ms. Julia might have told her had been erased from her mind.

“Hav u ayt diner?” she suddenly asked when she turned back to normal.

“Not yet.”

She jumped up and down in excitement, “I’ll tel juli tu mayk yor fav!” Carrie then proceeded to sprint out the room and down the stairs.

I followed her out, watching her. As soon as she disappeared from the bottom of the stairs, I made my way into my room.

There’s nothing to say to really describe what the room looked like. It seemed and smelled like any other luxurious bedroom you can find. Almost like a hotel room. It never truly felt at home.

But I flicked on the lights anyway and slumped myself onto the bed, before doing that though I dropped the two bags I carried with me beside it on the carpeted floor. I rested there for a bit and later decided to swarm into the bathroom and take a quick shower.

I immediately went downstairs after donning on a simple t-shirt and jeans, finding Carrie already waiting for me at the dining room located beneath the staircase, a variety of cuisines placed in front of her as she jumped on her seat.

“Corey!” She screamed excitedly.

This was how my days had normally gone by. Me just being the normal teenager I could be and Carrie being the kid she had always been. There was never a day we would pass by without smiling, at least for a split second. Because we had each other. Even though Mother and father weren’t always with us, they were working. They were providing for us. They were striving hard to achieve survival. That was enough to make us smile ourselves. But I hope that one day, we might get the chance to spend time with each other again as a true family.

All that hope crashed down into the quarry abyss of the miserable pit that formed a hole inside our lives and tarnished every single good memory we had ever made.

That was when our family fell apart. That was when it shattered into a million unsolvable pieces. That was when our lives took several surprising turns.

It was in the following week that it happened, when our parents suddenly disappeared, they never came back home.

The events that had occurred were enough to set us off course. Straying us straight into a completely different path, away from the comfort and safety of family. At least Carrie and I still had each other after the disparity.

But that didn’t last longer until…