adpcrp-blog

[adpcrp-blog]

He quirked an eyebrow and rolled his eyes, "What, you want a DNA test? Because I'll do it. Not that I have 600 dollars to spare on it. I could call up mom and get her to relay the story for you if you'd like."

That was a jibe, and he hoped she knew it. Samantha had told him all about her mistrust and hate for her. Mathew had always been better with her than Alice had, he knew. It wasn't that hard to be, with his sister plotting their mothers death in her sleep.

"What can I do to prove it to you, then?" He took a big sip of the beer and swished it around his mouth before swallowing, setting the cold drink on the coffee table, perspiration dripping down and forming a ring on the table.

This wasn't what he wanted.

He had spent countless days looking at the prints of her face on his wall. She was his sister. He was a stranger.

Mathew’s eyes flashed open, seconds before his alarm clock rang. 6 am. His muscles pulled taut underneath his skin as he stretched, feeling the tension leave his body as he slowly clambered up from the bed and onto his feet, padding barefoot into the kitchen of his small apartment.

The walls…

[adpcrp-blog]

Mathew wasn't sure what to expect when he walked out of his apartment that morning - a part of him hoped she would recognize him, not that they'd ever met before. He'd constantly heard about people who saw their siblings and just knew.

Obviously this wasn't the case.

Alice - his baby sister - stared at him with the polite confusion of a stranger. He merely stood there, hearing the words echo back throughout his skull. 'I don't have a brother'.

"Yes," He said slowly, willing her with his eyes to believe him, to just see it, "You do, actually. A step-brother, anyways. Mathew Strive, born of Samantha Starr and Daniel Strive. You're Alice Rue Starr, right?" He asked, but he didn't need to - his house was decorated in photos of her. He'd recognize even if he were blindfolded.

Nevertheless, he followed her into the aparment, noting that it was nearly identical to his, minus the pictures. She had the bare minimum, ratty and worn out, like their two trucks. Matt looked at her almost expectantly, propping his chin on the palm of his hand.

"I know this could come as a bit of a shock, considering that you didn't think you had any family besides your - our - mother,  but we really are related. I'm your brother, Al." In his mind, the two of them were past the confusion, on their way to becoming more brother/sister-ly, then to friends who occasionally got into arguments, because they really were still related and thats what siblings did, right?

The awkward silence hung over the two of them, thick as a wet blanket. The two merely stared at each other, until Mathew coughed slightly, raising his eyebrows, "I'll take that beer now."

Mathew’s eyes flashed open, seconds before his alarm clock rang. 6 am. His muscles pulled taut underneath his skin as he stretched, feeling the tension leave his body as he slowly clambered up from the bed and onto his feet, padding barefoot into the kitchen of his small apartment.

The walls…

[adpcrp-blog]

home is where the heart is

Mathew's eyes flashed open, seconds before his alarm clock rang. 6 am. His muscles pulled taut underneath his skin as he stretched, feeling the tension leave his body as he slowly clambered up from the bed and onto his feet, padding barefoot into the kitchen of his small apartment.

The walls throughout his house were filled with photos - different places, different times, different people, all except one.

He touched the pad of his index finger to a particular photo hanging up. It's edges were rough and warn away by fingerprints. In the center stood a girl, mid-twenties, with dark blonde hair. She was laughing at something a man beside her was saying. Mathew had followed the two of them for months, trying to gauge their relationship. So far, he'd had no luck.

But as he told himself every day waking up - today would be different. Today he would confront his sister, and take her back to their mother. Samantha always seemed worried whenever Mathew brought her up. She always said Alice would go crazy or that she didn't know what she was getting into.

So Mathew would be the kind of big brother everyone wants, and he was going to go get her.

He swiped his keys off the counter and bounded down the stairs, nodding politely to his neighbours, asking them how their morning was, if he could get them anything from the store, etc. They laughed and shooed him on his way.

He was outside and in his car before he thought to reply. 

Turning the keys in the ignition, he followed the winding road down to Alice's apartment, checking off the roadmap in his head as he did. He'd spent many a nights staked out in front of her door, under his mother's orders as much as his own.

He had to watch out for his baby sister.

It wasn't hard to find a parking space for his pickup truck - the lot was mostly empty, save for a few cars and a rusted blue truck, almost identical to his own. Alice was definitely home.

He started to climb up the steps, one by one. Every step he took, a mantra went off in his head: Alice, Alice, Alice, until the thoughts were rocketing off the inside of his skull and it was all he could think about.

Before he knew it, he was at the door, knocking on it in even, confident strokes. It took a few moments for her to answer, and when she did, he merely stared. It was different seeing her right in front of him rather than down the road.

Summoning up his strength, he squared his shoulders.

"Alice? It's Mathew. I'm your brother."