Brent's eyes opened. He was in another place, but this time it was very familiar. Same roof, same walls, and same bedding that he was laying on. A sudden hit of realization came. He's back on the pull-out. In the Mirandas' home.
His hand immediately went to grasp his little sister's, who he expected was sleeping soundly. Again, he felt nothing but sheets.
The gears on his mind had already begun to turn and grind, confusion taking over his expression. The kidnapping, the men, the blow to his neck. Was it real?
He sat up straight in haste, turning his head in search. Receiving a short whiplash from the action.
The boy had locked his sight on Winchestein, she was sitting on the table with the family. With steaming hot plates of bacon and eggs prepared. He let out a huge sigh of assurance, her tiny voice spoke up.
"Goomornim B!!" She yelled with the biggest smile.
"Ah, goodmorning sleepyhead." Andrew followed up.
"Come on! Breakfast!" Mrs. Miranda beckoned him over, a plate stacked high with pancakes on her hand.
The savory aroma had reached the boy's nose. Causing his stomach to rumble, and it was enough to drag him on his feet.
As Brent began to walk off, he felt a mental flick on the side of his head. He noticed the messy pile of pillows and blankets, making an effort to tidy it up.
Once he was done he went and sat on an empty seat next to his sister.
In front of him was a big plate of two stacked pancakes, bacons and some scrambled eggs.
Andrew was already munching on his share, as his sister is too.
The boy was very hesitant about even touching the plate, it looked so good that he didn't know if he should eat any. He picked up the utensils and began digging in.
The first piece that he ate, he wasn't sure if that was even food. It tasted so good unlike what he's made for his family, so he took another bite.. and another.. and he's completely hooked.
Mr. Miranda chuckled at the youngster's behaviour, turning to look at his watch. Making him spit out his cup of coffee.
"Shoot-" The man pushed his chair back and quickly gave his wife a peck and ruffling his hair. "Gotta go to work, hun."
"Take care, hun!" The woman waved him off with Andrew. "Bye dad."
Brent watched as the husband walked out of the door, chewing on his food. Hearing a click in his mind. Work.
He knew that they'd have to leave this family's home soon, but not without something that would keep them afloat out there, at least enough money while he finds a better job.
His chewing had slowed down and now in deep thought, gulping down the food. Turning to the woman for a question.
"Ma'am.. can I leave Winchestein here for a bit?" He waited for her response.
"Oh sure! Why, dear? Are you going somewhere?" Mrs. Miranda wiped her mouth with a tissue.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be back in a few hours though.." The boy dug back into his plate.
Andrew stood up and grabbed his and his mom's dishes to put in the kitchen sink. Starting the faucet to wash them. Brent called out from the table.
"Hey, I'll wash the dishes before I leave!" He said, Andrew turning his head to him.
"You sure, dude?" The older asked back, seeing a nod from the other.
"Yeah, my turn." Brent smiled at him.
He switched his attention to his sister who now had an empty plate. "You should go back to the sofa, ask for some paper and crayon from Mrs. Miranda, okay?"
"Okay!" The child giggled and hopped off the chair and to the living room.
Brent soon finished his own plate and grabbed anything empty on the table and walked to where Andrew was, they swapped places and the boy began to wash while the dirty blonde was wiping the table clean.
Andrew had already finished but Brent was only halfway done.
"You sure you got that, buddy?" The grey clad teen chimed from the side.
"Yeah, I've got it." The redhead reassured but the older teen just stayed and began a light conversation between them
Once Brent was finished, he left the house with a lot of things to do. He went straight to the market for a quick job.
All of the people he striked a conversation with were acting weird, like they're treading on thin ice. He can hear most of them whispering to each other, he couldn't make out just what they were gossiping about.
He walked over to the sweet couple he knew and loved, they welcomed him with hugs and questions if he and Winchestein were okay, he was confused but answered nonetheless.
"You ready for work, little man?" Blake patted his back lightly.
"Yes sir!" The boy eagerly replied.
"Dear, please don't strain him." The worried woman reminds her husband.
"I know, hun!" He called back as they made their way to the couple's truck.
They began to lift up heavy boxes of food, Blake made sure not to give the kid anything too heavy.
Mrs. Ramirez needed help at the stall with the wave of customers so the redhead went and helped her.
The rest of the day went by fast, but he learned that the usual vendors and customers caught wind of his family's situation. Everyone was pitiful, in honesty he did not like any of it but he appreciated everyone worrying about him and his sister.
The boy did his best to refuse most of the horde of sympathetic gifts from people, a few had practically got him to feel bad when he didn't want to take it.
The Ramirez couple was more careful and wary of the boy, not wanting to strain him but he assured them that he could do anything just like yesterday.
They held him back from too many tasks and he noticed. He didn't say anything about it, just doing what they asked him to do.
Brent went on the trail back to the Miranda's.. feeling all-over-ish.
His gaze was on the ground, he had his 'pay' for today. The boy didn't realize the path he was taking and had stopped infront of their home.
He realized where he had ended up. Not bothering to say anything. He just stared at the empty house longingly. The boy decided to go inside, going under the yellow tape that was across their porch.
He slowly walked from the living room and to the bedroom. As painful as it was, he wanted to see if it was all true.
Their bed was empty, the crumbled sheets stayed from where his mother laid lifeless. His eyes welled up again, accepting the fact that it wasn't all in his imagination. He looked away and to the closet, he needed to get clothes for him and his little sister. And so he did.
The boy left with a big backpack full of clothing and some gifts, he went back to the home of the Mirandas. This time, keeping track of where he was going.
Eventually, he reached his destination and knocked before entering. He was welcomed by Winchestein who ran up for a hug, he gladly returned.
The mother and son were on the couch, the glass coffee table had papers with big notebooks and a book. Andrew was looking up from his phone and Mrs. Miranda had a pencil on hand.
"B!! Missus JiJi taught me maaf!" The little one excitedly tells him.
"Really? Wait, JiJi?" He looked up to the living room from his sister's bright eyes.
"Oh don't worry! I told her to call me JiJi, you should too!" She smiled at the siblings.
"Welcome back, where'd you go off to?" Andrew put away his phone and sat up from his lazy posture.
"Just got some stuff, and did errands." Brent shrugged it off and placed the backpack just next to the couch, grabbing a pair of clothes, his and Winchestein's. "Mrs. JiJi, Can we go take a quick shower?"
"Go ahead, towels are in the bathroom already, help yourselves!"
With just that, Brent let his little sister clean first before him. After both of their showers, the siblings began to help around the house.
The boy was watching Mrs. JiJi and learning from her cooking, orange chicken, assisting her with what she needed.
Jiji's husband had recently come back and was currently upstairs, Andrew was also in his room. He had invited the siblings to watch a movie with him but the both of them refused so they compromised to watch one after dinner.
Winchestein was preparing the table and taking her time, she was just enjoying herself with the organizing the plates, utensils, and cups.
The main dish was almost done cooking so they moved onto sides, the boy was taught to whip up a couple of scoops of rice.
Once everything was done cooking, they put the food on the table and called everyone downstairs.
Dinner was done and everyone was full, so the kids had gone to the couch to hang out and watch a movie or two until they all fell asleep.
This had continued on for two weeks and the days that have passed are similar to the previous ones..
Brent had finished saving up his hard-earned money. He knew that it was time to go. The two had packed up everything that they had needed and is thanking the family profusely. They were exchanging their goodbyes and the two teens had talked for a moment.
"Be careful out there, man. Okay?" Andrew squeezed his friend's shoulder and lightly shook it.
"We will, Drew." Brent chuckled and patted the older teen's arm. "We'll be okay."
"Take care of yourselves, visit us sometime alright?" Mr. Miranda joined in.
"Sweetie." Jiji started with Winchestein. "Don't forget the things I taught you, okay? Read the books." She swept the child's bangs to the side.
"Mmkay, Mrs. Jiji!" She waved with her tiny hand.
And with that, the siblings had left the Miranda's, and the town. Brent knew that people are after them, if they stay who knows what'll happen to them.
He never knew much about the city, but he will soon enough. He never liked the idea of living there, but he knew had to. Atleast for now.
After a few research before leaving, he had an idea of where to go and what to do. He found a very cheap and very tiny place with Andrew's help. They printed out a map of it.
They took a taxi into the city and got confused on where to go, probably got lost on the way. Winchestein was now very tired and he had to carry her on his back, the backpack on his chest.
Just as he was about to give up, the building was seen in the corner of his vision.
The siblings received strange looks from people in the streets and inside the building.
The woman in the front desk wasn't sure what to do with the kids and was about to kick them out so she called the manager and was able to talk it out despite the peculiar situation.
With most of his savings he was able to rent a very tiny apartment that looked more like a room for a whole month. Giving him enough time to look for a sustainable job.
They reached the apartment, rather the room they were to settle in. He scanned the tiny space. A small table with a tucked away single chair. The bathroom was only a few steps big, with just a faucet and a toilet.
Brent noticed that there was a single bed in the room. He checked it for bed bugs before letting Winchestein lay or even sit on it.
Just to be sure, he pulled out the sleeping bag that Mr. Miranda gave them. He cleaned out the floor and let Winchestein sit there, taking out her books.
"Winchestein? I need you to stay here okay? Don't open the door or anything for anyone. Just wait for me to come home alright?" The boy patted his sister's head softly.
"Okay.." The younger one nodded with a yawn.
Brent made sure that he had the spare key inside the old pair of shoes that Andrew gave him, just in case.
He locked the door and checked if it could be opened from outside, it wouldn't budge so that was a relief for him.
The teen left and was headed to a few nearby restaurants in mind, hoping to get a job as a dishwasher at least.
First and nearest restaurant, he was rejected immediately. Rowdy and rude staff, as soon as he entered the premises he was immediately asked to leave even before speaking.
Second one, just a few blocks away, someone was patient enough to hear him out. He was just told to come back tomorrow as the person was gonna talk to the one in charge.
Brent made the walk back to their new home with disheveled hope.
It was getting late and he knew that his sister was probably getting hungry, he didn't want her to sleep off the hunger. She deserved a nice warm meal. He'll get her one soon enough.
Back staring at their room's door, he took his key and entered. Winchestein was laying down on her stomach just tracing on her book.
"Hello! Welcome back!!" His sister waved from the floor.
Brent waves back with a smile and locks the door behind him. "Hey, you hungry?"
The child nodded happily and he chuckled at his prediction.
He took the filled backpack from under the bed, pulling out a pack of paper plates, plastic utensils, and a small packaged food.
As he was preparing his little sister's meal, he didn't really mind him not eating just so they could save up money.
Winchestein was now eating at the small table while her big brother was cleaning the rest of the room. Making the bed safe enough for them to sleep on.
They soon slept after her dinner.
Days have once again passed by and yet he still hasn't gotten a stable job. He has been rejected in the previous restaurant. The boy didn't know what was wrong, why the people just wouldn't accept someone to wash the dishes for them. So then he checked every other diners or just anything that could offer him work. Until, a staff member reminded him that he was too young to be employed.
It was exhausting him so much, they were running out of food and time was running out, he had to pay rent in less than 2 weeks.
So he racked his brain and started to knock every door in the apartelle and asked for anything to do for them. Some gave him a dollar just to take their trash out, and some even refused him. One gave him a surprise and told him to walk their dog for them, an hour for 10 dollars, each dog. He knocked on the remaining doors if they wanted him to walk their dogs for them and most dog-owners on the building had gladly accepted.
The dogs weren't too much as there were only 6 of them but he was finally earning money again, he just had to do it on a daily basis.
But it still wasn't enough. He barely earned enough for the month's rent. Winchestein was getting tired of just being alone that she'd cry whenever he took too long outside. The state of their food supply wasn't any better either. He only ate once per day and his little sister was eating twice as much as him.
They were barely living and the child would mention that she wanted to go home. He admits that he wanted to go back too but he knew that they can't. People are gonna look for them to pay their father's debt but they might receive nothing and he didn't want to know what would happen to them if so.
Few weeks have passed and they are on their last leg. Starved and tired. Winchestein didn't seem very happy anymore, she was just tolerating it now.
Everytime Brent came home from desperate job hunting, he'd only see his sister smiling sadly at him in greeting, still doing her best to cheer him up. It broke him.
He had started to think that maybe leaving was a mistake, that he was only too paranoid of what those men would do to them. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Maybe he was just afraid.
The boy walked home in despair on the same route, he was thinking the same thoughts. He approached their room and he saw something very concerning, the door was pried open.
The redhead pushed open the door so fast that it hit the wall and bounced back to him.
He didn't see anything else but just his little sister. In a pool of blood, not moving an inch. The poor boy rushed to her side and begged her to wake up. But to no avail.
Brent hated this, he didn't care if he was drenched in blood himself, he cradled the lifeless child in his arms. Brushing her hair to the side, trying to wipe away any blood off her face. He saw the source of the bleeding, her chest had a deep hole. She bled out in pain. She was suffering. He couldn't even be there to comfort her in her last moments.
He whimpered out her name. Begging her to wake up. Her big brother is here. He kept pleading. Hoping for a miracle. There weren't any.
He stayed with her for minutes. Cradling her while he cried his eyes out.
A few hours had passed, he was now on his own, having finished burying his own sister.
Brent looked at his own hands, roughed up with traces of dirt. Everything around him was falling apart, he fell onto his knees. He frantically looked around and panicked. All he did was scream. He screamed so much, he didn't care that his throat was killing him.
The boy jolted from the bed full of his own sweat, screaming bloody murder. Simon opened the door and was looking in annoyance from the teen's scream.
"You're finally awake."