Page 12 of The Darkest Note

Grabbing my towel from the rack, I wrap it around myself and then feel my way through the dark. The bathroom doesn’t have any windows so all I’ve got to guide me is memory.

“Ow!” I stub my toe on something. Peering down, I feel around the object. “What is the scale doing here?” I grumble. “Viola.”

Feeling helpless, irritated and close to tears, I wrench the bathroom door open and come face to face with a blinding light. I throw up my hands to save my eyeballs just as that someone turns the flashlight on herself.

I spy ghostly pale skin, dark hair falling messily, and lips dripping in blood.

I let out a glass-shattering scream.

A familiar yelp rattles my ears in return.

When I realize it’s my sister, I snap my mouth shut. “Vi, what happened to your face?”

“I wasmidmakeup routine when the lights cut!” She huffs, stomping to punctuate her dismay. “Didn’t you pay the electric bill?”

“Rick said he’d handle it this month.” I take her phone from her and lead the way to the kitchen.

“And youbelievedhim?” Her crazy, made-up face has ‘are you stupid?’ stomped all over it.

The tears that had been dutifully making their way to my eyeballs are halted by a wave of embarrassment. It’s one thing to know I messed up, but to be called out by a thirteen year old is another level of horrifying.

I take the responsibility of being an older sibling very seriously. Everything I’ve done since Vi was born has been to shield her from the harsh realities of our life.

I don’t want her to become as jaded as I am. I want her to be free. To have a normal childhood, one that was nothing like mine.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” I say, rummaging around the kitchen drawers for the candles.

Mrs. Dorothy, our elderly next door neighbor, gave me a few. She makes candles as a side-hustle to help feed her three grandchildren. Her daughter got pregnant at sixteen, twenty, and twenty-one and then she dipped, leaving all the kids with her ailing mom.

I bet mom would have done that too if our grandmother hadn’t died of heartbreak and disappointment first.

“How are you going to do that?” Viola demands.

“That’s not your problem to worry about,” I answer back in a firm tone.

Grabbing a match box, I strike the match against it. The flames spark to life. Such a tiny flicker and yet the darkness lessens instantly, as if it can’t handle the heat.

“Do you want me to talk to him?” Viola presses. “After mom died, he hasn’t been around.”

Pain knifes me in the gut, but I hide it quickly. “All you need to do is focus on your homework.” I reach out and smear my thumb across the mess on her bottom lip. “Stop wasting time with makeup tutorials.”

“It’s not wasting time. Once I go viral, I’m going to rake in a ton of money and buy us a mansion.” She tips her chin up, eyes sparkling with all the hope of a thirteen year old with a dream.

I’m only five years older than her, but I can’t help the weariness I feel when I see her fresh-faced enthusiasm.The world is going to knock that right out of you, Vi.

Hell, I could do it myself. But, like the plucky little flame that stands alone in the darkness, I want to protect her light for as long as possible.

I draw closer to my sister and tug at her hair. “Fine. A mansion sounds nice.”

“Right?” She smiles prettily.

“You can do all the makeup filming and beauty vlogging you want, but make sure your homework’s done first.”

“How am I supposed to do my homework in the dark?”

I tap the table where the lone candle is sitting. “Right here. It’s just for tonight. The power will be back on soon. Think of it as a…” I drum up a smile, “camping adventure. Huh? How cool is this?”

“Unbelievable.” She rolls her eyes, but a tiny smile plays at the corner of her lips.