It’s Friday my lovelies and we have made it through the first week of prompts, well all save one. Are you ready for it? Good, then set those timers and lets see what we can come up with to round out the week.
Okay this has the potential to be super creepy. Just need to think about some details. This might be a lunch time project.
Friday, January 5th: “Am I interrupting?”
“Am I interrupting?” he asked.
Cheryl looked up. On the table in front of her was an open textbook and a notebook. She set the pen down and flexed her fingers. Liam clearly knew the answer to his question but smirked at her with mock concern as he walked in. Cheryl knew that calling him on it would only drag the matter out. Liam clearly had something he wanted to say and decided that now was the time to do it.
‘My hand could use a rest anyway,’ she decided as she stretched her fingers.
“What is it you need?” She asked instead of answering his question. He frowned slightly, wanting the confrontation that she avoided.
“I’m going to need this space for me and my friends later,” he said. “They are coming over and the living room is too crowded so we are going to need to be here where we can spread out.”
“What time?” she asked. Cheryl knew she could protest and give him the fight he wanted. She knew from experience that if she did he would argue and then end the argument by calling their mother and that she would take his side. It would cost her time and still she would end up leaving the study space their childhood playroom became for Liam and his friends.
“Ten minutes,” He said triumphantly. He smirked. Cheryl nodded and began gathering her things.
“That’s not a problem is it?” he asked trying to goad her.
Cheryl shrugged off the irritation. “No,” she replied. He frowned but there was nothing he could say. He got what he asked for.
Cheryl crammed the last of her things into her bag and slung it over her body cross wise. Her shoes had been kicked off while she studied and she slipped them on her feet. Liam stepped to the side as she moved to the door. She could still see him calculating, trying to find the best way to get her to argue with him.
Cheryl fought back a sigh as she moved through the door and down the hall. She picked up her purse with her keys inside and then continued downstairs and out the front door. As she walked down the side walk, heading towards the library where she expected she would be able to finish her homework and test preparation in private, she thought about Liam.
Lately he was getting worse. He had always been the favorite child. She was aware her father wanted a boy to carry on the family name and other traditions and that he had little use for a daughter. Her mother too thought she was a disappointment. Liam was the one they wanted and the one they favored. While he always accepted this as his due, lately his need to have it validated had grown. Lately he wasn’t happy with just getting what he wanted, he wanted people to suffer in the giving. She was his most frequent target and the reason she was so rarely at home these days.
But it had been causing other problems lately for him as well. There were more parent teacher conferences than before and more disciplinary notes sent home. She wasn’t sure what was going on with him lately but soon it would not be her problem. Once this last test was passed, she would be done and would be moving out. Her plan was to move as far away as possible and never look back.
Ten til Midnight 