Page 1 of Anchored Love
Prologue
Everly
“Alright, girls.”Our mother picked up the remote control and clicked the movie off. The screen dimmed and went black. I pushed up off the soft, fuzzy black rug in the center of the family room, going to my knees and holding my hand out for my little sister, Jess. Sunday nights we kept to the same routine. A big dinner that we all sat together at the table for, and after we ate ice cream sundaes with all the sprinkles I could cover my treat in while watching one of the Disney classic cartoon movies. “Time to get those teeth brushed.”
“Can we watch one more?” Jess pouted, and Mom smiled, laying the romance novel she’d been reading on the end table. The cover had a man donning a kilt on the front, his wild long hair appearing to be blowing in the breeze. Sometimes I would sneak and read them even though Mom swore I was too young for them.
“Not tonight. It’s already past your bedtime.” She stood, running a hand through her bob cut honey blonde hair, matching my own in color. The front of her robe hung open, and she secured the satin sash around her waist, glancing toward the stairs with a look that said ‘move your butts’.
Jess folded her arms across her chest. “But you let Drake stay up this late.” She ended the complaint with a huff, pouting her soft pink lips with a hand resting on her hip. Her golden blonde pigtails bounced as she shook her head.
I knew better than to argue. Since the beginning of time our mother never allowed us to stay up late. Not for special occasions like holidays or birthdays. Not for Santa Claus. Not for the meteor shower that only come once in a lifetime. Not ever. We had a routine, and she wasn’t about to break it, always saying that children needed a structured routine.
“By royal decree of the King…” She nodded toward our father who happened to be snoring in the recliner with his glasses slipping down the slope of his nose. Hands folded on his stomach, he appeared dead to the world, but the worry lines etched on his forehead were a reminder of how stressed his job kept him. He had fallen asleep about ten minutes into the movie, and no one dared wake him from his slumber. “It’s time for pretty princesses to get their beauty rest.”
“Will you tell us a story?” I pushed, knowing she couldn’t deny the request. It was one thing she loved doing. I always thought it was because of the books she read, wanting us to get a small taste of her love for fiction. Really, the why didn’t matter. The fact that she did was all that stood out.
“Brush your teeth, and we’ll see.”
Jess and I trudged up the stairs to our bathroom, our matching blue silk nightgowns dragging on the floor. In the bathroom, my toes curled against the cool tile floor as we began our routine.
I grabbed our toothbrushes and the toothpaste while Jess climbed onto her step stool, unable to reach the sink on her own.
Sharing a sink with her sucked. My little sister always globbed toothpaste everywhere, missing her mouth and getting the gooey mess all over the sink. Unfortunately, I was the lucky one always stuck cleaning her mess, because if it wasn’t cleaned we both got in trouble. That was the tight ship our mother ran. And if something got broken or went missing, and no one confessed, all three of her children were punished for the deed. Sometimes I wished I were an only child, but I loved my brother and sister even if they drove me crazy. Especially my fart head brother. He always hogged the remote control on Saturday mornings wanting to watch boy cartoons that both Jess and I hated more than anything. He always played the age card and threatened to fart on us if we cried to Mom about anything. Sometimes he could be the worst.
I squeezed the sparkling blue gel on the bristles and handed the hot pink toothbrush to Jess. “Try to keep it in your mouth,” I grumbled, knowing it wasn’t going to happen. Any second blue goo would be all over the sink. I closed my eyes and shoved my toothbrush in my mouth.
“Mom, Ev is being bossy!”
My eyes snapped open. “Tattletale.” I bumped against her, and she fell to the floor with a thud.
“Ow,” she howled. “Look what you did.” Jess sniffled. The blue gel stuck to her left pigtail as her toothbrush hung from the tresses.
“I’m sorry.” I grinned, unable to bite back my giggle at how ridiculous she looked.
A crocodile tear slid down her pale pudgy cheek.
“We both know that didn’t hurt.” I rolled my eyes. Jess was such a baby sometimes. One little thing, and she’d always cry. Calling her a crybaby only got me into more trouble.
“Did too.” Her tongue darted out and her face pinched tight as she got up from the floor.
“Girls, be nice,” Mom cooed from the doorway as Jess got back up on the stool. “You’re not acting very princess like.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and brushed my teeth. I wanted to yell about how I shouldn’t have to share everything with Jess. It was unfair. Sometimes she still wet the bed. Jess knew she wasn’t supposed to drink anything after six, but she did it anyway. She had trouble waking up to go. When Mom knew she had drinks past her time, she tried to come in to wake her to go, but sometimes she would be too late.
“Come here, Jess.” Mom called and fawned over her getting the paste out of her hair. At least I had the sink to myself for the moment. She wet a washcloth and then wiped the gel out. “There’s my pretty girl.”
I rinsed and spit then moved out of the way. Mom grabbed a hairbrush and had me sit on the toilet lid while she got the tangles out of my hair. Jess shot me a mean look and started over brushing her teeth.
We finished in the bathroom and climbed into bed. The top bunk was mine since I was older. Jess tried to sleep up here, but Mom always told her no. It was nice being the oldest. Also I didn’t want the bed wetter sleeping over top of me. No way. Snuggling deep into my dark purple blankets, I waited for Mom to tuck us in for the night.
“Ewww.” My face scrunched, brows knitting together as the hideous smell hit my nostrils. “Jess farted.” I didn’t want to share a room with her and absolutely hated it. I always wanted my own, but Mom said that one day I’d miss having my sister so close. I didn’t believe her. I’d been happy to kick Jess out and decorate the way I wanted. Not to mention when I wanted to have sleepovers I wasn’t allowed to exclude Jess and had to share my friends with her. It wasn’t fair. They weren’t here to play with the crybaby, but if we ignored her, she’d go tattle and snot facing about me to Mom, and then I’d get yelled at.
Mom shared a room with her sister and loved it, but just because she enjoyed doing so didn’t mean I did. Jess always bothered my stuff and left her toys in the floor. She never cleaned up after herself and always left me to do it. I always had extra chores because of my little sister. She got away with everything because she was the baby of the family.
Jess giggled underneath me from her hot pink unicorn and rainbow print covers.
“Everly, princesses don’t say fart,” Mom chastised, pressing her full soft lips to my forehead. Of course I’d be the one to get in trouble for this. Not Jess. I was the one suffering from her smelly butt. Mom shouldn’t have fed her popcorn. It always gave her gas.
