Episode 1 :oh brother

"But why?"

I hated how whiny my voice sounded but honestly , I was whining.

"Because River... you can't be there anymore and you know it . it's time for you to come here with me, let me take care of you . you're only seventeen and even though I know you're fully capable of being alone , legally it's another story..."

My brother . Always worried about his little sis ter. expect I had been finding myself for years he just didn't realise it . I considered its my job to take care of him too . even it that mean shielding him from the truth.

Jackson was in military, stationed in some small town on the coast of North Carolina while I was still in Chicago with our dad who was slowly becoming less and less human , grambling and drinking both of our lives away. The bank would take our house any day, it was a matter of time

"okay Jackson, where do I live ?"

I sighed in defeat..I could already picture him sitting on his couch with his laptop propped up on his legs while his fingers itched to a book a flight to protect the only family he had left . My brother had a soft spot that I just did not possess. He got that from our mom, I was certain.

"I'm calling your school tomorrow and having your transcripts sent here , and overnight the rest of the paperwork to the caseworker , so hopefully you will be on the plane in few days .These schools here are better anyway, Riv.. you're too smart for the place you are at now"

He wasn't wrong . My Highschool sucked . The students too ,all except one . I wouldn't miss that place one bit . I couldn't say I would miss anything about this place in general. Jackson

had been filling out the paperwork for my guardianship for months. I probably should have been more upset over the situation but I wasn't. I'd know for a while that one way or another I'd end up with Jackson , now it was just official . A small spark ignited inside me at the idea of starting over.

"I love you , Riv. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Love you too , jack."

I grabbed my mp3 player off of my dresser., cranked up Gorillaz , and let the music drown out my problems for a while. After Almost an hour of nothing but music full my mind , I reluctantly pulled my earbuds out. I walked out of my room and down the hall to kitchen in search of dinner. on my way I found my dad sleeping on his recliner. The lines on his face looks more deeper somehow and his hair was almost gray. I loved my dad , I truly did but I think he died the day my mom did . He was never the same man and I didn't even know if I could blame him for it. My mom was his lifeline and that was the only thing about him that had always been clear. I inadvertently found out other things about him along the way . Like his grambling addiction for example . I narrowed my eyes at his sleeping form and suddenly , I was annoyed . I turned on my heels and continued my hunt

I swung the pantry open , it was bate as usual

but the peanut butter had never let me down. After a grabbed the tub and the spoon I went back to my room. I must have fallen asleep with my face in my American history book because it was awkward serving it as a pillow. I lifted my head and peeled my face from the page and hoped the words from the Western Expansion chapter permanently printed on my cheeks.

Sometimes people would come to pay a visit to my dad . Scary people. I could only assume it was for the money that he owned. That was the main reason Jackson don't want me to stay there anymore. He was terrified that something may happened to me because of our dad's bad habits.

It was then I took a moment to listen to my dad's word and I realised he was talking about me

"You can take her from me . She's my daughter."

Jackson must have called him . I had been waiting for this conversation for a long time , now I could only swallow my heart back down to where it belonged

"Yeah...Yes, Jackson..I know."

I could practically hear my brother's words on the other line scolding our dad . Dad knew he wasn't in any position taking care of me but it wasn't in his nature to give you so easily

But the facts were simple . The state had already been aware of our situation and my brother was far more capable of taking care of me , even though I didn't need to be taken care. But in the eyes of law I was still a child

I took a deep breath and went for a shower to refresh myself and went to kitchen to grab some water . when I came back to my room I saw dad sitting on my bed. I couldn't recall the last time when he came to my room.

"Dad!" I grasped and jumped back

"I didn't mean to scare you."

He rubbed his palm over his pants

I didn't said anything so he pinched the bridge of my nose and said

"I'm sure you've spoken to your brother."

I nodded

"you'll be better off there, River . You deserve an actual life..and I'm in no state to give you all that. I'm sorry this took to long for me to figure it out"

"okay"

He closed the space between us, leaned down,and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. i

didn't move a muscle out of shock and he walked out of my room...I knew without another thought that it was more than likely the last time that I would see him .

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