These Four Walls

[buildingaspaceship]

(1x1 between @buildingaspaceship and @Devilsxlovelyxangel )

 

[buildingaspaceship]

In a religious suburban neighbourhood, where each family is the definition of perfection, not one family sticks out from the crowd. Not one, except maybe... One family is a little different, but not on the outside. When no one is watching, the family faces dramas that could potentially tear them apart, or exclude them permanently from the perfect life they wish to share with their neighbours, but to their neighbours faces they live the perfect and ideal life.


 
Samuel walked in through the back door, sneaking it shut and making sure that it didn't make too much noise. His parents would kill him for sneaking out in the first place, let alone coming back at the crack of dawn. It's not that he partied a lot, he rarely did party, but last night was an exception. The room was spinning, Samuel was still slightly high on something that he'd taken, and as he walked towards the hallway he hoped to God he wouldn't be caught like this. His parents would kill him for breaking these rules, and he fancied living for at least one more day. Just so he could get rid of the hangover which was already forming.


He walked up the stairs slowly, his hand on the banister to support himself and stop himself from falling down. He made sure to not stand on the creaky step, and soon he was at the top of the stairs, his hand resting against the wall as he took a moment. The hallway was spinning, but he had to get to his room before his parents suspected something. He inched along the hallway, before feeling the vomit coming up his throat. Panicking, he held a hand over his mouth and ran towards the bathroom which wasn't far. Sam bent over the toilet and, with his hands at either side of it, began to throw up. Loudly.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

Evangeline opened her bedroom door. It was one of those nights again. Her brother had come home late and she could already hear the sound of him throwing up.


She winced and walked towards the bathroom. "Ugh, how much did you drink this time, Sam?", she asked, leaning against the door frame.


Her brother rarely drank, but when he did, the amount is equal to that drunk by an entire town.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Sam whines and wipes the vomit away from his mouth with the back of his hand, and looks up at his sister. "Somewhere between at least the number 6 and the number 100. Somewhere." He rubs his eyes with the hand that didn't currently have vomit on it, hoping that he didn't give away the slightly drugged up person that he was right now. He walks over to the sink and washes his hands, then grabs a flannel and washes his face too. He looks at himself in the mirror and thanks God that it's dark enough not to be able to see his eyes, then turns and looks at his sister, before walking straight past her and down the hall, to his bedroom. He shuts the door behind him, then flops down on his bed.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

"Idiot", Evie murmured, staring at his brother's closed door. But her eyes were glimmering with concern.


It was probably Ethan who got him drunk again. She never liked Ethan even though she'd known him since childhood. He was always the mischievous one who played all the pranks and blame it on someone else.


She sighed and walked into her room to sleep.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

He sleeps for around two hours, before his parents knock on his door, telling him to wake up. He groans, hearing them move onto Evie's room, before sitting upright. Immediately he found that sitting up was a very bad idea, and he laid back down, his hand over his eyes. He couldn't feel his head, and felt like a slightly warmed up version of death. He couldn't tell his parents he had a hangover, though, lest he be shot or crucified, so he'd have to suck it up. He stands up, hand on his head as if it would do something to ease the headache, and goes over to his dresser. Opening it, he grabs a packet of painkillers and takes two, before sighing.


He walks out of his bedroom, still in the clothes from yesterday, as he had slept with them on, and down the hall to the bathroom where it still smelt suspiciously like vomit. He shuts the door behind him, gets undressed, and goes in the shower.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

(Something's wrong here. Do you want to write in past tense or present?)

 

[buildingaspaceship]

(Yeah I keep switching between the two don't I xD Sorry about that, I sort of write both and it doesn't really make sense to some people, I'll try and make sure I write past)

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

(Yeah it seems natural when you write it, even when you switch between the two. But when I started writing mine, I realized that )


Evie groaned, groggily rubbing her eyes. She always told her parents not to knock at her door early in the morning because it felt like her head was hammering in her sleep but they never listen. She yawned, unconsciously laying back down again, when there was another knock at the door.


"Wake up, Evie!", her father shouted through the door. "You've got school!"


"I'm up, I'm up", she muttered sleepily.


"I know you're planning to sleep again. Wake up or no pancakes for you today."


Her ears perked up at that. "Who made the pancakes, you or mom?"


Her father sighed and responded,"Your mom."


Hearing that, Evie jumped out of her bed and opened the door. "I'm up for real this time", she said to her father, grinning, before rushing to the bathroom and knocking loudly on the door. "Get out, Sam!"

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Sam ignored her, continuing to shower, but did speed up his pace a little. When he was done he climbed out of the shower and dried off, wrapping the towel around his waist. He brushed his teeth and ran a comb through his hair just to neaten up the bedhead, then opened the door to see his sister, his clothes in a bundle under his arm. "Grouchy sod," he called her, then pushed past her and walked down the corridor back to his bedroom.


Shutting the door behind him, he abandoned his clothes and his towel on the floor before getting dressed, into a patterned shirt which he left unbuttoned, a vest underneath it, and then he pulled on a pair of dark blue slightly skinny jeans before finishing his outfit with a pair of boots.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

"Only hangovers lead to grouchiness, big brother!", she shouted at him and was pretty sure he heard her even through the shut door.


She showered quickly, using watermelon shampoo and body wash, and wrapped herself in a towel before opening the bathroom door and running into her room. It took her ten minutes to choose an outfit and wear it.


At breakfast, their table was very quiet. Her parents were looking at her brother's surprisingly quiet nature with smiling eyes. Little did they know that the reason behind this was just his hangover.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Sam pushed his food around his plate slowly, and took a few bites here and there. He really did not feel like eating, as though if he did eat he'd just throw up or something daft. He kept his mouth shut, all the noise feeling like elephants banging in his head. He swore to himself that he would never drink again, though deep down he knew that he always swore that to himself when he was hung over.


He looked over at his sister while their parents talked about something completely and utterly useless, and underneath the table he kicked her shin as a warning. If she told, he would hurt her. Or well, something along those lines.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

She smirked at him and held out her hand under the table. "Twenty bucks", she mouthed to him.


The upside to all his stupid rebellious deeds was that she could blackmail him into giving her whatever she wanted. In this case, some money.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Sam groaned, but went silent when their parents looked at him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, he pulled out ten bucks instead of twenty. There was no way he was giving her twenty bucks just for her silence. He put it into her hand under the table and narrowed his eyes at her, before taking a bite of his pancakes. He felt sick with the flavour in his mouth.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

Evie narrowed her eyes at him. She didn't like bargains. So, she started to indirectly hint at him to give her the remaining ten bucks.


"Dad", she began, glancing at her brother for a second. "What is the legal drinking age here again?"


Her dad sent her a questioning gaze. "It's eighteen", he replied, before turning to his wife,"I think we should have that talk again. They're forgetting everything."


"Oh it's not that!", she immediately told him. "Remember how you forbid us to drink before 18.....?"

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Sam kicked her under the table again, pulling another ten out of his wallet and offering it her under the table. He didn't want to let their father even be suspicious, he'd probably die if his father found out. "Shut up Evie." He mumbles quietly, holding his head and looking down at his plate.


Their dad looked at him and raised his eyebrows before looking back at Evie, "No no, go on?" He prompts. Their mother nods her head, setting down her cutlery.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

She grinned, pulling her hand back before continuing," Well, we have been obeying you very honestly. We know you two always think good for us, right, Sam?"

 

[buildingaspaceship]

"Right." He mumbled, looking down at his pancakes before he pushed his chair backwards and stood up. "I'm gonna... Head to school early." He says quietly, before he went into the hallway and grabbed his school bag. He threw it over his shoulder and walked out of the front door, slamming it behind him. He grimaced at the noise, before he began to walk down the street.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

"What was that about?", Evie's dad asked her after Sam left.


"What was what about?", she asked back, feigning innocence, and stuffed the remaining food in her mouth before standing up. "Oh, look at that! I have to leave too! Bye, mom. Bye, dad. Love you!"


With that she fled out of the house, clutching her newly earned cash in her hand. Sam had already disappeared.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Sam had walked all the way to school, and was stood by the bike sheds. A few of his friends were surrounding him. Well, they weren't really his friends. They were people who he dealt to. He handed one of them a few of the pills that he had in his bag, with the other hand he accepted the money that the boy gave him. He dealt to a few more of the students, pretending they were just talking.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

Evie jogged up to her best friend, Chloe, when she saw her from the entrance gate of school. Sam still wasn't around. She didn't see him anywhere.


"Have you seen Sam?", she asked Chloe but her friend just shook her head. Evie had forgotten that Chloe hated Sam. Ever since Sam had stolen her dolls and decapitated them when they were young, she hated him with passion. So even if she knew where he was, she wouldn't speak a word about Sam.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

A grin was plastered on his face as he handed one of his most frequent customers double the amount of pills that he handed everyone else. The kid, about Evie's age, gave him the money and thanked him before walking off. That was when a hand suddenly rested on Sam's shoulder. He wheeled around, looking up at one of the people he hates most in this school. Jackson, captain of the lacrosse team. Sam groaned slightly.


"You ruining another kids life, Sam?" Jackson smirks, "can't be any older than your sister."


Sam smiled sarcastically at him before inching away.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

A crowd of people started gathering around at a corner. Evie sighed and walked toward the crowd. It was most likely that her brother was there.

 

[buildingaspaceship]

Jackson glowered down at him and Sam stared up at him, "I don't want any trouble, Jackson. Just piss off..." he says, rubbing his head and grimacing as a crowd started to form. His hangover was extremely evident right now, to himself more than anyone, as the noise of the crowd made his head feel like elephants were walking over him.


Jackson looked at Sam, "No can do Emerson, not till you give me the pills." He offers a hand out for the rest of the pills that Sam had in his bag. Sam looks at the outstretched hand and back at Jackson.


"You're gonna have to pay if you want em'." He says, raising his eyebrows. He may hate Jackson, but he wasn't particularly scared of him.

 

[Devilsxlovelyxangel]

Seeing Sam in the centre of the crowd confirmed her suspicions.


"Sam!", Evie shouted but nothing could be heard over the chants of 'Fight! Fight!' all around.


"I'm going in to the centre", she informed Chloe hastily and started to move forward but Chloe held her back. "Are you crazy!? You'll be trampled before you even get halway there!"


"But if anyone sees this...", she trailed off, worried.