Carvings That Bind

The Day Their Eyes Met

Sawyer

It's the resounding screams that escape past her lips and bounce around in my head that have me bolting up from under my covers, a cold sweat encompassing my body. My breathing is labored and there's a dull throb coming from my temples.

I blink my eyes, still bleary and disoriented from the nightmare I'd been held captive in only moments ago. The screams continue to echo in my ears and I look around my darkened room, my eyes landing on the illuminated numbers coming from my desk.

The alarm clock is screeching bloody murder and not helping the headache in the least. I mumble a few choice words as I stand and work my way through the dark room, managing to make it successfully to the desk without tripping over any of the sports equipment littering my floor.

The cold air slips over the skin of my bare chest and under my boxers, making me wish I could actually sleep comfortably with other clothes on throughout the night. Sadly, that's not how it works for me and, as soon as I slap my hand on top of the clock to shut off its incessant screeching, I grab a shirt from the back of my desk chair. My nose twitches as I sniff it for any overwhelming B.O. that might be stuck to it. Satisfied that it doesn't make me cringe, I pull it on.

"Sawyer! Are you awake?" A series of knocks on my bedroom door follows the high pitched voice of my step-mother which, yet again, doesn't do much to help my headache. I walk over to the door and yawn as I open it.

"Yeah, I'm awake." I mumble through my yawn. My stepmom's hawk-like blue eyes watch me with disapproval at my manners. I don't apologize because it's not like we're having a conversation over dinner. It's six in the morning.

"Good." She finally said. "Get ready for school and come down for breakfast." Her nose twitches and those hawk eyes zero in on mine. "I'd suggest getting a shower, too." With that, she turns on her heel, tossing some of her blonde hair over her shoulder as she walks off down the hall. I just watch her go with mild interest before retreating back into my room and closing the door.

Twenty minutes later, I'm showered, dressed, and trotting down the stairs and into the kitchen. My younger brother and sister are already sitting on the two seats at the bar, leaving me to routinely sit at the small table in the corner of the kitchen.

I contemplate going through the process of having cereal for breakfast. The dull throb that continues in the back of my head and the text that lights up the screen on my phone makes the decision for me. I make two slices of toast.

"You're leaving already?" My younger brother, Darren, asked his bright blue eyes staring up at me. I smile down at the seven-year-old and my eyes dart to his twin, Amber. My hands land on both their heads and I ruffle their hair, much to their amusement.

"I'll be back after school and then we can go make leaf piles outside. How does that sound?" They both nod with enough enthusiasm to last them a lifetime. Their mother only watches me with disinterest before going back to cleaning the granite countertops. "I'll see you after school." I said as I grab my toast and head out of the kitchen.

My father's jacket and shoes are already gone from the front entryway, which is no surprise to me. It's been like this since I was ten and has only become routine since then. Pulling on my own jacket and sneakers I leave, backpack in tow as I head for my friend's house.

Jack has been my best friend since kindergarten when we both had the similar thought that it'd be a good idea to put glue in our hair. Our fellow classmates had laughed at us and the teacher, along with our parents, had been less than amused. We'd found ourselves seated side by side in the small towns sole hair salon receiving similar buzzcuts since there had been little that could be done after the glue had dried.