Sisters at Heart

by Lunatone

Chapter Nine: The Move

Sisters at Heart

Lunatone

Chapter Nine

The Move

Situated in the centre of my room the next morning, I opened some of the presents that I had gotten the night before. I don’t know why I bothered, mainly because I didn’t want half of them. Once they were open, I just gave them a meaningless glance and tossed them to the corner of my room. The pile grew: a film-contained camera, a pair of binoculars, a fancy parasol, and envelopes that had a birthday card along with some gold bits. None of them mattered to me. I didn’t want any of this. My father never would’ve thrown me a party like that if he had known that Vinyl and I were more than sisters now.

Really, the only presents that had value to me were the ones Bon Bon and Vinyl gave me. They came from the heart, not from the blood money of my father’s friends.

Right now, Vinyl was still asleep in my bed, and everything outside my room seemed dead. I had a hard time ignoring what happened last night.

I sat on the edge of my bed, turned around to look at Vinyl, thought about what our lives would be like now that my father didn’t want me, Vinyl, or Dusty to live with him. Maybe it would be for the best. It would lessen the amount of hate and suffering we endured. The same image kept casting in my mind repeatedly: My father yelling at Vinyl, scaring her. Either way, this much had become clear: We would all be gone, away from this place we once called home.

A moment later, Vinyl began to wake up. She was squirming around as her eyes slowly opened. A smile marked her face. “Hey…” she said, giving me a sleepy grin. She looked fragile, like a glass vase, when she woke up.

“Hey, you,” I said, leaning down to snuggle up to her. I buried my face into her chest, smelled her musty fur.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked me, planting a kiss on my head.

“Not well. I kept dreaming about last night. I can’t believe this is happening. It’s like this is one big nightmare that will never end.”

Vinyl pulled me closer. “But it will end, Octy. My dad said it would. Remember the conversation he overheard last night? He said that we’ll be moving out today. That means we won’t be living with your father anymore!”

“But where will we go? Where will we live? We can’t just leave without having a plan.”

“Leave that up to my dad,” Vinyl said. She sounded confident that we would, in fact, be in another place at the end of the day. “Trust me, Octy. We’ll be okay. You do trust me, right?”

“Of course I do. I’ll always trust you,” I said.

“Always?” she asked.

“Always.”

Later that afternoon, I took Vinyl to our yew tree for the last time. Jazzmere wasn’t home, and Dusty was gathering our things for the move. It was his suggestion that we go to our special place before we leave.

Vinyl and I made our way to the tree. When we got to the tree, my eyes were glued to the marking that Vinyl had chiseled a long time ago. Seeing that made me realize one thing: Vinyl and I had grown tremendously over the years, and we would, in fact, be best friends forever.

We sat under our tree for some time, and talked about everything we had done in this house. Recalled the unforgettable moments we shared here, and how they would always remain in our hearts. Twenty or so minutes later, Vinyl and I kissed under our tree for one last time. I didn’t care if my father saw me or not. And that was the truth of it all.

§

Come two o’clock, Vinyl and I sat in the living room, seeking warmth near the fire. Jazzmere still wasn’t back from whatever he was doing. And I was glad he wasn’t here.

Vinyl and I watched Dusty use his magic to stack the boxes containing our belongings near the door. Then I saw Jazzmere emerge from the front door, which made things really awkward and tense. My heart began to pound as I waited for him to say something.

But then Jazzmere came right out and asked, “Are you leaving now? I want all of you out. By the end of the day.”

Dusty’s reply was a single word, delivered in a bold, harsh voice. “Yes.”

“Good.” My father looked at me and Vinyl. Gave us a nasty look.

I flinched, like I’d been hit. My heart sank into the abyss, but it was quickly restored when Vinyl squeezed my hoof. Then something became very clear: Life would be better if it were not here. If I believed otherwise, then I would be blind. And I refused to be blind like my father. He couldn’t see what he was doing to us, what he was doing to his best friend, all because of the eyeless rage that was within him. Jazzmere would never, ever forgive me.

“We’ll leave once the carriage I called in arrives,” Dusty said. Shook his head. “Life here is impossible. I don’t know how you can sleep at night for doing this, Jazzmere.” There were a few tears streaking down Dusty’s face. “I saw you as my best friend, my brother. But now all I see is a stallion for whom I have nothing but hate.”

Dusty cried. It scared me a little to see a grown stallion sob. “I’ll never forgive you for this, Jazzmere. C’mon, Octavia and Vinyl. Our carriage is here now.”

I’ll never forget the way Jazzmere glared at Vinyl and me while we trailed behind Dusty. I didn’t even exchange a single word with my father before I left.

§

Vinyl and I sat inside the carriage while Dusty placed the boxes in the mini-cart that was attached to it. Right now, thunderheads rolled in, painted the sky irony grey. Within minutes, rain came pouring down, the hiss of the raindrops swelling my ears.

Through the blurry window of the carriage, I saw Dusty place the last box on the cart. He had told us that he only packed our essentials and left everything else behind.

Beads of rain slid down the window. I saw my father standing in the doorway, a grin on his face. Then he shut the door shortly after.

When Dusty joined us in the carriage, he leaned in and said something to us. He was telling us that everything would be fine, and that we would have a roof over our heads very soon. I took a hold of Vinyl’s hoof, and she smiled at me. Then she kissed my hoof—which gave me a burst of positivity, something I needed—as I was holding hers.

“We’re ready to go,” Dusty called out to the drivers.

It was then when I watched the home I once had fade away. I caught one last glimpse of the place before it completely vanished. The only thing I saw through the windows now was rain. And that was good.

Comments

[Bynoan]

Jeesz Jazzmere sure took a turn for the worst didn't he? Grinning while shoving his daughter and best friend out the door like that. Well I never liked him anyway, good riddance!

[Lunatone]

6132800

He certainly did. And I believe most people didn't like him. And all for good reason.

[Lunatone]

6136234

Oh, thanks for dropping by; I'm glad you're liking it.

And I went over my draft, but I don't see what you mean. Could you say again?