Title:
Ever Present Past
Time setting:
seventeen years after the sixth season's final, more or less.
Chapter:
1/? - An Average Friday
“Zo!
Zoe! I
need the
phone, hang
up!”
“Stop
shouting, Sarah.”
“If
you hadn't
get drunk
last night,
your head
wouldn't hurt.”
Sarah commented
when she
saw her
fourteen-year-old
brother rub
his temples
as he
made his
way to
his bedroom.
“Zoe! I'm
the oldest
and Mom's
asleep, so
listen to
what I
say!” she
yelled then,
opening the
door her
sister had
just slammed.
“Why.
Are. You.
Yelling. So.
Early. In.
The. Morning?”
Cristina Yang
hissed at
her daughters.
“Sorry,
Mom. Zo
won't hang
up and
I need
to make
a call.
My cellphone's
dead.”
“I
had the
night shift,
Sarah!” her
mother continued
scolding. “I
got home
less then
three hours
ago and
ISAIAH! Don't
think I
didn't notice
you had
just sneaked
in!” she
raised her
voice to
be heard
through the
corridor, only
to return
her gaze
to her
daughters
immediately.
“We'll talk
about this
later. Zoe
Crystal, hang
up that
phone or
otherwise you'll
be grounded;
Sarah, drive
your siblings
to school,
please, and
go to
your father's
house after
classes. I'll
call you
by dinner
time, have
a good
day. And
actually go
to school,
please.”
Sarah
sighed when
Cristina closed
the door
behind her.
Her parents'
divorce hit
them all
hard. She
was eight,
Zoe was
six and
Isaiah only
five, and
before Alex
and Cristina
made their
separation
official the
family went
through long
months of
yelling and
cursing and
door-slamming,
and when
the kids'
father had
remarried to
another woman,
the bitterness
in their
mother's heart
grew even
more and
for a
while things
didn't seem
to be
okay. Even
now, Sarah
hated her
stepmother and
the daughter
she had
had during
her previous
marriage, and
the only
reason why
she could
stand her
half-siblings
what that
they were
little children
who didn't
do anything
wrong. Isaiah
didn't see
it the
same way,
though, and
he found
every possible
thing that
could make
his parents
angry and
upset. Sarah
did it
too, sometimes,
only to
regret it
later when
she realized
she hurt
her mother.
Only Zoe
managed to
act like
the perfect
child, in
their messed
up family.
And Sarah
envied her
that, and
respected her
for that.
“Are
you ready?”
she asked
her sister
after putting
on some
clean clothes.
Zoe
run her
hand through
her straight
hair. “Ready.
Let's go.”
“Iz?”
Sarah and
Zoe peeked
into the
boy's room.
He was
laying on
his bed
– dressed but
asleep. Sarah
walked by
and started
to shake
him. “Wake
up, idiot!
Mom will
kill us
both if
you don't
go to
school. Get
up.” she
hit him
on his
chest, not
too hard,
but hard
enough to
get a
reaction. Isaiah
grabbed her
wrist to
stop her,
and opened
his eyes
with a
grunt. “Fine.
But I'm
sitting in
the front
seat.”
“No!”
Zoe exclaimed
from the
corridor, making
a step
into the
dark room.
“Please,
guys. We
woke up
Mom once
already.”
Her
siblings sighed,
but let
go of
their argument
and made
their way
to the
front door.
Sarah grabbed
an apple
from the
kitchen, taking
a bite
as she
closed the
door behind
her and
locked it.
Sometimes being
the older
was a
hard job,
especially since
she turned
seventeen and
felt a
little closer
to being
a major.
That meant
that she
had to
help her
mother out
more than
ever before.
The
girl put
on some
music in
the car.
The black
BMW was
her father's
present for
her birthday,
and it
was delivered
with the
sentence 'you're
seventeen, it's
not fair
to you
to use
your mother's
car'. Sarah
loved the
car, but
she hated
how Cristina
got mad
when she
saw it.
She remembered
how she'd
yelled at
Alex, telling
him not
to ever
buy something
this huge
without asking
her first.
It didn't
matter that
she was
also his
daughter.
“Turn
it off,
Sarah.”
“If
you stop
drinking.”
Isaiah
groaned and
closed his
eyes, pressing
his hands
on his
face. “I
hate you.”
“Uhu-uhu.”
she turned
right and
parked the
car near
the sidewalk.
She could
see the
school, but
she knew
no one
could see
them from
there. “I'll
see you
later.”
“Where
are you
going?” Zoe
opened the
car door,
but didn't
get out.
“I
don't know.”
sometimes, she
couldn't help
it. She
knew it
would hurt
her mother,
she knew
it was
wrong, but
there was
no way
she could
make the
feeling of
being out
of place
go away
from her
heart. In
those moments
she needed
to be
alone and
think in
peace. “Just,
I have
this test
today. I
haven't studied.”
“Okay.
Goodbye. See
you later.”
Zoe kissed
her sister's
cheek and
jumped out
of the
car, cheerful
like she
always was.
Isaiah winced
when she
slammed the
door, and
closed his
a lot
less hard.
“See ya.”
x
“Hey.”
“Hi
kids!” Alex
smiled as
he went
to hug
his son
and daughters.
As always,
he noticed
that they
were slightly
uncomfortable,
and as
always he
told himself
that they
were teenagers
and didn't
like to
be hugged
by their
parents.
Zoe
returned him
a smile,
while Sarah
looked around
the big
apartment her
father owned.
The tv
was on,
the floor
was covered
by toys
and crayons,
on the
table there
were several
awful drawings.
“Rebecca
will be
here anytime
now with
Kirsten and
Lachlan, they
went to
the grocery
store. There's
Dani in
her room,
if you
want to
say hi.”
Alex knew
the answer
was no.
His children
never got
along with
his wife
or her
daughter, and
although he
loved Dani
like she
was his
own child,
he couldn't
find a
way to
make Sarah,
Zoe and
Isaiah accept
the situation.
So when
they were
at his
place and
Dani was
as well,
Alex knew
that he
would probably
end up
arguing either
with his
kids or
with his
wife. Thankfully,
at least
his daughters
acted well
enough with
the twins,
because Alex
didn't know
how he
would have
survived if
they picked
fights with
the
three-year-olds.
“There
are brownies
and tea
in the
kitchen, if
you want.
How was
school?”
“I got
an A
on my
literature test.”
Alex
put an
arm around
Zoe's shoulders
and placed
a proud
kiss on
the top
of her
head. “Good
job, Zo!
My little
genius. And
what about
you, guys?”
Sarah
sat on
a chair,
taking a
brownie. “As
always.”
“Meaning?”
he winked.
He knew
she didn't
like school
and she
would never
have great
marks like
Zoe had,
but he
believed Sarah
was way
more smarter
than she
thought she
was, and
he wished
she studied
harder.
“Meaning,
normal.”
“I
was sent
to the
principal.”
“Again?”
Alex was
incredulous. His
kids had
been there
for five
minutes and
they were
already driving
him crazy.
“Yep.
Here. You
gotta sign
this and
bla-bla-bla.”
Alex
threw him
a warning
glance. “You
got
into
a
fight?
And what
would be
the reason?”
Isaiah
rolled his
eyes and
sat next
to Sarah.
“I felt
like it,
man.”
“Don't-”
“I'm
home!” a
female voice
called, and
a mere
second later
two small
kids came
running into
the kitchen.
“Sarah!
Sarah, come
see my
new doll
house!” Kirsten
grabbed the
girl's hand
and started
to pull
her to
make her
stand up.
Kirsten adored
Sarah, for
some reason
she was
her favorite
sister. Although
Zoe was
usually the
nicer one,
she still
disliked the
two kids
her father
had with
a woman
who was
not her
mother, while
Sarah with
time learned
to ignore
it. Once,
she took
Lachlan to
a football
match, and
she was
just a
little more
willing to
spend time
with the
twins than
Zoe was.
After all,
it wasn't
their fault.
With
a repressed
sigh, Sarah
followed Kirsten
through the
apartment towards
the girl's
room. The
teenager noticed
that Dani's
door was
open, and
she glanced
inside. The
older girl
looked up,
but didn't
say anything.
Sarah didn't
even bother.
She hated
that girl
who thought
her father
was hers
as well.
She concentrated
on what
Kirsten was
saying. The
hyper
three-year-old
pointed to
the wooden
doll house
before kneeling
down to
pick up
a doll.
“Her name's
Sky, she's
new. I
got her
for my
birthday!” she
showed it
to her
proudly, and
Sarah took
it reluctantly
from her
hands. “Why
weren't you
on my
birthday party?”
Kirsten scowled
in a
way that
remind Sarah
of Alex
more than
anything.
“Oh,
I had
to... study.”
Kirsten
remained silent
for a
while. “Why
is Daddy
yelling?”
Sarah
glanced at
the door;
she had
closed it
but the
apartment wasn't
big enough
for them
not to
hear Alex
and Isaiah
fighting. “He's
not yelling,
don't think
about it.
You... show
me your
dolls.”
x
“I
think this
time Iz
really crossed
the line.”
Zoe whispered
as she
sat on
the couch
next to
Sarah. The
other girl
put down
the book
she was
reading. “Dad
called Mom
to tell
her what
happen to
Iz's school
today, and
she brought
up the
fact that
he was
out pretty
much all
night. I've
never heard
him yell
so loudly.”
“I
heard him
too, you
know.” Sarah
rested her
head on
the back
of the
couch. “You
know what
I wanna
do? I
know it's
Dad's night
to have
us and
all, but
I wish
we could
get out
of here
and crush
at Sofia's
for the
night, or
at Zola's
house. It
would be
sooo much
cooler than
this crazy
place.”
“Agreed.”
Zoe sighed,
turning the
tv on.
“Dinner's
on the
table, girls.”
The
two sisters
looked up
at Rebecca,
both silently
wishing she
didn't exist.
