PRESENT DAY

“Awesome job, girl! You knocked them out. Were the earnings up to your taste?” A plump woman approached me, grinning from one ear to another. Long past her second youth, she had more energy than a toddler with a sugar rush, but the compassion of a nun. A nun with fiery red hair, tattoos, a heavy eastern European accent, and a fist so hefty it put heavy league professional fighters to shame. 

“Hardly, but I suppose it’s better than nothing.” I sighed, discouraged. “Just an awful night, I guess.”

“Oh, sweet-cheeks. Give Maman a hug. Better times will come.” She cooed, caressing my hair. “Do you need extra money? You know you can always ask me for help.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll manage somehow.”

“I’m here if you need me. I wouldn’t be Maman if I wouldn’t take care of my girls,” she laughed, her voice raspy from all those smocking years.

I gave a quick nod.

Truthfully, she took care of ‘her’ girls, regardless of the profit they brought her. Sometimes, she would even give up on her share as the owner of the Pretty Please Club, without a second thought, as long as the girls didn’t break her trust, which was fairly easy to keep. You just had to follow the rules; come to work, do your job, and by any means, do not mess around with the club’s clients on its premises, apart from some playful flirting.

“Did you manage to find that extra job you were looking for?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You don’t sound so happy about it.”

“I’m just tired.” I sighed, rolling my head between the shoulders in an attempt to ease some tension.

“Then what are you waiting for? Get that sexy bum out of here. Go home and have some proper rest.” Maman shooed me out, making me laugh.

“That will have to wait. In a few hours I start my first shift, so I have to settle for a nap for now.”

“Kisa, you are destroying yourself.” She shook her head, disapproving. “You are what? Nineteen? Twenty? You have all your life ahead of you. Why are you so desperate for money?” She pinched my cheeks, looking straight into my eyes, and lowered her voice. “Is someone taking your money? Are you in some sort of trouble? Tell Maman the truth and will do all I can to help you.”

“Thank you.” I smiled sweetly, although my cheeks had already begun to hurt. “But it’s nothing like that. Just some vital expenses I need to keep at bay.” 

“If you say so… but know I’m here, if you need me.”

“Thank you, Maman. That’s very reassuring.”

“Come on, run along now. You don’t want to waste any more precious sleep time.”

I waved to her and, like always, got out through the back door. I hated using the main one since almost every time someone would try to make a move on me, buy me a drink, or straight-out ask for my price. Though I must admit, their baffled faces when I told them I didn’t have one, since I didn’t offer that particular service, were quite entertaining.

How stupid! Just because I dance in an almost inexistent outfit, doesn’t mean I’m eager to ride their junk.

The cool night air felt refreshing, but I didn’t have time to enjoy it. I had to get home quickly and having received no calls or texts only added to my worries. With a lump in my chest, I reached home as soon as humanly possible and rushing through the door, I shouted:

“Kian?”

Not receiving any answer, my heart rate spiked, and I rushed within a breath, to the pile of blankets under which my brother should’ve been sleeping. Terrified, I pulled them away, looking at the pale, skinny boy laying under them. I swallowed hard, despite my dry mouth and, with tears already pricking at the corner of my eyes, I gently shook his shoulder. His skin was cold under my touch, but the few slow breaths he seemed to be taking reassured me, somehow, that he was still alive. I tried to wake him up, but he didn’t react.

“Kian, wake up!” I shouted. “Kian!”

I shook him even harder, and he finally opened his eyes.

“Hey sis,” Kian whispered, attempting a weak smile through his dried, cracked lips. “Have you had a good night?”

“You know you don’t have to worry about me, but I remember you were supposed to text me when you woke up to get your meds. You did take them, didn’t you?”

“I did, but then I felt so tired I couldn’t even pick up the phone. I’m sorry for worrying you like that.”

“Don’t apologise.” I shushed him, stroking the side of his head, passing my fingers through his short, dark hair. “Now go back to sleep and I will wake you up in the morning when it’s time for the next lot.”

“Kisa wait!” He feebly called while I was about to get up. “Earlier today, Miss Thompson brought a letter. It has your name written on it, so I didn’t open it. It’s waiting for you by the cooker. She said it’s fairly important, so as soon as you get home to make sure you read it.”

“Thanks, little brother.”

“When will you stop calling me that? I’m just a couple of minutes younger than you.”

“Probably never.” I chuckled. “Go back to sleep now.”

He’s fine. Thank the angels, he’s fine.

With a relieved sigh, I retrieved the envelope from the kitchen, but couldn’t help the bad feeling settling in the pit of my stomach at the mere touch of it. The landlord didn’t send letters unless she wanted more money, or even worse, for us to vacate the place. A new lump formed in my throat and, with shaking hands, I opened the envelope, pulling out a single piece of thin, folded paper.

The big, red letters at the beginning of the page confirmed my fears. An eviction notice, like a slap in my face, announcing we had to evacuate the studio within the following two weeks, for the most ridiculous reason I’ve ever heard; disturbing the peace. It was absurd! We never threw parties; we didn’t even have friends coming over. The only noises someone could hear from us were Kian’s violent coughing fits, but that wasn’t something controllable. Apart from that, when at home, we mostly slept; that is if we could, considering our lively neighbours.

Hopeless, I put down the letter and, inhaling deeply, I bit the inside of my cheek. The pain brought tears to my eyes, confirming this wasn’t a nightmare. Where in the world I was supposed to find, in such a short time, enough money to pay the deposit and one month’s rent in advance. Not to mention all of Kian’s medicines were about to run out and had to be replenished. I don’t know for how long I sat there, in that uncomfortable chair, with my head in my hands, calculating all the possibilities we had, which, to be fair, could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Suddenly, my alarm went off. It was morning, and I had to get ready for my new job. I hadn’t slept a wink and my head felt so heavy, like it was full of cement. I put together some breakfast for Kian and myself and prepared his medication. Eight different pills, and that only in the morning; another six at noon, seven at dinner, and four at midnight; plus, an insulin shot every 6 hours and the indispensable inhaler. All this, and his condition didn’t even improve, but on the contrary, seemed to worsen with each passing day. Worst part was that we didn’t even know what was wrong with him to begin with. In almost fifteen years, not one doctor found the tiniest resemblance to a diagnosis. All they could say was that his body was slowly deteriorating, and all they could do was treat the symptoms since they couldn’t find the cause. What started with one pill every three days turned into the pile we had now; and God were they expensive!

We’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.

Stretching the arms above my head, I yawned, tears gathering in my eyes. Perhaps I still had time to rest, even for five minutes. I didn’t even have to go to bed for that; I could do it right there in the chair, but as soon as my eyelids closed, a violent cough got me jumping onto my feet and running to Kian. Sitting on the floor on his knees, half leaning on the bed, Kian struggled to breathe, coughing his heart out; tears streaming down his cheeks and his face turning bright red from the effort. Rushing to his side, I threw the pillows off the bed, searching for his inhaler. I found it fallen between the nightstand and the bed, but to my horror, it was empty. Kian’s skin began to turn blue due to the lack of oxygen. Trying my best not to panic, I ran back into the kitchen and, opening the drawer which housed all his medication, I grabbed the last one. It took three puffs to get him to breathe normally again, but after he calmed down and his complexion returned to its usual pale state, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“You dumb idiot!” I shouted at him. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier you needed the new one? What if I wasn’t home? Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“I-I was going to get it myself in the morning...” He rasped; his voice still broken from all the coughing. “You… you are doing enough things for me as it is. Getting my own medicine is the… the least I can do. But it looks like I’m incapable of even that. I just… I don’t want to become more of a b-burden for you. Though I know ... I already am one.”

“I do it because I want to.” I pressed a hand on my chest, struggling to level my tone. “I do it because you are my brother. You are not a burden, and you will never be one, so stop talking like that. The same way we shared mother’s womb; we will share everything coming our way in real life too.” I stretched my arms to hug him but stopped in my tracks as soon as he opened his mouth.

“But it’s not like that, is it?” Kian asked through his teeth, with a pinched, tension-filled expression. “T-there is nothing I can do for you… a-apart from depending on you e-every single second of every damn… day. Don’t you think I know? I’m the r-reason why you got a second job. I’m the reason why at nineteen you have white strands in your hair.... T-the reason you don’t have a social life…or a life of your own at all!” His arms flew open, and a heavy sigh released from his chest. “So, I doubt this is sharing.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, little brother, but you would’ve been stuck with me no matter what.” I swallowed my tears and tried to smile comfortingly despite the rip in my chest that his words had created. “We promised mother, don’t you remember? That we will stay together no matter wha-”

“For goodness’s sake, Kisa!” he cut me off. “We were four years old! H-how can you be sure it wasn’t all a dream? Because to be fair, I can’t remember any of it… I can’t even remember our parents ever being with us, so maybe you should think about that again. And even if that were true, my opinion won’t change. I am a burden, and that is all I can be. Probably until the day I’ll die.”

“Fine. Breakfast is on the table and so are your pills. If anything happens, activate the emergency app on your phone, and don’t forget we have a doctor appointment in the evening.”  

Grinding my teeth in a struggle to keep my mouth from saying something I knew I’d regret; I grabbed a bunch of clothes and went to change into the bathroom. As soon as I looked somewhat presentable, I walked straight out the door without throwing another glance in Kian’s way.

I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast anymore.

***

“I’m afraid we will have to postpone your first shift for a little while.” The young man with dark hair told me. I think his name was Mateo, or something along those lines.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. What happened?” I asked as I followed with my eyes the police officers roaming left and right.

“That is what we’re trying to find out. I’m afraid we don’t know much yet either, but until we do, we will have to keep the museum closed. I do apologise for the inconvenience.” He lowered his head a bit, looking genuinely sorry.

“No… um… it’s fine. I mean, it’s not something you have control over.”

“Unfortunately, you are right. It’s best if you head home now, and we will contact you as soon as we know something certain. It shouldn’t be more than a few days.”

“I understand. Thank you.” Well, this certainly isn’t my day.

 I sighed as I turned the corner, feeling a headache getting stronger by the second. It looked like I really had to ask Maman for some money, after all. Oh, and how much I hated to be indebted to someone. Maybe I should ask for extra shifts instead. At home, Kian was asleep, and without making any useless noises, I went to bed as well.

The evening appointment didn’t go any better either. As usual, the cause of Kian’s symptoms remained a mystery, but the doctor suggested, yet again, we try a new kind of medicine.