Family

(Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy it! If you do that please comment and share all of your opinions as that helps to motivate me! I plan to take this story slowly and develop all the characters! This will not be your typical power fantasy where the MC is the only well-developed character. I hope you'll like it and consider dropping a follow!)

Milo stared at the thick wooden door in front of him, his heart beating faster than usual and an unsuppressed grin beaming from his excited face. He waited patiently for the door to unlock, excited to see his family.

He fidgeted with the cloth inside of his left pocket, the nerves, having nowhere to release themselves, retaliating against the fabric. His dark brown hair rustled from the cool wind that blew through the streets, kicking up dust and dirt.

After a short moment, the door swung open, revealing a short girl staring at him with a wide gremlin-like grin, "Milo!" She shrieked, launching herself at him, wrapping her short arms around his waist and pressing her face to his stomach. Milo couldn't help but smile at his youngest little sister.

Her long chestnut hair fell below her waist and waved in the wind behind her. She had clear pale skin and emerald green eyes. Her mother would often remark about how much like her older brother she looked. Milo grimaced at the thought. Week after week, he resembled his sister less and less. The scars that riddled his body slowly changed him.

'But finally, that can stop,' he thought with a smile.

Leaning down, he scooped up the nine-year-old little girl, easily carrying her in his arms, "Up we go, little Cat."

Her bright smile warmed his heart. As he held the girl in his arms, he suddenly felt her soft hand trailing a scar on his neck. It was a new scar. One week from last Friday is when it had been inflicted. It was the closest he had ever been to death. He could still feel the blade slicing his neck. If the blow had cut another inch deeper, he would be dead.

Cat's smile faltered as she looked at the scar, the wound still red and calloused. She didn't understand everything about her brother. However, she did know that it was thanks to him they had been able to live in this wonderful home. The memories of the old house were still fresh in her mind.

The rickety beds that could barely hold her and her sisters' body weight. The freezing cold or brutal heat that they had to deal with. No showers. No more of her brother carrying her exhausted mother home from the oilfields.

She may not have known everything about her brother, but she understood that these injuries were the reason why Mom could rest and the reason they moved to this wonderful new home.

She was thankful to her brother, but she was also scared. Every night, when everyone was supposed to be asleep, she would sneak out of bed and listen to her mom crying in her room and praying that her son would survive another week.

Cat hated those tears. She wished her brother would stop getting hurt. She was scared of him dying. But she was also scared that they would have to go back to that terrible place.

As Cat embraced her brother, he glanced up to see his mother walking around the corner, a smile on her face. Milo could see the stress and fear in her eyes but he ignored it.

"Hey, Mom," he said, a happy grin on his face.

Laura, his mother, was looking much healthier nowadays. In the four months since Milo had joined the coliseum, she had recovered well. Her migraines had all but disappeared, her flash fevers had begun to subside, and her frame was finally filling out a bit more. She was no longer the skin and bones she had been. Her back still ached and her knees were still sore, but these were things she could deal with.

What she hated was how she recovered. Whenever she looked at her son guilt flooded through her. It felt like a cold hand squeezing her heart. 'If only I weren't so weak. If only I could work,' she thought to herself.

"Mother. Where is Rory?" he asked, inquiring about his 13-year-old sister.

As if summoned by the use of her name, a young teenage girl rounded the corner. Unlike her mother, brother, and sister, her hair was a dark onyx resembling their late father's. She was a good head taller than Cat but she had the same build as the younger girl, tall and skinny.

The look in her eyes when looking at Milo was harsh. Every time Milo saw these eyes his heart twinged. She hadn't always looked at him like this. This glare started when he told her and his mother what his new job would be.

Even though she had been distressed, she had strongly opposed Milo's fighting. She was terrified of losing her brother, so she resented him for risking himself like he did.

Despite the cold glare she walked over and wrapped her arms around him hugging him, squeezing as hard as she could as if trying to vent.

"Hello, brother. I'm glad you're back," she whispered in her naturally smooth and maturing voice.

Milo reached down and patted her head gently with his free hand holding Cat in his off hand.

"Why don't we all go and talk in the living room? I have some news," he said, his lips curling into an upward smile despite his best attempts to hide his excitement.

Seeing the smile and glimmering look in his eye Laura couldn't help but hope. She kept the hope quiet in her heart, fearing that to let it out would be to erase the chance of her hope coming true.

Cat giggled in his arm, "Yeah! Carry me!"

Laura smiled at her son and nodded. "Yes, let's."

Rory released her brother before she asked, "What is it?"

Her brother wasn't one to talk much. He typically kept to himself whenever he wasn't training or teaching Rory how to cook. It was a time she cherished.

Milo swiftly led them into the living room having them sit down on the simple sofa that had come with the house. The room was simple but fairly clean. Laura had taken it upon herself to make sure the house remained in good condition considering she could not work any longer.

Sitting on the sofa, the three of them remained silent as they looked at Milo curiously. He was almost jumping with excitement, his lips curled up into a genuine smile and his eyes glistened.

"We're moving," he stated quietly. Despite the softness of his voice, to the three women whom he held so dear, it was as loud as thunder.

"Moving? Where?" Cat asked, her voice almost seemed wary, images of the old dirt home flashed through her mind.

"We are moving to a C-class district. A place called Sun City in Florida. I got a new job."

Hearing the words "C-class district" was akin to being struck by lightning to the three.

"Milo. Are you serious?" Laura asked, her voice quivering.

To people like them, a C-class district was almost like a legend. They currently lived in an unnamed E-class district. A dirty place. A place where people lived to die. A C-class district was a beautiful place that was filled with things like parks, neighborhoods, restaurants, schools, and more. It was a place where life was whatever one could make of it. It was a place where you could build yourself up on your efforts and weren't destined to die a pointless death.

Tears formed in his mother's eyes. Laura shook her head, her body shaking uncontrollably. "Please don't toy with me, son. Please my heart can't take it."

Stepping forward Milo wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder, comforting her as best as he could. "I swear Mom. I am telling the truth. I am going to be working at a real job. The girls can go to school. You won't have to worry another day in your life."

Maybe he was making an impossible promise with his last words, but he didn't care. He would do anything to assure his mother. She deserved this. After their father's death, she took on the sole caretaker role until Milo was old enough to take over the brunt of the work. Even then she would still often work herself half to death to ensure that no one would go hungry. 

Rory and Cat's expressions were that of excitement, their eyes glowed brilliantly. School! They would be allowed to go to school! 

Rory felt a sense of relief wash over her. 'A real job. That's good. That's so good.' She thought to herself, her pent-up fear washing away like a flood. As it did, she felt tears welling in her eyes. For the first time in months, she finally could look at her brother without that selfish resentment. It had been hard. She loved her brother. The fear of losing him had caused her to form resentment towards him as a way of protecting herself. 

"Go and pack your bags, everyone. We are to meet my new boss tomorrow morning at the airport." Milo stated. 

Hearing this, Cat shot off the couch like a bullet, flying towards her and Rory's shared room.

"Yay!" The girl squealed, her imagination running in overdrive as she imagined what school would be like. 

In the meantime, Milo stayed there on the couch, his mother still clutching him in her loving grip. "I'm so proud of you son. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you better. I'm so sorry that your father died. I'm so sorry that you had to..."

Milo gently cut her off. "It's okay Mother. I have no regrets. You are a wonderful mother. I love you. You don't have to worry anymore. I promise...."

https://patreon.com/DaoistSmiley?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink