-Alex's Point of View-

Renovations on my childhood home were going by rather quickly. Slowly I was watching the home I grew up in turn into something that I could almost barely recognize, but I knew one hundred percent that it was for the better. May, Jack, and I had finally decided that it was time to move on from Baltimore and see what kind of chaos we could cause over in England.

My parents had already gotten an apartment for us and were awaiting our arrival within the next week or so. They were excited to see me, but at the same time, they were kind of upset that I was leaving the one place where I had grown up and decided to make a small living. I had told them though that I had certain reasons and they knew not to ask.

We were almost finished fixing up the house and Jack and I were sitting on the floor of the empty living room, two Starbucks' coffees sitting in front of the two of us. He was tapping his hands on the floor causing it to echo around us and I just laughed at him. The sun was setting in the distance, leaving most of the room in pure shadow from the window.

"Can you believe that we're leaving in a few days?" Jack asked, his eyes staring at me in shock. I could tell that he couldn't believe it. Then again, this entire thing had been rushed, since Mr. and Mrs. Barakat had been driving May insane the past few weeks.

"Not at all. I mean, I don't feel like I'm leaving Baltimore. I've just been here for a long time. I never thought that I'd go somewhere away from here. I'd never made a big move except for when I was younger and we came here," I said, taking a sip of my drink and glancing back at the spiky haired male.

"Do you parents even know that you're leaving?" I asked him a moment later and he just sighed before shaking his head.

"May and I thought it was best to keep everything under wraps. Slowly, she's been sneaking bit by bit of our clothing out of the house and our half of the money in the bank accounts. She wants to make sure that there's not a trace of us left in Baltimore, but if my parents found out, they'll hold us back, keep us from going, and neither of us want that. We've both seen what our father is capable of. He used to abuse our mother in drunken fits when we were younger. That's the only reason why Mom turned to drugs," Jack said, as I saw tears glaze his doe brown eyes. I reached over and wiped them away before he gave me a small smile.

"Well I'm getting you two away. You don't have to worry about them. Hell, you don't have to worry about anyone else, Jacky," I said, scooting closer to him and wrapping an arm around his waist before kissing his cheek gently.

"I hope not. I'm just worried about May. She may be my older sister, but still, I feel older than her sometimes. I like watch out for her," he said and I nodded my head.

"Well don't worry, Jack. Everything will be fine."

~~~

Days passed. We were due to leave Baltimore the next day. All of mine and Jack's luggage was packed up and sitting in the doorway of the house. We had been staying here since the house was finished being remodeled because we didn't really have anywhere else to say. Truth be told, I didn't mind sleeping on the floor as long as Jack was by my side.

May had been staying at home since the house was finished. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with her parents because she had no idea if she wanted to ever come back to see them. From my understanding, the siblings had been through a lot since they were younger. There were stories that caused a lot of tears and I knew that I had be careful and not step on anyone else's toes while asking questions.

Jack did comply with some of my questions, but others, he was silent. He didn't really answer them because he didn't think that it was time for me to know. I understand though. He'll tell me when he feels like it's best.

I sat with my back leaning against the wall, my guitar sitting in my lap as I strummed the strings to Adam's Song by Blink-182. Jack was singing softly from the kitchen and I smiled. I loved the sound of his voice and I was happy to hear him sing. Truth be told, he was a lot better than I was.

My playing had been interrupted suddenly by my phone going off next to me and I glanced down at it to see May's smiling face on the screen. I hit the answer button and held the phone up to my ear.

"Hey, May. What's up?" I said and Jack popped his head into the doorway and glanced down at me.

"Um... Alex. I have a problem..." May said, her voice shaking and I knew something was wrong. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked up at her brother, his look quickly turning worried at mine.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Dad knows. He found out because he realized that most of the money has been drained from my account. He's not happy about it either. He's been yelling at Mom and hasn't stopped drinking since he found out. I've been in my room the entire time and I'm afraid to come out... He knows that we're-" he voice was suddenly cut off by a loud bang on the other end of the line and a small shriek from May.

"Open up this god damn door, May! You can't keep your pretty little ass in there for long!" I heard a gruff shout and my eyes grew wide.

"May, don't let him in. We'll be over there in a minute. Just stay calm, please," I begged.

"Hurry up, Lex. His patience is driving thin," she begged and hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Jack asked and I looked up at him before standing up on my feet.

"Mr. Barakat is on the warpath because he's about to lose the only two kids he has left."
Title Credit: Adam's Song by Blink-182
EmptySighsAndWine

Notes

Title Credit: Adam's Song by Blink-182
EmptySighsAndWine