Family Essence – Deviant

I had a pretty normal life before I received my system. Was almost ready to graduate from an engineering course at college, had a steady girlfriend and a part-time job I didn't hate.

Then I went home for the holidays. Good ol' Token's Point. Average population just north of a hundred thousand. Just big enough to get lost in, if you're trying, but not so big you'd stay lost. I'd always loved my hometown, though a lot of that was actually due to my family. My hard-working single mom and four younger sisters. Despite most of us not having the same father and being their unofficial babysitter for most my life, somehow, I don't hate them. Most of the time.

This year, as I return home for the holidays, I'm especially looking forward to it. Somehow, mom's managed to squeeze in five whole days where she isn't working. Which means we can spend some quality time as a family.

When I drive my clunker up the driveway, my eyes take in the monster house that we've called home my entire life. Unlike the houses around us, that are mostly colour variations on the same theme, our house is old. And not just old. Distinct. It's three stories, with one of those towers in the corner and everything, like it wants to be a castle when it grows up. Not that the house hasn't been renovated over the years. The giant garage is evidence enough of that. As I stare at it, I can't help but admire how well the solar panels were integrated into the style of the house. Mom's position at her construction company did help with the renovations.

A garage that's currently occupied by my sister Madison's mustang, leaving me to park outside. I don't even have a chance to get out before my youngest sister explodes through the front door, her pink hoodie and blond hair flapping around her as she races over.

"Hey Bethany," I say with fake nonchalance as I turn towards the back door of my car, pretending not to notice the outstretched arms seeking a hug. Yet she isn't to be denied, tackling me from the side and nearly knocking me over. "Damn kid, you're starting to get some heft."

I can practically hear Bethany rolling her eyes as she replies, "I'm not a kid, Darren."

"Still not allowed to drink," I point out, blowing the loose strand of her blonde hair out of my face.

"Yeah. Cause state laws are stupid. Eighteen's old enough to vote, why can't I drink?"

Shrugging, I turn to give her a proper hug, hoisting her up as I squeeze her tightly. "I don't make the rules, kid."

This time there's no response as she hugs me back just as hard. After half a minute, I finally slacken my grip, waiting the few seconds before Bethany does the same.

"How long you back for?" Bethany asks, grunting slightly as I hand her the box full of my already wrapped Christmas presents.

"Two whole weeks. I was thinking that after Christmas, we could hit up a couple movies. I'm kind of behind. You know, that whole exam season thing."

"That'd be awesome," Bethany says, choosing to ignore the path stones we laid out to avoid tromping on the grass to trek across the green space. While she's forging her own way, I look down at those same stones. Inlaid along the sides of the path are each of our personal 'key stones'. Mom's always been into geology. When we were younger, one of her favourite ways to have us spend time together was to take all five of us out to some remote corner of the state to go exploring. Usually there'd be some interesting geological feature there that drew her interest.

And to keep us interested, each trip, we were told to seek out and find the most interesting rocks we could find. I'll admit, it didn't always work. More than once, I'd just find one that was kinda cool, then spend the rest of the time playing with my sisters. Who could be a pain, but were usually more interesting than a bunch of rocks.

"Hey bro," Madison's voice calls from the direction of the garage. Looking up from where I'd been daydreaming, staring at the path inside, I glance over to find the eldest of my little sisters wiping grease from her hands. Hard to call her little when we've shared the same class most our lives and she's only a couple inches shorter than me, but still. "You're early."

"Wanted to miss traffic," I say, dropping my bags then stepping forward holding my arms open for a hug. Which Madison answers, her wavy red hair brushing my cheek as she grips my side lightly with her elbows, keeping her hands fully disengaged as she dangles the rag behind my back. "How's the mustang?"

"Still 'in progress'," Madison replies, though there's a smile on her face as she pulls away. A smile that reaches all the way to her bright green eyes. "Now that mom's letting me take a gap year, I'm finally making progress. Smitty's might not pay amazing, but getting parts for cheap is great. Plus Melinda says she'll take me on as an apprentice."

"You thinking of becoming a fulltime grease monkey?" I ask as I grab my bags, holding the door to keep it clean of her grungy hands.

"Ha. Can you imagine what mom would say if I became a mechanic." Shaking her messy mop of red hair, she heads straight past the entrance for the kitchen, not bothering to take her shoes off. Rolling my eyes, I don't follow her lead, setting my bags down by the door as I set my shoes on the rack by the door. A rack Madison and I built together years ago as part of our first woodworking class. It's even mostly level.

"Mom would probably disown you. Or congratulate you on disarming the patriarchy. Hard to say," I reply as I hoist my bags, looking up the wide staircase leading up to the second level. A beautiful open concept design. Too bad the bathrooms are as small as the stairway is big.

"She'd probably disown you first. You're the one that got me Bee!"

"Bee?" I ask, delaying my ascension as I peer into the kitchen where Madison is flicking water from her hands while hunting for a towel.

Apparently giving up on her quest, she ambles toward me, her hands now clean as she reaches out for another hug. "You know, like in the movie."

Chuckling as I set down my bags once more, I pull Madison into a proper hug and this time she lets out a little squeal as I squeeze her tight, lifting her up. Then she squeezes me back, and is able to squeeze hard enough to make me wheeze slightly. Which only prompts me to squeeze her even harder. We keep escalating until she pats me on the back, signaling her surrender. As we let each other go, I stumble slightly as my vision gets a little hazy. Which turns into a full on trip when she steps on my foot with her workboots. We end up collapsing atop my luggage as I let out a rather undignified yelp.

A moment later, Madison sprawled atop of me, I hear Bethany's voice from the living room. "What're you two... doggy pile!"

Before I'm able to get a word out, I feel all my breathe pressed out of me as Bethany slams on top of Madison with full force. As I'm recovering, Madison is already turning on Bethany, their wrestling freeing me from their weight enough to witness Bethany's red face as Madison tickles her into submission. Extracting myself, I grab my bags right as Bethany manages to reverse the situation, managing to extract a gasp from Madison. Escaping up the stairs with my bags, I can't peel the smile off my face as I head to my old room.

It's good to be home.