Knock knock knock.

"Enzo! Wake up, mom's makin' breakfast!"

…

Knock knock knock knock.

"Enzo! Don't make me go in there!"

"Mmf...Go away...!" I mutter, grabbing a spare pillow and tossing it at my door. The door creaks open, and I hear rushed footsteps. Next thing I know, a manic scream, and a sharp pain in my back.

"Gah! God dammit, Ashleigh!" I shriek, rubbing my back in pain. The young girl stood up on my bed, with her hands on her hips.

"It's the same thing every morning, and you never seem to learn!" She huffs, adjusting her red rimmed glasses. I groan in annoyance, and sit up, struggling to put a shirt on. I managed to somehow get it on, and looked up at my younger sister.

Ashleigh Myles, or Ash. Or the annoying, lovable, slightly troubled little sister of mine. "Yare yare daze..." I sigh, grabbing for my glasses and putting them on my face. My tired eyes look up at hers, and I have half a mind to wipe that trickster's grin off her face. She chuckles and hops off my bed, tying her short, auburn hair into a stubby ponytail. "I'll be down in a minute, Ash." I sigh, standing up and stretching.

"I'll hold you to that, Ani." She says, finishing in Japanese with another chuckle.

"Out, imouto. Now." I snap, throwing another pillow at her. She shrieks, and dashes out of my room. I snicker and shake my head, readying myself to go downstairs and eat.

"It's about time you woke up. We were about to eat without you." My dad chuckled, taking a sip of coffee from his mug.

"Yeah, well. I got an annoying little wake up call." I snark, looking at my little sister with crossed arms. She only snickered, sticking her tongue out at me. "Better put that tongue back in, before I tear it off!" I threaten with a laugh, reaching for her. She shrieks, and we playfully start to rough around a bit.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, before you break something! Now sit down while I serve you."

My sister and I immediately stop, looking to the source of the voice. My mother walked back into the kitchen, heading straight to the stove to move the eggs from the pan, and into a large bowl.

"Jenovi, is there any coffee left?" My dad asked my mom.

"One second, Rob," She replies, moving the potatoes into a separate bowl. She looks into the coffee pot and nods, pouring a little bit more into his mug.

"Thank you," He says with a kiss to her forehead, helping her prepare a few plates. Once they were all on the table, and we were all sitting together, Ash and I clapped our hands together.

"Itadakimasu!" We say, before digging in. Mom just smiled and shook her head in amusement, getting to work on her egg whites.

"How was last night, Enzo?"

"It was okay," I reply, taking a sip of orange juice. "I made 63 dollars."

"How long were you out there for?" My sister asked me.

"I wanna say...Four hours?" I guess with a shrug.

"Do you even know enough songs to last four hours?" Mom asked, to which I sighed and shook my head.

"No, I usually repeat a few songs, with a couple breaks in-between strumming randomly." I explained.

"Are you doing it again tonight? Or do you have to work?" My dad asks.

"Work, probably. And I'm gonna do...I dunno, something with Eila and Ame. Probably walk around the galleria until I have to go to work, so." I trailed off.

"Which reminds me, I have an early client. I should probably get ready for work." Mom said, finishing off her light meal. "Enzo, do the dishes when you're done." She says, walking out of the room. I glance into the sink and see that the plate she had put in there still had some food left on it. That client of hers better appreciate the brilliant hair stylist that she made skip her breakfast. I groan quietly to myself, quickly finishing my food and getting to work on the dishes.

I finish soon after, and take a shower. When I look at myself in the mirror as the fog clears and I finish brushing my teeth, I begin to feel sick. Almost a terrible feeling in my stomach, and I can't shake it. Though, deep down, I know what it is.

About fourteen years ago, my mother and I were in a terrible car accident. I was just a kid, and it's something I wish I hadn't gone through. Long story short, a car thought it'd be a good idea to speed straight through a red light. My mom's side took the brunt of the hit. Her midsection took almost all the damage. I almost lost her… We almost lost her. I was dying on the inside. Here I am, a little kid and his baby sister, about to lose his mother. My dad was heartbroken, and took us to see her every day. I waited, and waited, and I thought my mom was gone. We prayed and prayed, just like dad told us to, but there was nothing. I eventually gave up on it, too.

But...One day, she came back to us.

My heart began to ache as I recalled the memories. I struggled to maintain my breathing, and grabbed at my bare chest above my heart.

She had persistent stomach problems after that. Her insides are practically just barely held together, because of all of the debris that got lodged in there. Hell, a few years back, she was hospitalized because of internal stomach issues. Something about a cyst removal, and bile leakage...I wasn't necessarily there for all of it, the technical medical junk. But I was by her side almost all that summer.

That year was terrible. I look up into the mirror at my eyes, and almost - almost - cringe.

I have heterochromatic eyes. One striking emerald, the other, a blazing amber. I used to hate my eyes. The looks and the whispers. People staring, making comments. It was terrible. I hated being singled out because of it. People wouldn't describe me as the "guy with the glasses" or the "kid with long brown hair." It was always "the guy with the weird eyes." I feel at the space under my eyes, and they wander to a small contact lense container.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door creaking open, and my hand retracted.

"Ani?" Ash says, looking at me with a concerned expression. "Is everything okay?" She then asks. My sister knows me well, maybe better than anyone else. She can see the look in my eyes. The near-scowl I have. My hand that was still half-extended to the lenses.

"...I'm okay, imouto. Really." I lie, feeling disgusting by just hiding the truth from her. Naturally, Ash can detect my lie, and points it out right away.

"Enzo," She says softly, reaching her hand up and cupping my cheek in her hands. "You know there's nothing wrong with you. Right?" She asks. I sigh and give a small smile, nodding my head. "You're you, because of who you are and what you have." She reminds me, eliciting another nod.

"I know. But...Old habits die hard, ya know?" I reply with a sigh, reaching for the lense. She tries to stop me, but a look from me stops her in her tracks. I hesitate, but put the lense in an eye without much trouble. When my eyes open, in the mirror, all I see are two emerald green eyes. Not one, with an amber orb to accompany it. But two, normal, piercing green eyes. But...It doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like it's me. It's like I'm looking at a completely different person.

"Maybe you're right…" I say quietly, taking the lense out and putting it away. She gives a small smile and pats my shoulder, before walking away.

I spent the next few hours in my room, playing my guitar at random and texting Eila and Ame every now and again. In fact, a couple hours before I planned on going to work, my door creaked open.

"Hey, buddy." Eila greets with a small smile, removing her light-blue sunglasses and placing them atop her head. I smile when she walks in, and give her a nod.

"Hey, Eila. Don't work today?" I ask, setting aside my guitar.

"Keep playing," She says. I chuckle and nod, picking the instrument back up again. "To answer your question, I do not. The mall's pretty dead. Makes sense, considering most people that even visit the place are away on vacation." She answers with a shrug.

"Probably means they won't use me then…" I sigh, referring to my job. "I'm supposed to call in, but I figured we'd just mosey around the place and I'd just walk in the store to see if I'm workin'." I explained to her.

"Yeah, from what you've been telling me, I don't think you'll be used, either." She says with another shrug.

"Just means I get to spend more time with you and Ame." I say with a smile. She returns the smile, before a look of sudden realization appears on her face.

"Oh! That reminds me, I-I should probably call her and tell her to get ready." She says quickly, grabbing for her phone and hitting a combination of screens on her phone.

"...You said you'd call her?" I ask with a raised brow.

"Texting's faster." Is all she replies with, not looking up from her screen.

Not an hour later, in walks Ame, and that's our cue to get to walking.

"Is your mom okay?" Ame asks me, looking up at me with her large, icy blue eyes. I sigh, feeling the pit in my stomach expand for a moment.

"Seems like it. She still ain't eating much, though." I reply quietly.

"Hopefully, it's just a little stomach bug. Give her a day or two, and Jenny will be just fine, Enzo." Ame says with a cheerful smile. Her smile and her happy tone cause my stomach to feel a little better, and my own spirits to be lifted.

"Thanks, Ame." I say, looking forward again. I can see the galleria in the distance, so it was probably only another fifteen or so minutes. And Eila was right. I couldn't see too many cars in either the main, large parking lot, or the smaller one that most employees would use.

I work at a retail outlet in the galleria, mall, or whatever you wanna call it. In all honesty, I make most of my money with my street performances than I do at work. Which isn't really a bad thing, but they know what I do, so they probably just use that to give the other coworkers a few more hours. I ain't complaining, either. Just means I don't have to waste time there, and I get more time doin' what I love to do.

"Hm," Ame hums, giving a low whistle. "This place is dead. D-E-A-D." She says with a soft giggle.

"Seems like it," I sigh, opening the door to my store. The familiar scent of shoe leather greets my nostrils, and it's a somewhat welcoming scent. The clothes on the racks and rounders look practically untouched in the front, and in the back, I see a single customer randomly browsing in the shoe racks.

"Enzo! What're you doing here, you had a call in." My manager, Rachel, calls from behind the cashier's counter.

"Eh. I was in the neighborhood, and figured I'd pop by and see if you were usin' me." I reply.

She gives me a deadpan look, before looking around the empty store. "Take a guess, sweety." She laughs, brushing back a strand of her blazing red hair.

"Figured as much," I say with a sigh, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well, we're still using you on Friday and Saturday, so that's something!" She says with an exaggerated grin. I laugh and nod my head.

"Thanks, Rachel. I'll see ya then."

And with that, I walk back out to my friends.

"They're not using you?" Ame asks, tilting her head to accent her curiosity. I shake my head in response. "Oh… Well! That means you get more time to hang out with us!" She says, her mood taking a sudden and steep uphill turn. Eila and I smile at her cheery attitude, and walk towards the large sports store in the middle of the mall.

It was literally the largest sports store in the west, covering sports from golf and hockey, all the way up to football and basketball. There was seriously everything in there. Hunting, fishing, you name it. It's awesome, too, because there's always something to do, and to look at. We're mostly window shoppers, but we also like to mess around with the demos. Plus, if that doesn't get your attention, maybe the huge ferris wheel in the middle will! The ferris wheel that I always get dragged on and terrified of once we always get stuck at the top!

"C'mon, Enzo! Let's go-" Eila starts, but is cut off when I give her a playful bonk to the head.

"No." I reply deadpanned.

"C'mon, Enzo, it'll be fun!" Ame persists, smiling at me.

"You always say that! And it never is!" I argue, resisting the urge to cave. Thankfully, my phone rings and I'm forced to answer it, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Moshi-moshi?" I answer, before mentally facepalming myself for not looking at the caller ID, therefore, not giving a proper response like a simple 'hello.'

"Uh. Enzo, it's Rachel," She says, and I can tell she's stifling a giggle. "Someone called out, so I was wondering if you wanted to pick up a few extra hours tonight." She says.

I raise a brow, and look at the clock on my phone. "It's almost an hour into the shift, though." I note.

"Yeah, I know, and we were stuck waiting, but he only barely called in now. It's really slow, and we'll probably just do some cleaning, and we'll get out early." She says.

Well. Closing with Rachel is usually fun. She plays good music from her phone and we always joke around.

"Sure. I'll be in soon as I can." I reply, hanging up.

"Mitä?" Eila asks, raising a brow.

"They just called me in. Someone barely called out so I'm gonna go take over." I explain, heading for the exit.

"Oh. Want us to wait for you?" Eila offers, eliciting a soft chuckle and a shake of the head from myself.

"You really don't have to. You'll be waiting a little over two hours, considering we're probably gonna leave early after we close." I sigh.

"Taishita koto nai," Ame says with a smile. "Not a problem. We don't really mind. I wanna get some shopping done, anyway." She continues.

I look over at Eila, who smiles and gives a nod of her own. "Well, I guess I could poke around a few stores." She says with a shrug. I smile at the two of them, and we make our way to the store.

"Alright, see you guys in a couple hours." I say to the two, waving goodbye. I sigh, and make my way to the register and clock on.

"Thanks for comin' in, Enzo." Rachel says with a sigh. I smile and nod my head at her.

"Thanks for givin' me the hours." I reply. She unlocks the cabinet behind the register for me to put my belongings in, and, just as she closes it when I'm done, I hear my phone vibrate. But, I figure I can just answer the text later, on my break.

About an hour before closing, I get into the cabinet, and check my phone. A single text from my dad, but a couple missed calls from him and Ash, as well. I decide to call him up, as I walk to the back stock room.

"Son?" My dad says, picking up after a single ring.

"Hey, dad. Sorry I didn't answer right off the bat. They ended up using me at work, after all. What's up?" I ask, sitting on a chair.

"I'm at the hospital." Is all he says in a hushed tone.

My heart stops. My breath catches in my throat.

It seems like a lifetime before I'm able to speak again.

"Wh...Nani? Dōshite?" I croak, though, deep in my heart, I know why.

"Jenovi...Your mom came home early from work, complaining about excruciating pain in her stomach. The doctors are unsure, but think it's gallstones...And maybe other complications." He replies quietly.

"What about Ash?" I ask, trying to keep my voice from failing.

"She was actually with Ame when your mom got home. She called up about an hour ago to hang out. She's on her way home, though, with Ame." He explains.

I'm dead silent. I can't speak. What can I say? There's nothing to say.

"She might have to stay overnight. They're running tests, and scans, and a bunch of other stuff, too. I don't know if I'll be home tonight, either."

"...I understand." I reply half-heartedly.

"All we can do is pray, son." He says. I refuse the urge to scoff at that.

Pray to whom? An unknown force? Or the God that they so blindly follow? I shake my head, thinking of a list of things I could say to that.

No God would let harm like this befall a family.

"I'll see you later. Gotta go." I say quickly, before hanging up without another word. My hair falls and blurs my vision. Or...Are those…

I feel something wet fall against my hands that were curled into fists on my thighs. I…

I burst into silent sobs. I mentally curse the world,and simultaneously hope to myself that everything is okay. That it's just a stomach bug, and my mom would be hunky-dory by morning.

I tried. I really did. But the truth was right there, in front of my face. It was just like back then, and I'm gonna be left wondering how long it'll take for mom to come back home.

Or...How long until she…

I don't even finish the thought, bursting out into more sobs. I hear Rachel step into the stock room, but her footsteps stop abruptly, and silently creep away, leaving me by myself. I struggle to open my eyes, but I can't do it. My vision is too blurry. Negative thoughts scurry around my brain, and all I can think to myself is,

"There is no God, is there?"