“What do you mean you haven’t received the rent? Chris brought it up to you last Monday!” Kristyne couldn’t make sense of what the lady in the office was saying. The rent was late? The rent was never late! “OK, fine. Let me talk with Chris and see what happened. Maybe he got busy and forgot. Don’t worry, I’ll get the money from him and bring up to you first thing in the morning. Sorry about the confusion.”

For the past year she had been living alone. Working constantly to make ends meet while trying to sort through the recent events in her life. She was exhausted and missed her parents terribly. They had supported her in everything she did. At 24 she was a RN and Paramedic for the local rescue squad. She graduated high school at 17 and received her AS degree at the same time as her diploma. She was used to the heavy schedule. But back then she also had friends, fun, and most importantly a family that loved her. What would she do now? Kristyne didn’t even realize she was still staring at the phone until it rang and startled her out of her thoughts.

“Hello?.....Hey Evie.....MmmHmm....That’s great...Evie.” And so the conversation went. Evelynn, Kristyne’s high school friend, rambled on about classes and this new guy she was seeing, a summer trip with friends, and other endless prattle as Evelynn was prone to do. It wasn’t that Kristyne wasn’t interested in what her friend had to say. It was just their lives had taken such a dramatic turn away from each other over the past year. Kristyne and Evie had been best friends even though there were 2 years difference between them. Now age and life circumstances seemed to burden the friendship more than either girl would like to admit. Evie was living the life of the single and popular 22-year-old college student without a care in the world beyond what club to hit each night, while Kristyne spent her days and nights in complete exhaustion. Evie kept trying to hold on to the way things used to be, but even she was beginning to notice the ever-increasing gap between the two. “What was that Evie? Sorry, I just have so much on my mind. Listen, you have fun and be careful this weekend. Yeah, I’ll be here. Call me. Later girl.”

Hanging up the phone Kristyne couldn’t hold her tears anymore. ‘Stop feeling sorry for yourself!’ she chided. But the tears wouldn’t stop. She had been having that problem a lot lately. Knees crumbling, she sat on the floor and let the river run. That was where he found her.

When Chris walked in the small apartment he heard his sister try to stop her crying. ‘Oh, God, not again’ he groaned to himself. Ever since moving in with her two months ago that was about all he had seen her do. Yeah, their parents were gone. Yeah, her world was turned upside down. But, HE was doing just fine. Why did she push herself so hard anyway? It just didn’t seem that important to him. Not as important as having fun. Why should she be so special! And the tears were getting old. Everyday he regretted more the decision to move in with her. But, after he had lost his job she had insisted, saying that they were all the family each other had now, and that they needed to stick together. But, if the truth were told, she really was cramping his style.

“Kristyne, come on, not again girl. Give it a rest.” He tried to sound lighthearted, but the annoyance was hard even in his own ears.

Looking up at him, Kristyne regarded her twin. They really were as different as night and day. Chris was almost painfully thin, a whole head taller than she was, with pale skin and blue eyes. While Kristyne on the other hand had an olive complexion, green eyes, long dark auburn hair, and at 4’9” tall she definitely was the shortest in her family. She was not as thin as her brother and felt self-conscious. “Chris, where is the rent money? You remember I gave it to you last week and asked you to take it to the office?” Figuring he just forgot she was not prepared for the explosion.

“What the HELL are you saying! What, I can’t be trusted? Who the Hell are you to talk to me like that!”

“Chris, I just thought maybe...”

“That’s what you get for thinking, Miss Scholar! Just because you are a college graduate you are NOT above me!”

Standing up and clearly confused by his outburst, “Chris, I just meant maybe you forgot...”

“Oh, yeah, right!” He yelled in her face.

“I’m not gonna argue with you. The office called and asked for the rent. Since you couldn’t take it up there, just give it to me and I will.” With that she held out her hand. Chris shoved it away and stormed down the hall leaving a string of explicatives echoing off the wall. Kristyne followed getting angrier at each step. “What is your problem!?” She screamed as she entered his room. Tired of his moods, tired of worrying, just tired period.

“Get! OUT!”

“No, not until you give me the rent!” **SMACK** He backhanded her across the face and she slammed into the wall.

“Bitch, I said get out of my room!”

Turning to face him again, refusing to be intimidated even though her cheek stung and her eye was already watering from pain, “I said NO! This is MY apartment. You are here at MY request. Give me the renOOoofffffff....” She never saw it coming when his fist connected with her stomach. Kristyne fell to her knees trying to catch her breath, and then he kicked her.

“Stupid Bitch” he muttered as he grabbed a bag out of his dresser drawer and exited the apartment.

She just lay there, unable to cry, unable to take a deep breath, unable to think as the remainder of her once secure world toppled around her. She had to get out of that apartment. Away from everything that reminded her of family, of the past. She had to get somewhere where she could breathe. Climbing to shaky legs she grabbed her purse and keys and left, going to the only place she found comfort- the beach.

Chapter 2

Karina 2003