Allie Anderson and Sam Anderson were perfect kids on the outside. Allie kept up with her grades. She regularly achieved the honor roll in high school and was on her way to college with an academic scholarship. Allie was just like her mother, Miranda when it came to focusing on her studies. Sam was a star athlete and was expected to play football in college. His father, David, expected him to be in the NFL by the time he got out of college.
Behind closed doors, Allie and Sam couldn't stand each other. When they were younger there were very rare moments of bonding followed by the usual name-calling and shouting matches. That was normal when they were kids, siblings always get on each other's nerves but when they became teenagers with jobs and responsibilities, they didn't stop.
Today was the day that Miranda and David decided to make a change. To them, there was no reason that their nineteen-year-old daughter and eighteen-year-old son couldn't get along by now. It all started when Sam walked into the house and slammed the door. Miranda and David sat in the kitchen when Sam stormed in red as a tomato.
"Sam, what's wrong?" Miranda asked.
"It's Allie! That fucking bitch stole my car!" Sam shouted.
"Don't call your sister that." David said sternly.
"Listen," Miranda grabbed David's shoulder. "Sam, do you know where she is? Have you tried calling her?"
"I don't know! I've called her at least twelve times and no answer!" Sam explained.
"Just take a few deep breaths. She's probably just out with her friends." Miranda said.
"In my car! She can't just take a ride from them!?"
"Sam. Maybe you shouldn't have left your keys out." David said.
"I shouldn't have to hide my keys. It's my car. I bought it. If she wants to drive around then she can do it in your truck."
"Absolutely not." David snorted.
"Exactly."
"Look. It's almost eight at night. She'll be back soon. If she's not, she's grounded." Miranda said.
"Sure. Like she'll be fine with that." Sam scoffed and crossed his arms. Just then, the three of them heard Allie pulling into the garage. Allie walked into the house a drunken mess, the straps of her white tube top falling down her shoulders, her denim jean shorts hiked down her legs, giving a show of her asscrack, and her medium brown hair was a tangled mess that fell in front of her flushed face.
"Where have you been?" Miranda asked. Sam held his tongue to avoid a fistfight.
"I... I was... I was out. Y'know... out and about..." Allie warbled.
"In my car." Sam said, his voice full of venom.
"Yeah... well..."
"Well what?"
"The tire... pressure thingy... it's on... I might have... I might have ran over a few curbs... hit a few... a few speed bumps too fast..." Allie leaned against the wall to support herself.
"I'm going to bed. I had to walk home from work." Sam spat before pushing past his older sister to go upstairs.
"Allie, get some rest dear." Miranda said, ignoring David's eye roll.
"Okaay..." Allie gave a goofy smile before turning around dramatically and hobbling upstairs.
"She's going to vomit," Miranda said, her arms crossed and her brow furrowed.
"She's going to get herself killed. If the blatant drunk driving doesn't do it, Sam will." David said blankly.
"We need to look into that lady who gave us her card," Miranda got out of the chair and made her way to the coat rack that sat in the living room near the door.
"That spastic looking witch doctor we met in the grocery store? That'll definitely help."
"She's not a spastic," Miranda said after pulling out a laminated card from her purse.
"She's a behavioral psychologist." Miranda said.
"She looked like a spastic."
"Stop."
"I'm just saying. We tried the building blocks program crap that cost way too much money. They only tolerated each other for about a week and then they were back to the bullshit."
"That's why we need her." Miranda said, placing the card on the table. David picked it up and chuckled to himself.
"Yolanda Pherson? Really? That's a fake name."
"It's her real name. I was looking at her on Facebook, she specializes in hypnotherapy and building a real mental connection that may be lost in couples that experience burnout or, well in our case, constantly bickering siblings."
"How long does it last? I would like some peace and quiet for more than a week."
"If the reviews are true, it's a lifelong change. It opens the mind to see what the eyes cannot." Miranda said. David laughed again.
"Look, I know it sounds like quack bullshit, but I messaged her and she said the one hour session would be free for Sam and Allie. A good chunk of people only needed one session to see results. If there's a chance we have to go for it. If it doesn't work then it doesn't work." Miranda explained.
"Alright. Fine. When can you schedule an appointment?"
"The earliest is this Sunday." Miranda said, pulling out her phone.
"I'll take them there on Sunday. One hour. I'm not paying for a minute more."
"You don't have to," Miranda grabbed David's hand. "I think this will really work."