Cassie had come downstairs in the middle of the night, unable to sleep for any decent amount of time. It was a warm summer night so she just sported a light pajama set: a grey tank top and matching female boxer bottoms, both made of cotton. Though she knew very well that she would have to pay for her afternoon catnaps, she did it anyway. She didn't mind being up so late as long as she had food to forage for in the kitchen. She fumbled around through a few cabinets until she settled for a bag of chips.
Opening up her snack, Cassie leaned back against the counter as she gazed around the kitchen and family room. She could only see faint images that were showered with bits of golden rays from the stove light. Cassie crunched noisily into the deadness of the night.
Just then, moments after she had started eating, she heard some fumbling at the front door and her heart beat faster. Cassie looked at the time on the microwave. It read 2:30 a.m. and she, then, calmed down. It could only be one person.
The front door opened softly and then closed back quickly, just as noiseless. Cassie kept eating on her snack and stared to the corridor off of the kitchen. A figure soon appeared, being touched by the golden light.
Becky lazed at the threshold, leaning against the entrance with a giddy look on her face. Her dyed black hair was a bit tussled but still showed all her even streaks of red. Becky's short 'do' had been accentuated by the fact that the hair around her ears grew nice pointed strands of hair over them that reached down to the middle of her neck; the rest of her hair was cropped and arched to frame the outline of her face, leaving the top of the hair layered and fringed. Becky's make-up, or what was left of it, was always the same: black eyeliner and clear lip-gloss...nothing else. She had on a black tight-fitting tee and some old blue jeans.
"Oh come on, Becky. What have you gotten into tonight?" Cassie sat her chips down on the counter before walking towards her older sister. They had actually become step-sisters by marriage but were so close that they never used the title.
"Nothing, babe. Just me and Tony were having some fun. Nothing to worry about."
As Cassie neared her sister, she could smell the heavy scent of beer enshrouding Becky. She shook her head wondering why Becky was always getting into things that mom and dad wouldn't approve of.
"Come on, let's go to the sink." Cassie grabbed her sister's hand, pulling her off the wall and bringing her fully into the kitchen. Becky followed behind, giggling quietly from her drunken stupor.
"Ah, Cass...I'm fine. You don't have to take care of me." Becky continued following her younger sibling, however, to the sink. Cassie turned on the water and then grabbed a glass out of the dishwasher. She filled the glass and gave it to her sister.
"Drink up, Becky." Becky grabbed the glass and slowly drank down the water. She plopped the empty cup on the counter.
"Thanks little sis. You're the best. You always look out for me." She grabbed her sister's hands and smiled.
"Yeah, well you better be more careful before you get caught sneaking out at night. You know mom and dad don't care how old you are. Their rules are no boys in the house and in by 12." Cassie frowned at her sister.
"Don't give me that look, Cass. Look I'm sorry, you won't have to cover for me because I made it back in before anyone noticed."
"You know as well as I do that I'll be covering for you soon; for one thing or another." Cassie rolled her eyes.
"Stop it, Cass." Becky smiled, still holding her baby sister's hands. She reached in and kissed Cassie's forehead. "Come on, smile. You know you want to." Becky laughed a little. Cassie remained frowning, though. Becky took note of her sister's bobbed brunette hair with bangs swept across her eyebrows.
"It's not funny. I worry about you." Cassie tried to push her sister away. Becky held onto little Cass' hands and pulled her closer, still laughing a little. She let go of her sister's hands and put her own hands around the young one's waist.
"I know, baby sis. I'll try and be more careful." She smiled down, affectionately. "You have some potato chip crumbs on your face." The older sister reached down and kissed around the young girl's mouth, sticking out her tongue to retrieve the salt tidbits. After kissing up all of the remnants, Becky straightened back up.
Cassie looked a little distant, her mouth freshly cleaned by her sister. "Thanks, I'm going to bed now." Cassie freed herself of her sister's grip and turned to walk away. As she got to the foot of the staircase, Becky grabbed her left hand from behind. Cassie allowed her hand to be cradled as her older sister took the lead up the steps. Once they got to the top of the landing, Becky stopped the procession.
"Go to your room and grab your pillow. Come sleep in my room tonight; I don't want to be alone." Becky whispered out the instructions, giving Cassie a pat on the backside before the younger girl headed to her room.
******
Cassie was back in her sister's room sitting on the bed and looking at all the weird posters on the wall. It wasn't the first time that she viewed these strange images. She had been in her sister's room many times before, especially at night. Becky liked for Cassie to sleep in her room with her ever since they first started to live together. They would stay up late talking about all the things that Becky had gotten into that week, or that night, and Cassie would admonish her sister for such things. She always made room to say, "Dad and mom wouldn't approve..." which seemed to make Becky smile more.
Cassie didn't mind sleeping in her sister's room, either; there, she could keep an eye on her sister and keep out that rogue "friend" of hers, Tony.
Becky turned on her little clock/radio to some punk station. She wasn't one for sleeping in total silence which meant that either the TV was going to be on, or the radio would be making noise. She struggled with her tight tee for a bit before yanking it off. As expected, Cassie thought, she had worn no bra. Becky's little jeans came off in the same fashion, the only "panties" being the thin landing strip that she left on her pubic area.
"Are you going to keep on your clothes, sis?" Becky was re-applying her lip-gloss to the smeared layer.
"Of course, they're sleeping jammies." Cassie scooted back to the head of the bed and flipped back the comforter, settling in her usual spot on the right side of the bed and closest to the window. "What need is there to put more make-up on and you're about to go to bed?"
"Simple. To keep my lips moist so that they don't become dry and cracked by morning." Becky went to the room door and shut it quietly. Smiling mischievously at her younger sister, she took off running from the door and "flew" into the bed bouncing poor Cassie. The younger girl laughed and held onto the covers so that she didn't topple off of the bed.
Becky snaked up to her sister, reaching her hands at Cassie's tummy and tickling her mercilessly. Little Cassie just laughed incessantly until she could hardly breathe.
