I sat awkwardly at the dining table, finishing my dinner and avoiding eye contact with my parents. My brother – who usually sat opposite me, kicking me in the shins whenever I raised a fork to my mouth – was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where’s Josh?’ I asked, my mashed potatoes growing cold.
Neither of them answered me. My father started angrily at nothing, shovelling meat into his mouth like he was on autopilot. I looked at my mum, but she was acting even stranger, with a fake smile plastered on her face. She still couldn’t meet my eyes.
‘I’m going to bed,’ I announced with a sigh, standing up and leaving my mostly-untouched meal on the table.
Climbing the stairs, I stopped at Josh’s door and tapped on it softly.
‘Yeah?’ he called out, and I cracked it open.
‘Why didn’t you come down for—wait, what are you doing?’
He finished zipping up his duffel bag and looked up at me with a grin.
‘What does it look like I’m doing?’
‘You can’t be serious,’ I rolled my eyes.
‘Sure am,’ he chuckled. ‘I’m getting out of here.’
‘To do what?’
‘I don’t care what Dad says,’ he shook his head. ‘It’s my dream to be a disability support worker in the Adelaide area, and I’m going to make it happen.’
‘You’ll be home in a day,’ I said. ‘Two, if you get lost.’
‘No, sis,’ he said seriously. ‘This is it.’
I studied him carefully, and saw how much he meant what he was saying. With a sigh, I stepped forward and closed the door.
‘Take me with you.’
‘What?’
‘Take me with you,’ I repeated. ‘We both need to get out of here, and we have the same dream.’
‘Sis, I don’t—’
‘Too bad,’ I interrupted. ‘Take me with you or I’m telling them that you’re running away to live in specialist disability accommodation or something.’
‘I thought I might rent a studio, actually,’ he said dryly. ‘Fine – you want to come?’
I nodded.
‘Then what the hell are you waiting for?’