[ WP ] You are 16 , living with your parents , a man claiming to be your long lost brother shows up at your door with a gun , he slowly says , `` They ... are not your family ''

I stir the mashed potatoes around on my plate, creating a thin layer covering every crevice. I ’ ve sat here for exactly 15 minutes, now. Counting the time becomes a habit when you don ’ t like your own thoughts. Goddam being sixteen. 
 
 “ Tallie, ” the stern voice of my mother breaks my count at 904 seconds. “ You have literally been sitting there for this whole time and not said a word. Is something wrong? ” 
 
 I look up. She stares at me with that perpetually irritated look on her face I know comes from the natural downturn of her eyebrows, but it gets to you, sometimes. 
 
 “ Nah, Mom. I ’ m fine. ” I don ’ t know why she ever accepts that answer, considering we have this conversation just about every night. I glance over at my dad, who looks at my mom, then at me. 
 
 “ Talitha, how about you turn in for the night. I think your mom and I need to talk about some…things. ” 
 
 “ Mm-hmm okay. ” I don ’ t really pay attention to anything he says anymore. It ’ s all so monotone. I get up and as I scrape my plate. My parents had already finished, and put their plates in the sink next to mine. They go into the family room and close the door as I start the dishes. They turn on the television so I won ’ t hear what they ’ re saying. I don ’ t really give a crap, anyways. 
 
 I turn the facet on and start cleaning up when I hear a quick knock at the door. A glance at the clock reveals it ’ s 6 o ’ clock. Not late enough for any serious weirdos to be out, so I pull back the hatch and look through the peephole. Some guy in his twenties wearing a brown collared tee-shirt who looks like a delivery person is standing behind the door, looking down the hall. It ’ s probably the new comic edition I ordered. 
 
 I close the hatch and unlock the door, actually kind of excited for the new edition. I open the door and look for the orange folder that they usually come in. 
 
 The guy ’ s hands are empty. 
 
 I drag my eyes up to this guy ’ s face and slowly ask, 
 
 “ Caaaaaan I help you?'' 
 He looks like he ’ s about to say something, but stops himself and just looks at me for a second. Then he says, 
 
 “ Are you Talitha? ” Like I ’ m going to give him a present, or something. 
 
 “ Yup. ” I ’ m not sure what to say. This is getting kind of creepy. “ Caaaaaaan I help you? ” 
 
 The guy looks at a loss for words. 
 
 “ I…I ’ m not sure what to say, ” he stammers, getting kind of emotional, but I can see the crazy behind his eyes. “ I can ’ t believe I ’ m seeing you right now. ” 
 
 Suddenly, I get it. 
 
 “ Look dude, whatever kind of crazy drug you ’ re on, why don ’ t you go sleep it off, okay? I ’ ve never met you before. Just…go home. ” I almost close the door, but then ask, “ who told you about me? ” 
 
 “ No one! ” He looks nervous, like I ’ m going to go psycho on him. “ Nobody told me. I ’ m your brother! ” 
 
 Okay yeah, definitely creepy. 
 
 “ Dude, I ’ m sorry, ” I say, closing the door. “ I don ’ t have a brother. Whatever you took, you probably shouldn ’ t… ” 
 
 The door to the family room opens behind me and the TV gets louder. 
 “ Talitha, who are you talking to? ” My mom calls. 
 
 “ Oh, no one, ” I answer, not wanting to get the guy in trouble, and turn to him to tell him to seriously, go home, but when I see him, the words just kinda don ’ t come out. 
 
 Because he pulled out pistol. 
 
 Instead, I say, 
 
 “ Oh, shit. ” 
 
 “ Listen to me, ” he says, pointing the gun towards the floor. “ They…are not your family. They took you from me after our real parents died, ” I back away from the door, “ and I ’ ve been looking for you ever since. That was 13 years ago. ” I hear my mom gently exclaim from behind me. “ Believe me, ” he continues, “ they are not your real family. ” 
 
 He steps inside, and focuses on something behind me, and raises his gun. I dodge behind the table, and look at my mom, expecting to see her as afraid as I am right now. Instead, she has a gun of her own, and is engaging in a standoff with the crazy guy. 
 
 “ Mom! ” I hiss. “ What-the-hell-are-you-doing? ” 
 
 “ Talitha, ” she calmly says, “ come over here. ” 
 
 “ No! ” Exclaims crazy guy. “ Don ’ t listen to her! ” 
 
 I edge my way around the room until I ’ m standing behind my mom. 
 
 “ Mom, ” I begin again. “ What ’ s going on? ” 
 
 “ Later, Talitha. Go into the back room with your father. ” I do and hear the crazy door guy start cussing behind me. 
 
 My dad is rooting around underneath the sofa as I walk in, and he pulls out a couple more guns. 
 
 “ More goddam guns? ” I exclaim. “ Why is everyone suddenly loaded? What ’ s going on? ” 
 
 “ Talitha, ” My dad says to me, all monotone and dullness gone. “ You remember when I took you to that place in the country and taught you how to use a gun, right? ” 
 
 “ Yeah… ” I waver, not liking where this is going. 
 
 “ Well, you ’ re going to need to remember what I taught you, now. ” He hands a smaller pistol to me. “ I want you to know that you ’ re very special. You always have been, and that ’ s going to give you a lot of trouble in your future. ” 
 
 “ Okay? ” I ’ m not sure how much of this I ’ ll retain, since my brain ’ s whirling in syncopation with my heart ’ s attempts to escape my body. “ Dad, what ’ s going on? ” 
 
 “ I ’ ll explain on the road. ” He smiles. “ But for now, we need to get you there. ” 
 
 I hear a gunshot from the other room. 

