Growing up, Charlie had been the one who always drew the short straw when it came to the cut's treachery. He'd been old enough to remember the day when their mom died and how bad their dad had gotten not long after before he finally up and left. He'd witnessed the visits to their house at late hours from their mom's drug dealer that took place after he'd put Collins to sleep with headphones over her ears so she wouldn't wake up from the noise. And he'd been the one to find their mom after she'd overdosed on cocaine. 
He'd seen some pretty ugly things and experienced a lot of the rough parts, and the only thing that kept him from turning into a lowlife like a lot of the people in their neighborhood, was knowing how dependent Collins was on him. He was determined to make sure she did something better with her life; it was too late for him, but she actually had a shot at getting out of life on the South side. He'd never been as smart as her, so he felt like it was his life's purpose to make sure she didn't let it go to waste.
The walk from school back home was fairly long, but Collins had gotten used to it over the years. It was nicer in the spring when the weather warmed up and it wasn't blistering hot like it tended to be in the summer. But Collins liked being able to watch the leaves change color and the townspeople change from pants and sneakers to shorts and flip-flops. It was a nice reminder that better days were ahead, even if they did mean she had to walk a couple miles just to get home practically sweating her skin off. 
After her whole human battery experiment, Charlie had told her that if she could find a way to use that on their house so that they didn't have to pay the electricity bill anymore, he'd set aside the money and finally buy her a bike. He'd stolen one for her once before, but the obvious titanium metal bike lock still hanging off it gave Collins an uneasy feeling, so she'd ordered him to put it back where he found it with a sticky-note pasted on it that said, 'SORRY.'
Charlie's jobs alone were barely keeping them afloat, though he refused to admit it. You know, with his pride and all. But Collins would rather walk than steal someone else's belongings just to make life a little easier for herself. It didn't matter how much she wanted or needed it, she just couldn't let herself do such a thing. But that was kind of how desperate they were to resort to stealing.
And their struggle showed in their house which was practically being held together by duct tape and wood glue. It was arguably one of the smallest houses on the cut and it was the only home Charlie and Collins had ever known. Charlie had let Collins take the single bedroom while he took the futon in their living room/ kitchen/ dining room/ foyer. They had to make do with the space that they had. Even for just the two of them, the place was overcrowded. 
It was all they had and all they could afford. Charlie had always told Collins that it was just the halfway house for them, and eventually, they would buy a house worthy of Figure 8 to live in. But for now, it was their place, and only theirs. There were bad memories, ones that involved their parents, but there were also great ones, the ones when it was just the two of them. 
Trudging up the dirt path through their patchy front yard, Collins finally arrived home after a sweaty walk across town. She dumped her backpack on the rickety porch and pulled open the screen door leading into the house.
"Charlie, I'm home." She called out before retreating into the kitchen to look for something to eat. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had school lunch, she always told Charlie that she wasn't hungry during the day to avoid having to spend the money on it. It wasn't like it was worth eating anyways.
She opened the cabinet door to take a glimpse through the pantry and sighed as a can of chicken and a half-empty bag of flour stared back at her. Moving to the fridge, Collins scanned her eyes over the limited selection of food before an unsettling smell made her stomach churn. Sticking a hand inside, Collins huffed and slammed the door shut.