Daydream Believer

lxii. watching things happen and waiting for the end

lxii. watching things happen and waiting for the end

I dragged my backpack inside. I had a lot of homework that day and I needed to get started. Mom always wanted me to get good grades and I didn't want to disappoint her. When I got inside, I saw Mom and Dad sitting in the dining room. I waved, but they didn't seem to notice me.

"Neil, who was that girl who was here yesterday?" Mom asked Dad.

"Which girl?" he asked.

"The one that was here yesterday!" Mom screamed.

"How did you know about that?" Dad asked.

"I'm not blind Neil," Mom said. "There was some girl that was pulling into our driveway when I was leaving."

"Shonali? She's just my friend from work."

"And you expect me to believe that?!?" Mom screamed.

"YES!" Dad screamed back.

"Neil, don't lie," Mom said. She started crying. I had never seen Mom cry before. "I know you're cheating on me."

"I'm not cheating on you!"

Mom started crying more. "I've had enough of this," she said.

"Enough of what?"

"You. We're getting a divorce." Mom stormed away and I ran back to my room. Noah didn't know yet and I knew I couldn't tell him. Dad would have to do that. I had so many questions. Would I have to stay with Mom or Dad? Would Noah and I be split up? Would I have to move? Would Mom and Dad ever get back together? It was all so overwhelming. I just wanted both Mom and Dad to be happy. I dug through my bin of stuffed animals. I hadn't really played with them in years, but I needed Bronto now. I took out Bronto and hugged him against my chest. At least Bronto would never leave me. Even if the world fell apart around me, I would still have Bronto. It helped a little, but not much.

I still couldn't fight the tears that were coming.