The Friends of Killie

The Friends of Killie- Chapter 3

I have seen a peaceful expression turn to anger as fast as a whip cracks, and so the look on the face might mean less than what it seems to be.

Erica Eisdorfer

Daddy came home and Mandy and I ran down the hallway to greet him. He picked me up and swung me around, then kissed my forehead like he always did when he got home. Then he noticed Mandy. He did the same with Mandy. She giggled and said that her daddy never did that. My daddy said he would have a talk with her daddy. We all laughed at that. Then daddy's gaze found mommy and Kylie in the kitchen. They weren't speaking. They gave each other glares as they cooked supper. Daddy looked stricken with grief at mommy and his sister never being able to get along.

Daddy looked back at us. I could see the question already forming in his head, so I beat him to it. Grandma is gone, I whispered so quietly, I wondered if I had even said it. But daddy did catch it. He looked as if I had struck him across the face. His gaze shot back to Kylie and mommy. I knew daddy was sad. I knew how much daddy loved grandma. I whimpered at his grief and his eyes shot back to me. He picked me up and held Mandy's hand. Then he took us back to my room. He shut my door quietly, but I heard his feet retreat back into the living room, to take off his boots. Then he walked into the kitchen. Mandy drug me back over to my table and we colored and played dolls. But my ears wandered to daddy and his conversation. I sometimes caught peices of it.

We all ate supper in silence. No one knew what to say. Tension was flowing all around us. Mommy and Kylie shot each other glares, then daddy would give them both looks that I couldn't tell what they meant. Mandy kept her eyes on her plate and never looked up. I knew she didn't like the tension either. Mommy asked Kylie to pass the peas and as Kylie did they slipped out of her hand and into mommy's lap. Mommy cursed and Kylie let out a squeak then a giggle. Mommy cursed at her and I muffled my yells of disapproval. This was an adults fight, no doubt. Mandy was watching with widened eyes.

Mommy was standing up now. The peas fell onto the floor. Kylie was laughing and daddy was glaring at her from across the table. Mommy said that Kylie should leave now. Daddy then stared at mommy. Daddy helped Mandy put on her shoes and coat and then told Kylie they would talk tomorrow. Then they left. Mommy excused herself to change clothes and daddy and I began to clean up the dining room. Mommy came back very angry. Daddy and I had been doing dishes but daddy told me to go to my room. Mommy didn't give me a second look. I left the room and heard mommy yell.

I sat in my room and listened to mommy and daddy argue in the kitchen. Mommy was yelling about how unbelievable his family was, while daddy yelled at her to keep it down because I was still awake. Mommy quieted down for awhile, then both of their voices began to raise. Soon they weren't arguing about Kylie and daddy's family anymore. They argued about all kinds of things. McKayla sat next to me in my bed and held my hand. I was in my nightgown but I crept out of my bed, ignoring McKayla's whispers telling me to come back. I walked down the hallway and found myself pearing, silently around the corner into the kitchen where mommy and daddy were screaming at each other. They had obviously forgotten about me. I was staring at daddy's back.

Mommy was standing next to the counter and daddy stood next to the fridge. I was surprised mommy didn't see me. I was practically standing directly behind daddy. They were yelling about a bunch of different things and then daddy said something I thought I would never hear him say in my life. 'Really! I just thought your boyfriend would take care of that need!' I was only 5 but I knew daddy was accusing mommy of loving another man. With that single comment, mommy's rage boiled too high. She picked up the plate that I had sat on the counter, in my hurry to get out of the kitchen.  Then threw it at daddy. Daddy easily dodged and it hurled at me. Melody pulled me out of the way and it crashed into the wall. I slammed into the other wall, the one Melody had pushed me into, and screamed a blood curtling scream, one that shook the house. Daddy spun around and saw me, and mommy ran around the fridge to see me. She apparently hadn't seen me because of the fridge's position. I was crying, I realized. Mommy ran to me and dropped to her knees in front of me.

She asked if I was alright and if the plate had hit me anywhere. McKayla was next to me, she held my hand. I shook my head and mommy brought me into her arms and hugged me. She wouldn't let go and she kept apoligizing and saying she was sorry. Daddy watched from the kitchen doorway. He didn't say anything, just watched mommy hold me. I saw grief flow into his eyes. And buried under the grief, I found love. Love for me and mommy. He loved mommy for loving me the way she did. He was instantly sorry for saying what he did to her. How I knew that, I wasn't sure, and I wasn't really concerned about it anyways.

Mommy didn't let go of me that night. She fell asleep, crying, while clinging onto me. I fell asleep, to her holding me. Daddy carried us to their bed. He carried both me and mommy! He was so gentle that he didn't wake mommy but I wasn't asleep yet. I couldn't help but wonder what was happening to my family. I also had to ask Melody if she saved Madison. I also found I wasn't afraid of Melody anymore. I fell asleep in mommy's arms like I had so many times before but this time, the arms wouldn't let go of me. I knew she felt that if she let go of me, I would never forgive her for throwing a plate at me. She was holding onto me in fear that I would never come back to her arms again. But, I had already made my decision. I could never hate my mommy.

I woke up and daddy was watching us. I quickly closed my eyes feeling my mommy shift so she could see him. I felt mommy tense up. I knew mommy was afraid of what daddy would say about the incident last night. I heard daddy get out of his chair and the floor creak as he made his way over to mommy. She was crying. Daddy sat on the bed and held her as she cried. She whispered that she was sorry. He whispered that he was sorry too. I heard them both shift to look at me.

"Do you think, she hates me?" mommy asked.

"If she hates someone, it would be both of us, not just you. She had to of heard what I said." Daddy whispered.

Mommy was crying again and daddy was whispering that he was sorry. I rolled over. Mommy had her head on daddy's shoulder and daddy was running his hand through mommy's hair. I launched myself at them and screamed that I could never hate them. Mommy instantly let go of daddy and held me. She rocked me back and forth. I knew she was still crying and daddy was patting her back. Daddy said that we would talk, after mommy had a shower and I took a bath. Mommy looked scared that I would leave her arms. Daddy gently pried me from her arms and pushed me towards my room and then helped mommy to the bathroom, whispering that he would make breakfast and take care of everything. He said she just needed to relax.

I took a bath and took my clothes to laundry room. I came to the kitchen and daddy gave me some chocolate milk and brushed my hair for me. I told daddy that I wanted my hair braided today. He laughed and said he would try.

Few minutes later

Mommy came out and my hair was a mess. Daddy didn't know how to braid, I concluded. Mommy came and fixed my hair and then we all sat down to eat. It was silent. No one said anything and mommy and daddy didn't eat. They just stared at the food as if it would kill them to eat it. I dug in, starving from not eating very much last night. Mommy and daddy watched me, but didn't say anything. I sat my fork down and stared at them. They didn't take their eyes off of me and I wondered if they weren't day dreaming and just happened to be staring at me.

They weren't. They just didn't know what to say. I didn't either. There was a knock on the door and we all jumped as if we hadn't heard a sound in over a decade. Mommy and daddy didn't make a move to get up so I slowly slid my chair backwards and tip toed to the front door. I don't know why but it felt as if mommy and daddy were asleep and I didn't want to wake them up.

I slid the door open, just a little. Kylie stood at the door and Mandy stood behind her, as if afraid that if mommy answered the door there would be a raging war. I smiled at her and she instantly shifted a little ways away from her mommy. I looked back into the dining room, craning my neck to see. They were both still staring at me. The hadn't moved yet and I found it quite odd, that mommy hadn't been to the door yet to see who it was. I just stood at the door. I wasn't sure if mommy wanted Kylie in the house. I also didn't want Kylie to see mommy and daddy like this because then she would start asking questions and that would make mommy and daddy uncomfortable.

Needless to say, I had no idea what to do.