Harsh Realm

Part 4

[ Hopefully that gif to the side will be how you guys react to the end of this chapter ;) ]

"Truth is, the world's gunna spin with or without you, again and again." – Make Me So, Yellowcard

Part 4

        "Your parents?!" I asked in disbelief.

        "Yep."

        She had said it so quietly it was barely audible. If I hadn't been listening for her answer so intently, I might not have heard it at all.

        Her eyes were glazed over as she watched the people, supposedly her parents, through the TV. The more I studied them, the more I realized how emotionless they seemed. They both looked as if they hadn't slept in days, like they were cuddled together just to keep from falling apart.

        "Are they seriously your parents?" I dared to ask.

        "I wouldn't lie about who my parents are, Nate," She defended in an angry tone.

        "I'm confused how we're watching them right now."

        I truly was. How was it possible that we turned on the TV and her parents happened to be on the screen? It felt very sketchy. Was it some kind of surveillance experiment? Could this just be an extremely boring home movie? Or had someone sent it to Sage to hurt her? I could of asked Sage, but who knew if she even would've known the answer.

        "Is this like, prerecorded or something?"

        "Shhh!" She told me, looking intently at the TV.

        I tore my gaze from her, and focused it on the television.

        Her mother had gotten up off the couch and walked over to the entertainment center. She was searching through their movie shelves, desperately looking for something in particular. Suddenly she knocked over a stack of movie cases, sending them scattering all over the floor. She let out a frustrated noise, like she might break at any moment if she didn't find what she was looking for.

        "Carol? What are you looking for?" Sage's father asked from the couch, concerned for his wife.

        "This," She answered, having finally found the case she was looking for.

        The writing on the DVD case was too little for Sage and I to read clearly, but by the look on Sage's fathers face, I could tell he wasn't pleased.

        "Honey," He said, "you have to stop watching those, it isn't healthy!"

         "I need to see her, Bill!" She exclaimed, the wrinkles in her forehead fully present.

        He seemed deeply concerned as she placed the disk into their DVD player and then grabbed the remote, flipping their TV to the right channel. She went and sat down beside her husband, but purposely left a gap between them. The play menu came up, and she pressed play on the remote.

        A little girl appeared on their screen, she was spinning in circles to the music playing on the radio in the background.

        "Mommy! Look at me!" The girl yelled, smiling at whoever was behind the camera.

        "I see you baby!" A feminine voice called back.

        Sage's mother broke down and started sobbing at the sound of the little girl's voice. Despite her tears, she continued to watch. In the video, a man walked into the frame and picked up the little girl, and began dancing with her. When the man turned around, I noticed he closely resembled Sage's father, except he was much younger.