Pirates & Pawns

V: Aspiration

a hope or ambition of achieving something.
noun/ˌaspəˈrāSH(ə)n/

"Skipping supper for 3 days straight isn't like her." Nicole says.

"She's 17, can we expect her to even be here for one?" Jeff responds.

"Her brothers make an effort and they're far much older and busier." She fights.

"Well you know that's not true, she has a lot going on my wife. It's best we be as compassionate as we can right now." Jeff takes the pillows off the bed as his wife combs her hair.

"Family is everything to her, you think she'd at least tell us where she was." She ignores her husbands statements.

"She's 17 years old I'm surprised she even tells us anything about her life anymore!" Jeff exclaims.

"Somethings off about her Jeffery- she's- she's different then she was before." Nicole sighs, grabbing a pump of lotion from a nearby beauty stand.

"She's not a child anymore Nicole, perhaps you're just adjusting to her growing up?" He suggests.

"Oh please it has nothing to do with her aging— I knew that girl was thinking like a 30 year old when I first met her." She rubs her hands graciously together. "Ever since the adoption she's been distance and- and isolated. You're telling me you don't notice it?" She asks her husband.

He pulls the covers off by a quarter and stands with his hands on his hips, hesitating.

"No I agree," he sighs, "I've noticed a change as well. She's less open then she was. More foggy."

Nicole removed her necklace and stood at her bedside across from him, "Do you think... do you think she's rebelling against us?"

"Oh my dear, no, no never. We've allowed her to embrace her past and search for his biological parents. We've done everything right, stress about no such thing..." He walks around the bed and grabs her arms in love.

"But what if she resents us? What if she thinks we're trying to change her? Make her forget who she was before it all?" Nicole panics.

"I highly doubt that's her reasoning behind skipping a few weekly suppers," Jeff makes her face him and strokes her cheeks with his thumbs, "Hm? She's got a lot going on, it's probably just stress. She needs time away." He assumes.

Nicole nods, reaching her hands up to caress her husbands sides.

"Jeff," She says in a warning tone, he lets go of her and listens intently, "I think we need to tell her soon."

He steps back, his cheeks lowering.

"You said it yourself— she's growing up. She's going to find out one way or another, we should be the ones to say it."

"And have her know we lied to her for 7 years? She'll never trust us again." He utters.

"And she'll trust us if she finds out on her own? She'll be okay with us hiding such a secret and not telling her? How is that any better?!" Nicole shakes her head, mouthing the word "no" over and over again.

"I know we can't protect her forever, I just don't want to lose her. I don't want her to suffer anymore then she already has." Jeff sulks, his cheekbones sunk. It's truly a sad thought to think, what she's been through. What she did to get where she was. It made her parents feel hallow just discussing it.

Nicole walks up to meet her husband in an embrace, holding his rough hands between their bodies.

"We're snowballing honey, we need to sleep before we start to speak nonsense."