We Met At A Lake House | Greg Feder |

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The sandy haired girl watched the happy family from afar, the bright grin she usually adorned was replaced by a deep frown. Her emerald orbs glistened in unshed tears and she felt her heart pang in disappointment. He was forgetting her.

Her younger sisters childish giggles rung freely through practically empty park, her dad chasing behind the running four year old. Sally, her stepmother, watched from her place on a swing, grinning. They looked like a picture perfect family, the image making the lone girl feel like an intruder.

She stayed sat hazardously at the top of the rope playground, she had been stuck there for a while now — patiently awaiting her dads help. Her attention had been hyper focused on their interaction in her fear and she had left alone with her thoughts consuming her; she couldn't bring herself to call out for him yet again, her voice box had closed in on itself and she knew if she tried to talk a sob would force it's way out.

The ten year old decided against waiting any longer, figuring she'd been long forgotten by now. Her grip tightened on the metal pole, her place on the top of it giving an easy view to the floor below and she squeezed her eyes shut tight. Her fear of heights was getting harder to ignore the more she forced her focus onto getting down herself and away from her father.

She moved a foot down to the ruby rope, tapping it around in an attempt get a start. With no luck, her forest green eyes snapped open to look at where her foot was — she had anticipated to much space between them and had slipped her leg through the gap between.

She pulled her shoe covered foot back quickly with a whimper, the drop seeming so much bigger now she was up there. With a deep breath, choosing to keep her eyes open this time, she reached back down and planted her foot firmly in place (the other following in pursuit). Adjusting her hold on the metal, she reached down a rope further and moved her hands down to the top row of rope; holding on tight she carefully manoeuvred herself around, now facing away from her family.

She again tapped around with the tip of her trainer, deciding to take it one foot at a time, and just as she was about to plant it on the next row she was startled by her sisters squeals of delight. She jumped, her other foot slipping and she left clinging on with her hands tightly. They burned against the harsh rope and she let go as it became to much, landing harshly against the obsidian tarmac floor with a loud yelp.

The slight scream caught the attention of her sister, Donna, who had stopped to get her juice filled sippy cup from her mum. "Daddy! Addie fell, she got an owie!" The panting man paused momentarily, a confused look crossing his features before his head snapped toward the injured girls slumped form.

He shot up with a whisper of 'shit!'. Running over to where she sat looking at her scraped knees. "Adhara! What happened? Can you scoot through the ropes?" His hand has been held out, an invitation to move from her place inside rope ground; Adhara shook her head, any previous tears long gone at his offering help. "I can't reach you from in there."

"I'm fine." Her dismissive reply threw him of guard, his hand falling to his side. Adhara always wanted comfort after she fell, the embarrassment of someone seeing her fall was always overwhelming for her. But she continued with her refusal, crawling through the ropes and swiping her hands across the front of her baby blue dress before stalking toward his wife and youngest daughter.

Eric Lamonsoff hadn't realised then but he had been pulling farther and farther away from his firstborn every time she visited, and her refusal of his comfort for the first time had been her metaphorically growing up.

Adhara had decided to help herself, something she would be forced to master over the next few years.

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| This was shitty and short but I promise it gets better. |

691 Words.