To Be Made Whole (A Christian Romance) (On Hold)

Chapter 2: The Thickness of Water

The journey back was a simple one. The sunlight sparkled like gold through the cracks of each leaf and tree branch. The songs of the birds and the rustling of leaves were a melody to my ears. I needed this right now before I had to walk back into the modern two story house that resembled more of a dungeon than it did a home. While I could leave, an invisible chain felt as though it was wrapped around my ankle and held me hostage, so I'd have no choice but to return.

"Stay calm, it'll be okay," I whispered to myself. The wind took hold of many of my curls and pulled them behind me softly. Almost beckoning me to turn around, but I didn't, or rather my own imagination made it seem so.

The door in front of me was a plain white shade all over and held nothing special about it. A stranger wouldn't view this door as an entryway to pain and suffering, but I would disagree. I experienced that pain and suffering firsthand.

A push at the handle was all it took and I was engulfed with the smell of burning pasta sauce. The only dish my mother could attempt to make for my father. I could hear him angrily swearing at the television in the living room on my right.

Neither of them heard or saw me, I could just bolt upstairs to my room if I just left right n-

"Anna!" I jumped in surprise. Wide eyed, the sight of my angry mother stood before me. She stood there as a near blurry image. My exhaustion was taking over again.

"Mother," I mumbled. Her sharp ruddy brown eyes pierced through mine. Her hair was neatly yanked back into a painful-looking bun and her thin hands rested on her hips. The pencil skirt she wore was perfectly ironed without a wrinkle in sight and her blush pink button up was tucked in as expected. She always looked like a business woman and she never looked like a mom.

Not to me.

"How dare you leave this house without telling us!? With all that we do and you run off with all of the money we have put towards your future!" She pointed her manicured nail towards my face while stalking forward. The instinctual response to back away took over before I could process it and I took steps back until my back hit the same door I entered through.

"Mother, I'm sorry. I needed time. I was upset." I kept my voice low, but I could already hear that my father had paused the television or muted it. He was listening now.

"Wonderful," I thought.

"About what? About everything I've given you? I work so hard for you and this is how you repay me?" She always reminded me how hard she worked and she wasn't lying. She did work hard to push me through college, but she was paying for something I didn't want to do. Law school.

"Mother, I apologized please-" I could only imagine how I looked compared to her. She stood with anger and confidence, while I tried to push myself into the door to hide from her glare. She was put together and clean, while I was covered in filth and my hair was messily hanging below my shoulders.

"Don't please me. Your father and I have seen how you've acted ever since your grandmother passed away. It is no excuse for you to be acting that way. If your sister were here, she would have acted with decorum." Her eyes narrowed as she took in just how unkempt I looked.

I gritted my teeth as my vision blurred further. "Don't bring Arabella into this. That's not fair." My voice was shaky and I'm sure my hands were too.

"But isn't it? It shouldn't have been her, it should have been you." My breath hitched in my throat. My vision only worsened as the tears that were waiting to flow began tumbling down my face.

Without looking back, I sprinted up our old wooden stairs. The second floor of our home had four bedrooms and I passed them all until reaching mine at the very end of the hall. Even though I hurriedly rushed down the hall, I couldn't help but notice the artwork displayed on the white door adjacent to my room door. In the middle of the swirling colors of a rainbow was her name.