A Second Chance

Chapter 4

I slammed the door shut behind me, my back immediately leaning against the wood texture as I tried not to crumble from exhaustion. Coach finally let practice out after staying an hour late which made all the players furious. My heart ached for them, not even wanting to imagine how exhausted they were since they were the ones practicing nonstop on the field.

I slowly closed my eyes, allowing myself to stand here for a second to recollect myself before I made my way upstairs. The house was oddly quiet and I didn't hear my parents' voices anywhere. I was just alone with my thoughts and the throbbing pain in my skull. I groaned in frustration, trying to ease the sharp pain in any way. I didn't know how much longer I could take of this migraine. The louder my parents get each night, the louder the pounding gets.

My eyes slowly fluttered open, the view in front of me blurry as my legs felt weak. A cold shiver ran down the side of my arms, causing goosebumps to arise. I felt disoriented, the dizziness hitting me all at once as I used the door handle to steady myself. This wasn't good.

"What is taking her so goddamn long?" I heard a small voice come from the living room. I sucked in a sharp breath, not realizing that my parents were home. His voice sounded harsh, like I had already done something wrong even though I just stepped through the door.

As quickly as possible, I recollected myself, pushing the dizziness aside as I slowly trudged towards the muffled voices. Not only was my brain pounding against my skull, but my heart had the same effect on my chest. I was nervous, the palms of my hands sweaty as I carefully rubbed them against my pants.

I quickly walked around the corner, coming face to face with my parents as they both lifted their heads when I walked in. I put on a smile, already noticing the annoyance seeping through my father's eyes when I walked closer to them. My mother and father were both sitting on our couch, but they had put some distance between them.

My mother held her hands together in her lap as she looked down, picking at her fingernails. My mothers naturally brown hair was starting to gray, her eye bags darker, and more wrinkles were evident on her forehead. It was obvious that their relationship had taken a heavy toll on my mother, and it pained me to see her like this.

I sighed, my eyes slowly shifting to the man sitting next to her as I watched him narrow his eyes at me. My father was a buff man, around 6'2, and had midnight black hair. He always looked angry and it was a rare occurrence if you saw him slip up and smile. He was a very serious man and never understood a simple joke. It would always lead to a lecture about how I shouldn't be talking like that. I wasn't close with him at all anymore.

"Violet," my fathers sharp voice broke me away from my thoughts as I immediately nodded my head. "We wanted to talk to you about your grades."

After those words left his lips, my stomach dropped and my mouth went dry. I knew my grades were slipping, with the constant headache and not being able to focus at home, I wasn't able to focus on school work. I slightly frowned, disappointed in myself for not being able to do at least something right.

"As you know, this is unacceptable. We expect more from you and honestly, we shouldn't even be having this conversation in the first place," he scoffed as he placed his forearm against the couch to help lift his body up into a standing position.

I glanced at my mom, pleading with her with my eyes to try and help me get out of this situation, but she never looked up. She was still looking at her lap with her eyebrows furrowed in sorrow.

"I've been trying, I promise," I hesitated, my voice faltering as I met his eyes once again. "I can't focus at home and it's hard to get work done here."

I tried reasoning with him, but after I said that, his eyes got a shade darker and he clenched his jaw. I heard my mother sigh from the couch as he took a few steps forward until he stood directly in front of me. "Don't you dare turn this around on us! This is all on you."