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Adoptive parents weren't common
in the mere town of Hawkins, Indiana.
Let alone adoptive parents that
fostered children that were older than
the age of five. After Penelope realized
her life in the...
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That night, Penelope had reluctantly told the kids she had to go home. Her 'parents' would eventually notice she'd be gone, and she hadn't told them she was babysitting that night. Because she wasn't. Plus, before she left for school the other day, they had asked her to be home for a small dinner in the evening. She wasn't lying when she'd told Karen that she had a family thing that evening. Though, it wasn't uncommon for her to lie about plans to avoid events.
Even though Penelope had barely eaten at the Wheeler's dinner, she wasn't hungry. She planned to play with her food more than she talked. Dinners with her adoptive parents were torturous, agonizing to the soul.
It was cold on her bike ride home. She arrived almost late, and she could tell by the look on Sandra's and Matthew's faces that they halfway expected her to ditch. She wasn't that mean. They were housing her, feeding her, etc. It'd be a major douchebag move to just completely ignore them.
The actual dinner was more awkward than the Wheeler's. The quiet sound of forks scraping against the plates and food being eaten was enough to make Penelope a little on edge. Normally, they'd at least try to start a conversation, or at least talk to each other. Matthew looked a little hesitant, like he wanted to say something but he didn't want to be the first to break the ice.
Sandra tried to look nonchalant, eating her food normally. Though, it was easy to tell she was put off, too. They would occasionally look at each other and then to Penelope like they wanted to say something, but couldn't. The tension in the air was too much for Penelope before she broke.
"Okay, what's going on? You guys are acting weird." She finally asked, putting down her fork. Penelope leaned back in her chair and waited for an explanation. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and watched as the two adults dropped their forks and looked to her with unsure faces.
Sandra pursed her lips as she wiped her face off, intertwining her hands and she looked to Penelope. "We really hate to bring you into this sweetie." Her and Matthew shared a quick look. "But we're getting a divorce." She said. Penelope wasn't completely surprised. She wasn't clueless, after all. She'd seen the marriages trying to be mended together by parenthood, fostering children, waiting for that spark to come back.
Penelope noticed the late nights that she'd come in, Matthew passed out on the couch. Or those nights she saw Sandra sneaking back into the house, a change of clothes in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Her hair messy, and her lipstick smudged. She supposed it got so far even Matthew couldn't act like he couldn't see it.
Opening her mouth, no words came out. Honestly, it didn't bother her too much. It was seriously awkward. What were you even supposed to say to that? 'Sorry for your loss, do I have to visit both of you guys now?' Yeah, no.
