A web of deception

Chapter 4

Lilah sighed as she emerged out of the darkness of her bedroom, walking into an eerily quiet living room. Her parents were nowhere to be found, but she already knew where they were. As she peeked through the window, her heart sunk. She saw them stumbling their way into the liquor store down the street, arm in arm, appearing more like slurred lovers than a married couple.

Expending whatever energy she had left, Lilah pushed open the door and stepped out into the night air. No longer able to suppress her anger, she started marching towards the store, her steps in sync with her thumping heart and beating drums of resentment.

She slowly pushed open the doors to the liquor store. Immediately, her stomach twisted into a knot at the sight of her parents. They were laughing and sharing a joke like they hadn’t a care in the world. Like they hadn’t just gone into the store to buy their next fix of escape.

Lilah cleared her throat and her parents suddenly looked up. Nobody said anything for what felt like an eternity until her mother spoke up.

“Lilah, what are you doing here?” Her words were laced with guilt and shame, yet Lilah couldn’t muster the energy to care.

Her father’s gaze traveled from her mother to Lilah, and Lilah could feel the judgment that came with it. Without saying a word, he grabbed his wallet and slammed the cash down on the counter as if to say, “We will no longer do this in front of you.”

But Lilah was done with hiding.

“This has to stop!” she yelled, her voice echoing off the walls. “You are killing yourselves and you are killing me!”

Her father glanced away as her mother just shrugged, her signature sign of defeat.

“Do you have any idea how hard it feels to go through life as a writer with no money to spare?” Tears started streaming down Lilah’s cheeks as she spoke, her humiliation apparent. “Everywhere I turn, someone is trying to pay me pennies to put food on the table and make rent, and all the while, you are using up most of our money here!”

Lilah felt her chest become heavy as the truth of the situation washed over her. All she ever wanted was a happy home, but instead she was spending the majority of her days barely making ends meet.

“Lilah, we understand,” her mother said, in a voice that lacked conviction.

“No, you don’t!” Lilah snapped. “You can’t understand because you don’t care! All you care about is the high that comes from these drugs and this liquor. You don’t care that you are destroying our family and making it impossible for me to be successful!”

Her parents didn’t have an answer, and Lilah didn’t want one. Turning around, she started walking away in silence. As she opened the door, she felt her body tremble with emotion.

She had hoped this night would make them realize the damage they were causing and that it would be the wake-up call they needed, but as she looked back at them one last time, she knew nothing had changed.

As Lilah walked away, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces, and the pain of knowing that her dreams would never come true grew larger by the step.

This wasn’t her fault, and unless her parents changed, it never would be.