Broken homes

Abigail vs dad and karen

A few hours later, the front door slammed shut.

Abigail stormed in, her expression furious as she immediately turned on Karen and Marcus. "You two are unbelievable!"

Karen, sitting comfortably on the couch, raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Marcus sighed, already rubbing his temples. "Abigail, if this is about Lily again—"

"Of course, it's about Lily!" Abigail snapped. "What else would it be about? Or do you just not care anymore?"

Marcus groaned, standing up. "Abigail, I am tired of this. I am tired of Lily's behavior. Every day, it's something new with her. She's skipping school, getting into fights, drinking—"

"Maybe if you actually tried to help her instead of just complaining about her, she wouldn't be like this!" Abigail shot back.

Marcus clenched his jaw. "I have tried! I have tried over and over again to get through to her, and what does she do? She lashes out, she drinks, she ignores me!" He threw his hands up. "What more do you want me to do, Abigail?!"

Abigail took a step forward, her voice shaking with anger. "Be her father! Actually care! Don't just throw your hands up and act like she's some lost cause!"

Karen, who had been silent until now, sighed. "Abigail, I get that you're upset, but Marcus is right. Lily's been out of control lately. She needs to take responsibility for her own actions."

Abigail turned on her, eyes blazing. "Don't act like you give a damn, Karen. You're just happy she's spiraling because it makes your life easier."

Karen scoffed. "That is not true."

Abigail laughed bitterly. "Oh, really? Because you sure don't seem to be losing sleep over her!"

Marcus ran a hand over his face. "Enough, Abigail. Just enough. I'm done fighting about Lily. She's making her choices, and I can't keep stressing myself out over them. If she wants to act like this, fine. She'll have to deal with the consequences."

Abigail's face twisted in disbelief. "So that's it? You're just giving up on her?"

Marcus didn't answer.

Abigail let out a dry laugh, shaking her head. "Wow. You really are just as bad as Mom."

That hit a nerve.

Marcus's eyes darkened. "Watch it, Abigail."

But Abigail was already grabbing her coat, her fury boiling over. "No. You watch it. Because one day, when Lily is too far gone, when she's past the point of saving, you're gonna regret every second you spent sitting on your ass doing nothing instead of actually being there for her."

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.