body copy (a.g.)

= Chapter Four =

= Chapter Four =

I'm back in the media centre by the end of the day to put the final touches on the Chronicle before I send it to be printed, glad to find the place deserted. My layout board is exactly as I left it a few hours ago after study hall ended, too, so that's a relief. I was kind of a afraid someone would mess with it, but I guess people are a little more well-behaved than I thought they were.

I guess some people would hate having to stay back after school to finish things up this like this, but I've never really minded it. When I was young, it was more about feeling like I had freedom and all of that crap, but now it's more about having an excuse to get out of my house and have some time away from everything. I know, I know, it's cliché, but if you were in my situation, you would get it.

My parents have never really been happy together. I mean, sure, some times are better than others, but there's always been this tension between them for as long as I can remember. They've never been the type to gross out the twins and I by kissing for a long time after they get home from work, and they don't hold hands or really show each other much affection at all. Lately, things have been tenser than ever. They fight more frequently, and the battles are getting to be more and more explosive. It seems that any time they're in the same room for more than half an hour, they start going for each other's throats like animals. We can't even go out as a family anymore without being an ordeal. Dad will gripe about Mom taking too long to get ready, or Mom will get pissed at Dad for ordering a second beer at dinner, and if nothing small like that happens, they decide to fight about something big instead. To be honest, it looks kind of exhausting to go around and around and around in circles like that, but hey, what do I know?

It used to be that they would hide it from the twins and I, you know, when they argued, but now they're just sloppy. They have shouting matches in their bedroom at night with the door wide open, they disagree and nitpick through gritted teeth in from of the waitress at restaurants, and they love taking turns giving each other the Silent Treatment in the car. During our family vacation this summer, they nearly started cussing each other out in front of a whole airplane full of people both on the way to Maine and on the trip back.

Mom and Dad obviously no longer have boundaries, is what I'm basically trying to express to you.

In the past, there's been rough patches, but they've never been this bad before. I don't think they're going to be able to rein it in this time around. Divorce is in the cards, I just know it, and the sick thing is that I'm almost kind of relieved that they're probably going to split up. Ever since the twins were born, I've been trying to keep them out of Mom and Dad's craziness, which is an effort in and of itself. Even though I try to keep them occupied by shuttling them to the movies and going out with them to shop and things like that, they still see enough of Mom and Dad to know what's going on. They're smart girls- really smart, even if they don't always show t on paper- and it's not like it takes a genius to read between the lines in this situation.

Athena and Rhea try to stay out of the house even more than I do, if you want honesty. They basically come home to shower and do their homework on most days, which doesn't take long since they're only freshman right now. If they aren't out doing something with me, they're out doing things with their friends, and it they aren't doing that, well, then I don't really know what they're up to. On the weekends, I rarely see them face-to-face unless they drop by to shower and get a fresh change of clothes. I worry about them sometimes, I'll admit. I hate to sound like their mom, but they're getting to that age where shit starts getting serious, and I hope they're making good choices. I'm gone most of the time, too, but usually always come home to unwind and go to sleep. One time, right at the end of summer, they were gone for four days straight. Whenever I texted and asked them where they were, they always told me, "with friends." To this day, I still wonder if that was true or not. It seems like it's getting harder and harder for me to protect them, and it scares me. We've always been thick as thieves, but lately, they're keeping secrets from me. Maybe it's just a natural thing now that they're getting older, but I don't always think so.