The Fall of Family

Chapter Five

I sat there in silence and took in the four mortifying words.

"I was let go"

Dad's lip continued to tremble and his first sob broke out. A small tear of worry and fear  trickled down his cheek and progressed into the stubble on his chin.

"I was let go"

Many bad thoughts ran through my head, everything from homelessness to no more makeup. Without our dads money, I didn't know what we were gonna do financially. Drew's cashier paycheck was not gonna come close to paying all of our bills.

"I was let go"

My phone in my pocket notified me I had a text with my default ring tone. I drew my phone out of my pocket and half-heartedly threw it across the room, not caring if the screen cracked or not. Many seconds passed and another sob was let out of my dads mouth, coming from deep in his throat.

"I was let go"

I knew I would have to get a part or full time job, no doubt. I didn't know if my dad would get a job anytime soon, I assumed not. I felt my stomach twist in several knots and I felt nauseous almost immediately.

"Okay," I whispered as I looked up at his face "then what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know Mar, I don't know" he replied

"I was let go"

"Okay, dad. We can get through this" I said as my eyes filled up to the brim with water. "I will get a job, and you will get a new one too, and we will get through this."

I tried to imagine how much pain he must be in considering he is relying on his daughter to encourage and support him. I put my arm over his stomach and turned my face into his stomach and let the tears flow out. He wrapped his arm around me and let his tears fall down his face also. We shared a moment we normally would never have.

"I was let go"

After many minutes of crying and hugging, I got up and rested my lips on his forehead, whispering "it's gonna be okay" and left the room. My nauseated stomach was not helping the case either. I went to my bright room and faceplates into my bed. I curled up into a ball and covered my entire body with many layers of blankets.

"I was let go"

The stupid, life threatening four words continued to ring through my head. I got up and went into the bathroom, looking into the mirror and seeing a girl that was not me. She had messy blond hair; blotchy, bloodshot eyes; and tears streaming down her face. I felt disgusted by her appearance.

My extremely nauseous stomach couldn't hold the nasty bile in my body anymore, and I threw up into the toilet. As I was releasing the horrible tasting *stuff*, I heard Drew come into the bathroom and felt him pull my hair back so I would get my lunch on it. I appreciated the act greatly, and felt slightly better even thought I was barfing.

I rested my elbows on the seat and spat the last of the puke into the porcelain bowl and closed my eyes as Drew put the seat down and flushed the crap down the sewer.

I looked at him in the eye, thanked him sincerely and walked to the kitchen with shaking legs to grab a glass of water. I swished the liquid back and forth in my mouth and spit it into the sink.

"I was let go"

I said some words God wouldn't have wanted me to say and put down my glass. I  walked down the hallway to my dads room again to retrieve my phone.

As I opened the door, I saw him on his bed, asleep. I assumed he cried himself to sleep and I immediately felt horrible for him. I saw the text that caused me to throw my phone across the room, it was from Stephanie and read party at my place, 8:30.

I rolled this over in my mind many times. After a while, I decided to go to and see if my spirits would rise. I texted her back I'll be there and pocketed the phone and left the room.

Since I had a few hours until I had to get ready for the party, I went to my room and fetched my school binder from my heavy backpack and strolled into the living room to see Drew continuing his show, still chowing down on chips. I joined him on the couch and started to do my homework.

An hour, one episode, half a bag of potato chips and a day's worth of homework later, I put my binder aside and laid down to rest my head on Drew's knee, still watching the zombies dart across the screen.

"I was let go"

I ignored the ever repeating words and closed my eyes, thinking about the different jobs I could apply for in the near future. After marking off tens of jobs off my list, I finally decided to send a resume to the Laundromat downtown later this week.

After making the decision, I heard Drew say "you know that I love you Mar, right?" I nodded in response and I heard him whisper in addition "and I will still love you no matter what"

My eyes started to water at the heart filled comment and I closed them tightly, squeezing the tears down my face, all I wanted was the day to end. So I closed my eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.