The Tale of Jennifer Dobson

Prologue

A tear spills out of my eye. They're fighting again. I can hear them. They think I can't but I can. I grab my iPod and let my music blast on full volume through my headphones.

They've been fighting like this for a while now, it started so suddenly. Randomly. When I try to ask one of them they just brush it off. They pretend like I never said a thing. I'm just scared. I don't want to lose them.

"Jennifer!" I hear my mum call faintly in between the loud drum beats of my music.

"Coming." I shout back in a monotone. I pull my headphones out my ears and come back to reality. Yanking myself off the bed, and drearily walking down the carpeted staircase. On the walls on the way down are pictures of my family. We all look so happy, the three of us. The Three Musketeers - that's what we called ourselves. I felt safe with them. Like I belong somewhere. That's all changed now.

"Jennifer Dobson where are you!" My mother shouts again.

"I said I'm coming!" I scream back at her. I stomp the rest if the way down the staircase like a four year old child.

"There you are darling. Come and sit down." My mum says calmly. Wow. That was a change of mood.

"Mum what's going on?" I see my dad sitting at the table where I was directed to sit.

"We need to have a chat with you sweetie." My dad says and I cringe at the phrase. I comply to the command and sit opposite my father.

"Honey we have something to tell you." Mum says softly as she sits down too.

"Yeah you got that far. What are you going to tell me though?" I ask impatiently.

"Your father and I have come to a decision." My mother starts. I gulp. I know where this is going.

"Your mum and I think it's the best thing if we stay apart." I was right. My parents are splitting up.

"You see we've been fighting a lot and-" I cut mum off her sentence.

"You think I don't know that? You think I can't hear you screaming and cursing at each other? I can't hear myself think. I can't even get to sleep because you two are always shouting so much!" I rant, raising my voice with every word.

"We're sorry sweetheart." My dad says.

"Don't call me sweetheart." I spit.

"Jenny that's why we've decided that you and I are going to move. We're going to move to New York together. I was offered a job." My mum whispers, as if she's scared to provoke me.

"So this is it then. This is it." I say, almost as if I don't believe what's happening.

"Yes. This is it." She nods slowly.