Onward Journey (Broken Descent Sequel)

Permission

All four of the children huddled in the boys' bedroom. Charlotte stood at the closed door with her ear pressed against the wood. Madison sat in a huddle with the twins on the floor, sitting up against the bed. The boys cried quietly as the girls were silent.

"Shhh..." Madison whispered to the young boys, as Charlotte tried to pick up the words being screamed on the other side of the house in the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Bruno had his fists pressed firmly against the center island counter, his face bright red. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"I don't understand why you're so mad!" Bruno yelled. "You knew what kind of work I do...and what kind of work I love."

"Bruno," Kim said. "You need to calm down. You haven't gone on tour in years. How could I ever assume that anything would change after all this time?"

"I got into music because I love performing...why you tryin' to take away something I love?"

"I don't want to take anything away from you. Bruno we talked about this...and we decided that a tour as a whole family just isn't a good idea right now. It's too much change," Kim said, before glancing up again to think, getting angrier by the second. "Ya know...it's not even about the tour anymore...it's that we talked about this...decided we wouldn't go through with it...and you just went ahead against with what WE agreed to!"

Back in the twins' bedroom, the boys had fallen asleep in their beds, as Charlotte, and now Madison, sat at the door, continuing to listen with the lights off. The light from the hallway and the light from the moon in the window allowed them to see each other despite the darkness.

"They never fight like this...like ever," Madison said.

Charlotte didn't respond; she just shook her head over and over. She sighed deeply, resting her head on the door.

"Maybe Dad will just go on tour without us...or maybe he'll decide not to go at all," Madison said.

"I don't think so...he already had that meeting about it...and he really wants us to go too," Charlotte replied.

Madison listened through the door some more as Charlotte stayed in her own world. The fight continued on with the same points from Kim and Bruno. To the kids, it seemed to last for hours.

"Maybe we should go back to our rooms," Madison said. "I think they're almost done."

"What if they break up?" Charlotte said softly. "What if they get divorced? This is so bad."

"They won't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do," Madison shrugged.

"I hope you're right," Charlotte said as the two girls stood up, making their ways back to their own rooms.

Bruno began walking down the hallway, grabbing some blankets from the closet to set up on the couch. He set the blankets down for a second when he saw Charlotte's light on. She sat on the edge of her bed when he'd opened it.

"What are you doing up?" Bruno asked with red, bloodshot eyes.

"Oh," she said in a short breath, sliding her legs under the covers. "I was just in the bathroom 'cause I forgot to brush my teeth."

"Oh...okay. Night," he said, beginning to shut the door again.

"Wait," Charlotte said. "Dad..."

"Yeah?" He said, peeking his head through again.

"Are you..." she said in a quiet voice. "Are you okay? You look...sad..."

Without an immediate response, Bruno came into her room completely.