Three Of A Kind

Part Three- Don't come home

Jade

After going over the letter several times and raking my hand through my hair a million times more, I decided that I was going to have to tell my parents at one point or another. Three days. That is all I had left. I haven't told them yet. Maybe I should just leave a note? Because I waited so long, my parents would most likely be more mad than sorry since I had withheld this information.

Or a scavenger hunt! Like when cute couples asked each other to prom or something. Except I would be telling my parents I had three days to see them for possibly the last time in my life...

Only a slight difference, right?

I'm just going to tell them. I only have three days left and no matter how much they annoy me, its probably better that they know. They're my parents, family, I love them, after all. I couldn't imagine having a daughter and then waking up one day and shes just... gone. That would be absolutely terrifying. I never want to think about that. I shudder and look and the tapes in the radio, its calming to watch the black strips go in loops, playing ever so softly.

Taking a deep, reassuring breath, I turn off the crappy mix-tape my ex-boyfriend gave me and brought the dreaded letter downstairs. Before I go on, can you believe he made me a mixtape? Like come one dude, this is 2050, at least put it on a flashdrive or record player. Make it classic or modern, not some knock off plastic case. At least its therapeutic.

Taking the steps only one at a time, my parents could tell something was up before I reached the landing. Sitting at the modern asian mahogany table with carved dragons on the legs, my mother set down her tea and papers. I caught a glimpse of her drawings before she picked them up, straightened the sheets out, and put them back in their exact folder with laminated labels.

My mother is very organized, if you couldn't already tell. Something I could tell, however, is that she was preparing for war.

No pun intended.

Whenever Mother put away her interior design papers, you know something serious is definatley going to happen, or is happening. The last time she put her papers away, she sent my brother off to a boarding school. That was thirteen years ago. The last time I saw my brother, I was eight and he was ten. Now I'm twenty-one and still living with my parents.

He still hasn't come back from school.

I had reached the table that mother designed when dad finally decided that grading papers was less fun than interacting with his family.

Clearing my throat I toss the letter at them and watch as it slides across and comes to a gradual stop at mother's fingertips. I decide to make eye contact with the porcelain pig in the corner of the room by the stereo that mother keeps about because it was "authentic."

The pig won the staring contest after I blinked when mother gave a loud gasp. Stealing a glance back at them, I saw mother pass the letter to dad then delicately place her face in her hands as not to smudge her makeup.

Dad looked at me with a shocked expression and then at mother. Mother raised her head back up and cleared her throat with authority. "Parker, its a sign. We've been discussing this for a long time now, you know as well as I do it is something."

"Well Lin it isn't a blessing from the bloody gods!" My father's face had turned as red as the tomatoes in the plant pots hanging from the ceiling. Did I mention how different my parents are?

My dad is an older british man with light grey hair and small outlines of mousy brown. He has bright blue eyes and an easy smile that never falters. He works as a teacher full time and plans to retire next year.