A Sliver Of Moonlight

Chapter One: The First Night

I awoke to the smell of bacon being cooked. My mom must've woken up. I got out of bed and put on my green-blue slippers I always had right beside of my door. Slowly walking down the hallway, I made my way to the kitchen. Yep. There was mom.

"Good morning sweetie." she said to me as I sat down at the table. I didn't reply. Today was not going to be a good day.

My parents split up when I was 8. I despised my father from the moment he left us. My mother was heartbroken but she never showed it. Today marks the first day that I go visit my father since my parents split. And I was not looking forward to it.

My mom put a plate with bacon and eggs on it in front of me. "Here you are." She said, gesturing towards the plate. "Thanks mom," I said as I took the fork in my hand and got a mouthful of eggs. Bailey, my sister, is 9. She was only 4 when our parents split. She doesn't remember Dad but never mentions him. When she came down the hallway, I could tell she didn't get much sleep last night. She had bags under her eyes, and when she sat down at the table, her eyes were just barely open. Bailey started bouncing her leg as she bit into to the piece of toast made hot for her. A sure sign she was nervous. "C'mon, you two! Speak! Express your feelings!" This was something we did at every meal. Sat down together and talked about our feelings and the day that was ahead of us. I didn't say a word. Bailey gave me the look she always does when she isn't in a good mood. "Alright, fine! I'll just talk to this chair. Hello, chair! How did you sleep?" Mom looked looked a crazy person. Then again, she was.

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I had packed my bags the night before and so did Bailey. As mom loaded them into the car, Bailey looked at me and said to me "Am I supposed to be happy right now?" I was stunned. Bailey had never spoken to anyone in that tone. "No," I replied, "And I'm not happy either. Why does mom have to bring us to dad's house? Why can't we just stay with Aunt Marie?"

None of us spoke the entire ride.

It was just past 7:00 when we arrived. The house basically a shack with a bedroom, a TV, and a man in it. That man was my father. Despite being eager for the morning so we could leave, I was also really nervous. I didn't know if Dad's personality had changed, and if it did, was it for the better?

Grabbing our bags, Bailey and I hesitantly wandered up the stone pathway to the front door. Mom was only a few feet behind us we he opened the door. I hadn't even knocked. There stood a tall, stocky, grey-haired man wearing a T-shirt and some cargo shorts.

"Hello, Linda," he said to my mother. She didn't acknowledge that he had said anything. "What your name?" He said to my sister. "Bailey," she replied, "and I'm nine years old." Bailey quickly looked away as he knelt down to the ground so we didn't have to look so high to see his face. "Hello, Joyce," he spoke to me in a soft voice. A voice that sounded sweet and innocent as a man like him could be. I replied "Hi, Dad. How are you?" I wanted to be nice but honestly I didn't care how he was. "Good, thank you for asking. Would you like to come in?" I felt the cool autumn breeze hit my back. Dad picked up my bags and helped Bailey get hers, too. We all went inside, to the small living room where there was a cot put out for Bailey and I each.

Mom, Bailey, Dad and I all had dinner together before mom left. I was still very nervous, despite the dinner being very family friendly and only slightly awkward. Here I lye down on my cot and start to unpack my bags into a small dresser Bailey and I will have to share.

This was the first night. "It definitely couldn't get any worse," I said to Bailey. Boy was I wrong.

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Thank you for reading!! I will try to update every week, but if school doesn't allow, I'll do it soon!!