The Dallas Complex (Magcon Fanfic)

Prologue

I sat criss-cross on my bed with my elbows resting on my knees to support my hands that held my iPhone in front of my face. Tapping on the home button once and exiting from my previous app, instagram, I scrolled through my pages searching for my favorite app at the moment; Vine. It’s silly I know, I mean how can my favorite app be something that lasts 6 seconds at the most? Well I presume it’s just my sense of humor that kicks in whenever I watch the vines that people post. I’m not a very fun person and I prefer to stay in unlike most teenagers.

I wasn’t always this way though; it was up until that one spring afternoon.

We had just gotten back from the beach, my parents and all my siblings that is, and we were unloading the beach supplies from the trunk to the garage. The last item was our drink cooler so of course, me being the oldest, I was the one who had to bring it in. With everything and everyone unloaded, my dad called us into the living room for a family meeting. His smile faded from the one I saw at the beach to a more regretful forced one. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew what he was about to say wasn’t good. Of course my siblings were completely oblivious to my parents’ change of behavior for they just kept chatting on the couch, laughing at what we were going to talk about.

Ideas flooded the air. A new vacation? Perhaps we were going to move into a new house. Or maybe even another pet, as if two dogs and one cat wasn’t enough. No one was prepared for what they were about to say. My dad broke the news to us kids and the minute those four words were uttered from his mouth, I knew nothing would be the same.

“We’re getting a divorce.”

I still hear his voice in my head over and over again. I can even imagine how his face and body posture looked like. It was complete silence for a good 10 minutes. Nobody knew how to react and my parents knew that it would take some time to sink in. My younger brother was the first to talk, which surprised me since I didn’t know he would react to the situation so quickly.

 “What’s a divorce?” He asked in his quiet yet confused voice.

Bless him for not being corrupted with real world problems. My mother sighed and kneeled down in front of the couch that sat all of us. She began explaining to us what a divorce was and what was going to happen. Her lecture was mainly directed to the younger kids since she knew I was old and mature enough to know what was happening. I was 17 going on 18; it would’ve been foolish if I didn’t know what a divorce was. They tried to calm my siblings down for the tears began streaming down their faces and I could see the goose bumps forming on their legs. We were all still in our beach wear, only a towel was protecting us from the chilly mood that our parents had dropped on us.

  While they frantically fed my siblings with lies like “It’s all going to be alright.” “Nothing has to change.” “This is better for us.” I excused myself from the group and made my way up the stairs to my bedroom. I wasn’t as young and naïve as my siblings. I knew everything was going to change, separate households, scheduled visits, and all the wonderful things that come with divorce. Take note of my sarcasm. My father tried calling after me as I made my way up the stairs but by the time he could get my name out of his mouth, I had already shut the bedroom door. I locked it and struggled to push my dresser in the way of the door since I knew they had a key to my room and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. No, I wasn’t crying but I also wasn’t leaping for joy. I suppose it hadn’t sunk in yet and that was the reason why my emotions weren’t overwhelming my body.

 Standing in the middle of the room I dropped my towel and opened the drawers of the dresser that was still pressed against the door. Picking out a plain white tank top and gray sweatpants, I went into the bathroom to freshen up. With every step I took I reheard my father’s voice saying “We’re getting a divorce” and I pictured my mother kneeling down in front of us looking regretful. I took off my bikini and stepped into the shower. Turning the knob halfway, I felt the cold droplets pelt my body. I didn’t jump at the temperature like I usually did, I didn’t have enough energy I guess. In less than a minute, the water began warming up to my desired heat. I just stood in the shower while the water drenched away the salty beach air from my hair and the left over sand that stuck to my body and feet. I didn’t make a sound and I didn’t move. I just stood there. There was no way to tell if I was crying or if it was just the water from the shower dripping down my face. I didn’t want to know and I definitely didn’t want to picture myself weak in the moment.

 After just standing there for a good five minutes, I felt myself begin to prune so I hurried along with my usual routine. Shampoo, condition, rinse, shave, and body wash to top it all off. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a plain white towel around me. Picking up the clothes I had picked earlier, I quickly dressed myself and left my hair to air dry. Not one tear was on my face and it surprised me at how well I handled it all. I would be fine, I thought. Boy did I fool myself.

Not too long after that day, I give it maybe a week, was when I began to fall apart. My weight dropped majorly as did my grades. A straight A student doesn’t just become a new straight C student so of course they called my parents and me in for a little chat. They tried explaining it to them that it was because of their divorce but that didn’t quiet my teachers. I didn’t really see the point in them caring anyways.

 It was my last year, my senior year, and I had already applied for colleges in my junior year so I’m technically home free. I had gotten into my dream college, University of California Los Angeles, UCLA for short. I was on top of the world until that one afternoon. One bad decision led to another and I found myself straying off path. I never drank majorly before but now I could’ve been considered a drunkie. I also experimented with drugs but my number one life-changing move was self-harm. I can’t explain it to someone who isn’t going through depression. How could it possibly help your pain if all it does is cause more? It’s nothing like that. It provided a release. My arm and thighs turned into an outlet for my anger and sadness. My life was nothing but a nightmare turned into reality.

 Kelsey Bordelon… or Kelsey Rycroft now I suppose. A simple teenage girl just lost in her own world, hoping for an escape. I didn’t have much friends and I only really had one best friend my whole life. But with the divorce situation, I pushed everyone away from me. My best friend, Jenna, and I haven’t talked since that spring afternoon and I’m still greeted by her missed calls, ignored texts, and countless voicemails. I can sense she’s giving up on me, everyone does, and even I had gotten to that point. There was just no turning point for me anymore. If there were, I sure as hell couldn’t find it anymore.

 So yeah, my life wasn’t always a terrible sad song. It was more of an upbeat happy song that you’d jump out of you seat and dance to whenever it played in the car.

 It’s crazy how four words changed my entire life but it’s even crazier how six seconds saved it too.