Tenacity {COMPLETED}

T E N

"Hey Dad! I'm home!" I call as I walk into the house.
"She's asleep." He answers in a hoarse voice.
"Dad, are you okay?" I look around the room and notice the bags piled on the couch.
"Are you leaving?" I ask, trying to keep my voice under control without cracking.
"Yes, your mother and I have agreed that it's best for all of us".
"But I thought you two were okay? You argued a month ago, it's been better." Please don't say it hasn't..
"I know baby girl, we tried to make it work, for you and Lilah, it just isn't working. Your mother and I have been together since we were your age. The sparks are gone."
"But Da..Dad."
He walks to me and hugs me. I inhale the scent of him, afraid that I won't able to see him anymore.
He pulls back and looks at me, "Things will be better. I promise." He wipes my eyes and pulls me into a hug, prior to kissing me on my hair.
"What about Lilah? I don't want her to grow up being handed over from house to house on weekends and holidays! I want Lilah to have what I had, both of you at the same time."
"Honey, I know it's hard, but we have to talk about this when your mother gets home."
I take my things upstairs and sit at my desk. I spin around in the chair slowly, looking at all the pictures of our family hanging on the wall. The wall is literally covered from the base board to the ceiling.
Maybe this is all a bad dream. Just a very bad, bad dream. If I try to pinch myself, maybe I'll wake up to a giggling baby sister in her high chair, a dad who is happily slurping his coffee, and a mother who is making breakfast.
But then again, maybe it's not.
•••••
I hear a footboard creek lightly while the doorknob turns. I turn the chair to face my door, my mom and dad walk in at the same time.
Mom sits on my bed while dad sits on the opposite side of me. The mood was getting more somber by the minute. Mom looked as if she was about to burst out bawling and Dad wouldn't make eye contact with me.
"Sweetheart," Mom said. "Your Dad and I have been trying to figure out how best to break the news to you, and I'm afraid there's no way of saying this that's going to be easy for you to hear".
I felt every fiber of my body freeze. My heart started thumping loudly in my chest and I began to breathe more rapidly.
"For some time now," Mom continued, "Your Dad and I have felt like our relationship has changed from what it was when we first met and fell in love. Your father and I decided-" Oh God.
"Stop! Don't" I said, bursting into sobs.
"Oh sweetheart..." Mom was crying now, too. "Your dad and I..."
"STOP SAYING 'YOUR DAD!!" I shouted. "He's YOUR HUSBAND!" Nobody said anything for a few moments, but then dad lifted his head. He looked agonized.
"Allie, we're still a family no matter what. We'll always be a family, and nothing changes that. Your mom..Mom and I will always love each other, but our family is going to be a lot more happy and a lot more healthy if we don't remain remarried to one another".
"But I thought you were happy." I could feel my lower lip turn down. The ugly face crying was setting in and snot was hanging out of my nose. "What about Christmas? Everything was great!"
"Allie, were so sorry," Mom said. "Were so sorry to be hurting you. But we're thinking about what's best for you and Lilah."
"Oh, what's best for us?" I said, snapping at her. "Were you thinking about what's best for us when you were off cheating on Dad with every other customer at the theatre every Monday night when we thought you were working? Yeah, I talked to Maggie."
She looked at the floor, but Dad stood up and looked angry now.
"You watch your mouth! She is still your Mother!"
"I don't have to, because I am done talking!" I get out of my room and slam the door behind me. I run downstairs and grab my coat off the rack, also slamming the door with enough force to shake the house.
It must have woken Lilah, because she started crying from the bedroom. She continued to cry, and so did I.
•••••
The next morning, I wake up on my bed, still fully dressed. The alarm clock on my nightstand glowed twelve-thirteen. I lifted my head off my damp pillowcase, from where I spent the rest of the night crying.
There was no way I could go back to sleep. Remembering the awful conversation with my parents, I wondered why all of this was happening. I'd been staring at the picture of us at the Carnival on my wall when they had broken the news. Weird the things you notice when your world is crashing down around you.
I sighed deeply. My chest ached like someone had been sitting on it. My face felt hot and my eyes lids were puffy. What was going to happen now? Would mom help move her jerk boyfriend in this house? Would Dad have to rent a crummy apartment on the other side of town? Could they even afford to get a divorce? Was this the death knell for my chances of going to college?
I knew it was selfish to think that way, but goddamnit, they were the selfish ones! You don't just tear a family apart on a whim; you find a way to make it work.
I turned on my nightstand and retrieved my satchel, along with a Bic pen, thinking writing might help. But my eyes were too blurred wth tears to even see the lines in the paper. Besides, I felt more like jabbing the pen through my thigh than actually using it more than its intended purpose.
I chucked the pen and the journal across the room, making it hit the wall with a successful thump.
God, if you're listening, kill me now..
I pick up my phone and dial Jj's number, but two to three rings later I hang up. A couple moments later he calls back. I ignore. I haven't talked to Justin since he asked me to be his girlfriend and since he asked me to prom. I guess you could say I am a terrible person.
It vibrated several times that night as I lay awake in my bed. He'd left one voicemail and several texts: RUOKAY?? and "???". By three-fifteen he had stopped trying. I finally drifted back to sleep two hours later.
••••••
On Monday at school, I avoided him like the plague. Lele told me that I was a stalker, she's right; I pretty much knew where all of his classes were, which helped me to circumnavigate any hallways where I might potentially cross his path.
Unfortunately, I still had to see Lele in class, but I managed not to make eye contact with her, afraid I'd be turned to stone. She didn't say a word to me for that whole class period.
My hands were shaking as I fumbled with my locker combination. I dropped my books into the locker and plucked my hefty economics book from the bottom of the stack. Slamming the metal door, I turned around to see Sean waiting patiently with his arms behind his back.
"What do you want Sean?" I ask impatiently.
"Look, before you say anything, I am just going to tell you that I won't ask you anymore if you say no. But listen to this, I am not a bad guy, I promise. I may be a geek or whatnot but--"
"I'll go to prom with you Sean.."
"What?" He asks, confused.
"I will go to prom with you."
"Here." He holds out a giant
Bouquet of light-up flowers.
"Thanks." I hug him from the side and walk off, leaving him in the hallway. Did I accept his proposal for prom out of spite?
••••
I ate my lunch in the newspaper office to avoid seeing either her or Justin in the cafeteria. Lydia came in the office while I was picking at my turkey sandwich.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. I shrugged, but tossed my sandwich in the trash can behind me.
I'd gotten up at five in the morning so I wouldn't have to run into my parents at home. The maintenance man and I were the first people on the school premises, and I headed straight to the darkroom to develop the pictures. The day before, I muttered a few grief grunts to mom and dad before I went to the diner, working an extra shift just to get out of the house.
I knew I had to interact with my parents eventually but I wasn't ready just yet.
"Okay Grumps, I can take a hint." Just then Shawn and Carter came in bickering as usual.
"All I'm saying is, I don't think golf is really an athletic pursuit." Carter said in a griping tone. "I mean, you might as well say that billiards is a sport".
"Some people do say that!" Sean said, rolling his eyes until they landed on me.
"Allie Reynolds, my prom date! Looking prettier than ever!"
"Zip it Sean!" Lydia said. "She's not in the mood."
"That's how I like my ladies." Sean was unrelenting, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Feisty not flirty."
"Sean!" Lydia said, "There's pepper spray on my keychain made for molesters like you. Don't tempt me into using it".
"Sorry Allie, I didn't mean anything by it". He says after I storm out of the office.

Published: 4/4/17
Word count: 1652
Last edited: 3/19/17