Runaway from Peace

Ch. 3: Happy Voices and Stunned Faces

            As I sprinted into the house, my brothers were playing with their Bakugan action figures while the babysitter, Ashlyn, was bringing them microwaved popcorn. My Mom hired a babysitter because my brothers get out of school at 2:00 and she's still working, so the babysitter picks them up and brings them home.

          When Ashlyn heard the door open, she looked at us and said, "Hi Ms. Bertolini! I was just giving the boys a reward for behaving so nicely." My Mom stared at her like she was taking happy pills. I had the same feeling.

          As my Mom locked the door behind us, I quickly hung up my coat and set aside my backpack. Ashlyn handed the boys their popcorn and started to walk towards her sandals and her purse which were on the shoe mat by the front door. My Mom dug into her purse and pulled out her wallet as I dropped my bag by the coat rack and trudged past the living room where the boys were and towards the kitchen.

          It smelled like popcorn and I noticed a pile of papers surrounding my Mom's spot at the table. The kitchen overall was clean. The dishes were neatly put away, the counter was wiped and dusted, and the usual candy wrappers were in the trash, not all over the kitchen in miscellaneous. Courtesy of Ashlyn is my guess.

          I went to the far corner of the kitchen and grabbed a cookie from the Chip's A-hoy! container-thingy. I bit into it, and it was chocolatey and delicious. I then held the cookie in my mouth and opened the pantry. I scanned it and picked up the pretzels. I put it on the table and went for the fridge. I opened it and grabbed a pepsi out of the side holder. I then snatched the pretzel bag off the table and sprinted out of the kitchen towards the winding staircase near the entrance of the house where my Mom was.

        All I had for lunch was a turkey sandwich and animal crackers, so I'm starving! I was in a rush this morning because I woke up at 7:30 and school started at 8:00. I'm usually late since by brothers are apparently deaf and have understanding issues.

         As I raced up the stairs, my brothers spotted me, dropped their toys in the living room, and chased after me. As I reached the top of the staircase, I doubled my speed as I turned left and headed straight across the hall to my bedroom. As I ran, I could hear them yelling, "We want some!" but I kept on running. When I reached my room, I went inside, slammed the door behind me, and turned on the door. I started to breathe slowly as my brothers reached my door and pounded on it. I rolled my eyes and screamed, "Go away!" They just ignored me and kept struggling to get in. I just threw myself onto the bed and ate a few pretzels as I waited them out. They finally went away after 30 seconds, thank God! I just wanted to relax and calm myself before my Dad showed up. Who knows where he's been all these years.

        After I finished eating, I got up off my bed and trudged across the room to my white, cluttered desk. I pulled out a bag from the shelf above it that had all of my make-up in it. (All the make-up is for my dance competitions and recitals.) It was a turqoise blue bag that had a zipper with the company name on it: Clinique. I unzipped it and took out my Covergirl eye shadow. I took the brush and lightly swept it across the brown powder. I then delicately dabbed my eyelids with the eye brush. I wanted to look presentable in front of my Dad, not a messy hobo who just came out of the rain. When I'm in the rain, my hair looks AWFUL. I get knots and it looks like ripped, brown yarn. My eyes look like I just got out of bed, so I actually needed some make-up.  

       After I put on my eye shadow, I crept towards the door and slowly cracked it open and peaked out. I let out a big sigh of relief and tip-toed towards my bathroom which was right next to my room, so I didn't have to walk far. My bathroom was small and dainty, but it was all mine, thankfully. I pulled the bathroom key from my pocket and I quietly stuck it in the keyhole. What? My brothers give me no privacy, so I begged my Mom for the key and she finally gave in.

       I then turned the key in the lock and slowly opened the door. I quickly snuck in and shut the door behind me quiet enough so Zack and Kurt couldn't hear. I leaned against the door and sunk down in relief. I took a quick breather and got up. I picked up my brush from the round, glass sink and began to roughly brush my hair.

       My string-like hair was a mess on its own, but since it was raining, it's even more terrible. I nearly ripped my hair out trying to untangle my knots. After nearly ripping my hair out, it finally looked presentable. I put down my hair-covered brush on the edge of the sink and peaked through the keyhole in the door. All I could see was the periwinkle colored wall and the white crown molding that gave the wall a little pep.

         I patted my front pocket of my jeans to make sure the key was still there. I could feel the metal texture of the key that locked my protection and privacy. I turned my hand o. The glass doorknob and slowly, quietly, opened the door. I opened it half way to see if the coast was clear. I looked left, then right, and no sign of Zack or Kurt. I slowly, quietly made my way out of my bathroom. When I was out, I scrambled through my pocket and quickly grabbed the key and jammed it into the lock and concealed my privacy paradise.  

         I swiftly ran into my room and softly shut the door and turned the lock. I let out a huge sigh and collapsed on my bed. All I could think about was what my Dad would say. For all I know someone might be playing a joke, but I don't think anyone would go that far, unless they really dislike me.  

         I just layers on my bed for a few minutes when the doorbell interrupted my space-out moment. My stomach started fluttering with butterflies and it felt like my stomach would explode. I just took a deep breath, and started calmly heading downstairs.

         As I walked down the spiral staircase, I saw my Mom making her way towards the front door. My brothers ignored the doorbell and continued their game of monster truck smash down. Me and my Mom exchanged looks of nervousness when I got to the bottom of the stairs.  

         "Are you ready?" I asked. My Mom looked at me and nodded. She slowly opened the door and there he was. He had a look on his face like he did something he was proud of. It looked like he hadn't showered in weeks. He also could've passed as a hobo considering he had hole-infested jeans, a tattered T-shirt, and run-down flip-flops. His hair was sticking out in all different directions, and his face looked scraggly since he probably hasn't shaved. His teeth were stained with coffee beans and beer. What a surprise.

        "I'm home," he said. "Ron, come in," my mother replied. I glared at her. The look on my face told her, " why are you letting this heart-breaking pig inside OUR house, not his?" as he came inside, he looked straight ahead at his sons. Zack and Kurt looked at him like news a complete stranger.

       "My boys! It's your father!" he said. The boys looked at each other, got up, and ran towards him. They hugged him at laughed with. Me and my Mom just looked at them in disgust. As I kept looking at them, I whispered in my Mom's ear, "They don't even know what's going on, do they?" "Nope" my Mom answered. I watched in horror as my brothers and father had a great time laughing, wrestling, and giving each other noogies.

        After they were done, my Dad came towards us andme and my Mom froze. As my Dad finished approaching us, he said, "Look, I'm really, truly sorry for being such a terrible father." Me and my Mom crossed our arms and glared at him. "While I was gone, I thought about you the whole time. I wanted to come back, but I didn't want to embarrass you. I know you won't forgive me that easily, but I promise I will permanently stay." I stared at him in awe. I couldn't believe that he expects us to forgive him and let him be apart of our family again. I don't even think he knows how we feel right now with him waltzing in OUR home and him abandoning us and just everything he's done.

        "How can you expect us to let you stay here?!" I blurted out. " Are you blind?! You have no idea how we feel right now. It makes me sick seeing you and the boys wrestling and them not knowing what happened!" NowZack and Kurt started paying attention. "I can't even believe what I'm seeing! You left and abandoned us and you left Mom to watch us on her own. How could you?" Everyone stared, waiting for my Dad to talk back. Tears started pouring down my face and I ran upstairs. "Shannon, come back!" my Dad called. I ignored him and just kept running.