Synge

|§| Chapter 5 |§|

I waved goodbye as Connie jogged away. She insisted on walking me home after what happened in school today.

I rushed inside, shutting the door behind me. I could hear voices coming from the kitchen. Dad, my brothers... and someone I didn't recognize. Placing my bag by the door, I ventured into the kitchen. The boys were all sitting at the counter eating pizza, while Dad was talking to some woman. She was tall with curly black hair, olive skin and sharp hazel eyes. She smiled at me, giving me a little wave.

"Dad who is this?" I asked, my voice eerily calm.

He seemed a bit nervous, his face going a bit pale.

"Uh Coraline.... this is Allison, my new... uh..." His voice trailed off as he looked down at his plate.

"Friend." Allison finished for him, her voice soft and quite.

Something about her, and the way they looked at each other told me otherwise.

"Oh?" Was all I could utter out of my lips.

Dad smiled, his eyes landing on this woman. It was that look again. The one he had when he looked at mom. A snowball formed in my throat.

"I'm.... I'm gonna go have a nap." I whispered, slowly heading upstairs.

"Aren't you hun-" Dad couldn't even finish his sentence before I slammed my door closed.

Confusion washed over me as I kicked off my shoes and crawled into bed, hiding under my covers.

*^*^*^*

By the time I woke up, I could still hear Allison's voice downstairs. I rolled over onto my side, my eyes landing on my clock.

23:00

"Should that lady be home by now?" I mumbled to myself, getting up and leaving my room.

I walked downstairs to see everyone hanging out in the living room. None of the them seemed to notice I was here. Noah and Oliver were asking Allison questions, while Oscar just giggled at some of her answers. Dad had his arm around her waist, hugging her tightly against him. I could hear my heartbeat in my head, as he laughed along with her. He looked so happy.

'He can't be happy with her! What about mom?!' I screamed in my head.

I felt my heart shatter in my chest, as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. My eyes widened and tears stung my eyes. Mouth agape and knees shaking, I sprinted out the front door and away from the house. No one came after me.

I sprinted all the way to a steep hill a few blocks away, stopping myself by grabbing a tree at the very top. I stared forward, the anger and fear that brewed in me being released through scorching tears that burned down my cheeks. A loud sob left my lips, as I slid to the ground, holding onto the tree for support. I quietly cried into the crook of my arm, soaking the sleeve of my black sweater.

*^*^*^*

I watched the sun crawl up the sky from the tree branch I had climbed onto. I hadn't slept all night. How could I? My father just abandoned my own mother for some other woman. I sniffled and rubbed my tear stained face. My chest ached from crying, and my head was pounding.

"Coraline?!" I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard my dad's voice calling for me.

I looked down to see him walking below me.

"Up here." I said, just loud enough for him to hear.

He shot his upwards, sighing with relief at the sight of me. It didn't last long, as it was quickly replaced by anger.

"Get down here!" He ordered.

"Why should I? You'll probably just abandon me!" I spat, my voice scratchy and sore from crying.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, I could almost see the smoke coming from his ears.

"You abandoned mom for this Allison woman. What's stopping you from doing that to me?" My voice steadily went quieter, as I felt the urge to fall back into my shell.

Dad rolled his eyes.

"Just get down here." He muttered.

I scoffed and hopped off the branch, landing in front of him. His arms were crossed and he was staring in between my eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, rubbing his face in frustration.

"What's wrong with you?" I retorted.

"Excuse me?" He asked, clearly about to explode.

We locked eyes, neither of us afraid of the other.

"Your the own who left your own wife for that tæve!" I yelled, crossing my arms like him.

Whack! His hand came out of nowhere, and smacked into my mouth. The force of the blow whipped my head to the left, leaving me in complete shock.

"Don't you ever talk about Allison that way!" He was furious.

Anger surged in my chest, making my skin heat up.

"Why not?! Because you love her?!" I asked, swinging my arms down with a huff.

He scoffed, holding his head in one of his hands.

"Get back home, before I kick your røv. Got it?!" He ordered, clearly done with the argument.

I shook me head and shoved him back, running past him.

"You'll never understand..." I muttered.

*^*^*^*

I took a moment to compose myself before walking into the house. I could hear the boys outside playing games. Allison was sitting at the table, sipping at a steaming mug, of what smelled like coffee. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Why are you still here?" I asked, putting emphasis on the word you.

She looked up at me, a nervous smile appearing on her face.

"I stayed the night." She said quickly.

I furrowed my eyebrows, clenching my hands into tight fists.

"Where did you sleep?" I questioned.

"With your dad." She answered quietly.

"In the bed?"

"Yes."

"On the left side?"

"Yes...?"

"So you slept in my mom's place." I accused, getting a tight drowning feeling in my chest.

Her face paled, and she looked down.

"I didn't know that was the side your mother slept on."

I nodded, turning towards the stairs.

"I'm sure you didn't."

~End of Chapter 5~

Key:
Tæve = bitch
Røv = ass