Hit & Run

Chapter Three: Decisions

Piper Belle-Harwood.

Decisions 

.Nineteen Years Ago.

“But Daddy! No, no, no!” I cried, clinging to my father’s right leg. “Daddy, you can’t leave me and Fleur!”

“Mommy, please don’t make us stay,” Fleur quietly begged beside me, holding tightly to our Mother’s neck as our Mother held Fleur in her arms.

“Piper, we’re not leaving you. Well, not for long. You need to stay-” 

“Daddy, I promise we’ll behave! We won’t run out onto the field when you’re practicing anymore! We won’t!” I lied.

“Yeah, and Mommy we won’t be mean to the Au Pair who watches us when we’re on your movie set,” Fleur promised. I took a moment to toss her a look because, unlike me, she probably meant to keep that promise.

“Piper, Fleur, this isn’t a punishment,” Dad started.

“Yes it is!” Fleur and I cried together, clinging tighter to our respective parents.

“Owen, maybe we should wait a year…” At my mother’s voice, I gasped happily and released my father’s leg to run to my Mother. 

“Oh, Mommy! I love you!” I declared, slamming into her and wrapping my arms around her legs.

“Tracy. No.”

“But Owen-”

“Tracy, they’re five years old and it’s time for them to start school. Now girls, this is your teacher Miss Benzie and she’s going to take care of you for a few hours. Can you say hi to Miss Benzie?"

Fleur started to lift her head from our Mother’s neck to say hello but I looked up, glared at my younger twin sister, and reached up to hit her leg.

 “Owe!”

 "Piper!” I felt my father lift me from the ground and I started to cry. He planted me on his hip. “Piper. Piper sweetie, stop crying. I promise I’ll be back in a few hours. We just want you to stay here to learn for a few hours. Look at all the other kids here. Don’t they look like they’re having fun?” I sniffed, immediately stopping the tears, and took a moment to look around the busy classroom. I nodded. “Don’t you want to have fun with them?”

“I want to have fun with you!” I cried.

“We can still have fun!” Dad promised. “How about after I pick you up from school today, we’ll stop by the chocolate shop and buy some truffles for a tea-party this afternoon?”

I looked between the classroom and my father, warily.

“Can we get the round ones with caramel inside?” I eventually questioned. 

My father nodded seriously.

“Of course.” 

Five minutes later, Fleur and I were holding Miss Benzie’s hands as Mom and Dad left us for our first day of Kindergarten.

“-And this is the coloring table. Do you want to stay here and color?” She asked us. Fleur looked over at me, her brown hair pulled into two braids and her grey eyes wide and unsure. I twirled the ends of my own pigtails and pulled at my pretty green dress before I nodded at Miss Benzie. She smiled, pleased. “Okay then, I’ll leave you girls to it.”