Taking slow, deep breaths, I peered down at the pattern that had been engraved deep into the skin of my wrist, so deep that it was a piece of my DNA. It was painful for me to admit but it was beautiful, a tiny set of piano keys that descended into a...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter 7 - Comforting Hugs
I didn't know why it affected me so much, having my dad reject my mother right in front of my eyes and Cole's too. A huge chunk of me felt as if it had gone limp, not properly working and I blamed it on the now official separation of my mother and dad. They were no longer connected to each other at all, merely people that used to share a nearly unbreakable bond until one of them broke it. The only connection they now shared was me and Cole.
The look on mother's face almost made me feel bad for her, heartbreak and sadness spilling out down her face as she sobbed, her knees having given out so that she went crashing to the ground but nobody caught her. Dad seemed to be in pain too, holding a hand to his left wrist where his mark was, the skin probably burning as the bond had been broken between him and his intended. Quickly before a crowd could gather around us, I pulled dad and Cole into a nearby taxi and ordered him to take us straight to our house, attempting to calm Cole down who was hysterical.
We could feel it and it hurt, our hearts aching as our DNA seemed to change, acknowledging that our parents were no longer tied by the same string but separated with frayed edges. Nothing felt right and I'd felt this way before, on the day that mother had packed her things and left us with nothing, just our dad to pick up the broken pieces she left behind. Just like the car ride to the restaurant, nobody spoke a word, tension hanging over us like a storm cloud.
"Does this mean mother and dad will never find each other again, Sophie? We're never going to see her again, are we?" Cole broke the silence forlornly, looking up at me with big puppy eyes that made my heart ache. Though he hated people saying it, Cole was still a child and no child should ever have to witness their parents breaking the sacred bond that would one day tie them to another. After seeing it happen myself, I prayed that I would never have to go through it myself. My hand found itself stroking through his dark curls, hoping to calm him down as he cried softly. Dad still hadn't said a word, looking out of the window at the streets we passed on our way through.
"Think of it this way Cole, it might help you to get to grips with it. When did we ever see her anyway? What did mother ever do for us that wasn't materialistic in some way? It won't be any different but I know you can feel that they're no longer connected but it's all going to be fine. Dad rejecting mother won't change anything okay? You'll always have me and dad, no matter what happens." I comforted him, hugging him comfortingly which also soothed my own hurt. Neither of us said a word to dad but I could tell he was listening, eyes darting to us every couple of seconds, but we weren't trying to isolate him, we just really had no idea of what to say to him.
"This is different Sophie. They're not bonded with each other anymore which means that they're never going to get back together again! I had hoped that they were going to reunite one day, no matter how stupid it makes me look and now there's no hope! She's still my mother Sophie!" Cole yelled, holding his screwed up fists against his eyes to shield his tears from my view. He could never hide his emotions well, his beautifully tanned skin turning red and blotchy once he became emotional. It was a trait that I myself suffered from.
