My Purgatory Hell

Chapter 2

"Think of your family today and every day thereafter, don't let the busy world of today keep you from showing how much you love and appreciate your family." 

–Josiah

The rest of my work shift all that I could think about was my racing thoughts on how Hayley persuaded me into attending that naive celebration. Luckily my job didn't even take much thought. Now I was overthinking things and welcoming any excuse that would pop up to avoid getting myself out of that party. After my shift ended, I pulled out my phone and started to text Hayley.

What would I even say? I knew she would figure something was up--she knew me that well--but I was hoping to weasel myself out of it. Many scenarios flashed by in my head. Finally landing on an excuse, I began my text.

'Sorry, but I forgot that I had a family thing tomorrow night...' I read the text over a couple of times before deciding it was ready to send. I hit send and my insides started to feel on fire. I didn't like lying to Hayley or even letting people down. However, my social anxiety was not something that I wanted to mess with. I took my time driving home. By the time I pulled into the driveway, I got a response from Hayley. I took a deep breath before opening her answer. My finger tapped open the text message from my best friend.

'What?!!! Girrl, you have to go! You promised' My stomach dropped with the disappointment of reading her text message. I had a feeling this would be what her response would sound like. I let out the deep breath I'd been holding. I didn't recall making any promises to go to the festivities, but I conceded anyways. A lot was on my mind during work, so I could have mistaken what occurred.

'Fine. Ok. I'll go. See you tomorrow.' I sent my message after sighing and tucked my phone away in my pocket as I exited my car. I swung the door closed with a squeak. Now that I was forced into going, I must figure out the best way to approach my parents with this. My dad wasn't in the garage when I made my way up to the house. By the time I got to the door, I could hear my parents yelling. I froze before opening the door. They were notorious for fighting, and I tried my best to avoid the conflict when possible. However, I wasn't going to stay out here. My feet were aching and I just wanted to hang out in my room. I opened the door quietly.

"Don't give me that!" I heard my dad shout in his booming voice. The sound shook my nerves, making me flinch. His anger was probably the only one that scared me. I definitely hated when my parents fought, and today was no exception.

"You really don't need another stupid toy!" My mother hollered back at my dad. I closed my eyes as I heard the slamming of a chair against the kitchen floor. This was definitely not something I should walk in on. It was a common fight they had that could be resolved with common sense and communication.

"Toy? Toy?!" The volume of my dad's voice increased. "Don't blame me! You have bought your own toys," Dad pointed out. I could just imagine seeing his face turn red. I had taken off my shoes, and I decided now was the best time to interrupt their disagreement. When my parents saw me, they immediately silenced but tension from their fight still hung in the air. Putting on strained smiles, they greeted me

"Hello, honey," Mom greeted me in a very patient and cheery voice. I knew she was faking it, but I wasn't going to mention that.

"Hey," I responded. "Where are the boys?" I asked with a raised eye brow.

"Over at the neighbors for the a while," Dad answered my question with a frown on his face. I could see he clearly disliked this decision, but he didn't say anything further about it. This gave me relief, because I didn't want to be in the middle of their fight.