His Sunflower

5.Squeeze out the drama please!

" Nova, now tell me why were you standing in the driveway with a knife in your hand, scared as hell but you looked ready to murder anyone." Preston Curtis sat down on his couch sighing heavily and picking up the glass of his unfinished whiskey. Her mom looked down at her laptop and typed furiously.

" You guys" Elara pauses and takes in a deep breathe to calm herself from the pain and anger she was feeling.

" Tell me dad, what is my favorite colour?" She asked him, her eyes still closed in the daze and blaze of the anger she felt, hurt swam within her, and her feelings, all what she felt through these years was taking control of her.

" I don't- does that even matter right now, why do you have to be so moody Nova?" Her dad huffed and looked at her unbelievingly and she looked at the pair of utter failures at parenting. Thanking god at the same time for not making her or Sebastian one of those kids who practically eat and live off drugs because of daddy issues.

" Mom if you would, you keep your oh-so-precious work aside and look at me." She kept the knife on table with more force than necessary and her mother looked at her disdainfully.

" Elara, quit it! You've been acting out!" She shouted and Elara suppressed a cry. Her parents both looked at her and shook their heads in disapproval.

" Seriously. My parents,I don't know suddenly vanish into thin air, with just a note on the fridge, then tell me mother-" Tears flowed freely and she choked before continuing.

" - who should I be expecting, Sebastian?" She said and chuckled drily. Her eyes darted towards the set of her parents who still looked at her accusingly. This night had already been awful for her. And now, they had returned, to her surprise together from wherever the hell they were. Her arm still hurt and she had also sprained her ankle in the process of saving Archer. After two hours of returning from the party, the injuries were not taken care of. Archer's handkerchief hung loosely on her arm she had dashed into a sharp piece of wood.

" You know it's not work that keeps Seb glued in New York, it's you two, just because of you two, my brother hates his hometown. He would rather be abandoned on an island than be here, in the presence of you two. So whe-" 

SLAP!

Elara's mother's Palm crashed on to Elara's cheek as she slapped her harshly. Her cheek reddened by the slap. It did not hurt much, not as intense as the pain she felt.

" Enough Elara, you are lying. Sebastian would never do that t-" 

" Yeah? You think, you should call him mother. Tell him how beautifully you silenced his sister on telling the truth. How could you mom? Do you what he went through before I went to New York? What kind of parents who apparently, claim to care about their children forget to call them for a whole freaking year?" Elara shouted so loud that the whole town could have heard her. She pressed her temples, this was getting out of hands.

At that moment she knew and could see Sebastian's sad face telling her " I told you so"

" Enough Nova, to your room now! I don't know what has gotten into you!" Her dad reprimanded and pointed at the flight of stairs. He was surely angered by what she had to say about their parenting and about his eldest son.

There was no hint of guilt on their faces, they did not even accept the truth that they knew all along. They had always prioritized themselves over their kids and even each other, but none among themselves had anything to complain.

The night dropped it's veil painfully slow but after what felt like years, it did come. A ray of sunshine creaking into the room which felt warm on her face and made her feel home was now just a pain in the eyes. She huffed in annoyance looking at her phone, she couldn't sleep the entire night and so to keep her distracted, she had finished her entire project which was her final one and due for the next two months. So for the next two months she had nothing to do, how boring had her life become, dull would be a better word, it had been quite eventful in a depressing way.