Reunited [Legends of Tomorrow]

-3-

A week had passed since the first day of school. Sara was getting a little more comfortable. Julia helped with that a lot. She seemed excited over everything. They sat together at lunch and every class they had together. Sara was glad she didn't depend on her sister anymore. It was embarrassing enough to hang out with her, let alone hang out with her friends. "Don't you think one o'clock is hot?" Julia asked as she stared at this guy a few meters away from her. "I guess" Sara answered as she barely looked at him. She just ate her bread, hoping this day would pass soon. She couldn't wait to get home. "Hey, I have an idea" Julia ignored the fact that Sara didn't pay attention to the boy. After a moment of silence, where Julia hoped Sara would respond enthusiastically, she continued: "Why don't we hang out after school? It doesn't have to be today. I could come to your house on Saturday"
Sara didn't want to blow her off already. She might need a friend for the rest of the schoolyear. "Why not" she answered as she swallowed the last bit of her lunch. Today was Thursday, so Saturday would come pretty soon. Sara was already nervous. What would they do? Lost in her thoughts Julia punched her side. "I asked" she repeated, "Where you live"
"Sorry, uh, I live in Griffin Street" Sara answered absently. 

But when she came home from school the next day, her whole life changed. Instead of settling down to celebrate the weekend that she had after a long school week with a lot of work, she came home with an unexpected venue. Her mother was in the living room and it looked like she was just done packing. But packing for what? Tears poured down her cheeks as she didn't even look at Sara as she walked in. "What's going on?" she had asked with a trembling voice. Then she heard something from the kitchen en ran there. Her father was crying and Sara could see he had just slammed a glass against the wall. "What's going on?" Sara asked again as she was about to cry with them. Then she heard the door shut. It took Sara a moment to realize her mother had left the house. She ran after her mother. It had started raining and she stood on the front porch. Her mother had called a cap and it just arrived. "Mom!" Sara yelled. Her mother looked over her shoulder. Then she stepped inside the car and closed the door. It drove away. With her mother. Tears poured down Sara's cheek as she didn't understand why her mother had left with a suitcase. The rain poured down and Sara decided to go back inside, because it was getting colder. 

Quentin calmed down a bit by the time Laurel got home from school. She had no idea what happened here an hour before. But Sara couldn't explain it to her, because she didn't understand it herself. Quentin called his daughters into the kitchen and told them to sit down. They listened to him and were afraid of what he might say. They didn't want to be confronted with the truth, because deep down they knew it would hurt. "I'm going to be honest with you. Your mother and I have been fighting for years. She couldn't take it anymore. She said she wanted to live a life where she didn't have to pretend to be happy. I'm sorry kids" he explained with a trembling voice. Sara glanced at Laurel and she noticed how her sister wasn't smiling. She was always smiling. But not now. The strange part was that she wasn't looking as sad as Sara had expected. Laurel didn't say a word. Maybe she needed time to process this. Their mother was gone. And she wasn't coming back. "I'm sorry I failed you" Quentin said. Sara heard the pain in his voice. Laurel stood up immediately. "It's going to be okay, dad" she said as she hugged him tight. Sara was really surprised. She didn't know whether her sister was being strong for their father or she had seen this coming all along. Sara was still crying. She didn't want to be seen. She wanted to sit in silence, with herself, thinking about everything. She wanted to disappear. How could this happen to her? She had always believed their parents could go through anything and still manage to love each other like they had promised to. Sara stood up and without saying a word, or even looking at one of them, she walked to her room. She needed time. 

"Hey"
"Hi" 
"You okay?"
Sara couldn't believe Laurel was trying to comfort her. Wasn't she hurt too? "I've been better" Sara answered, half sarcastically. She didn't know how to handle grief. She didn't have much to grieve over in her short life. She was only 14 years old. "How are you so cool about this?" Sara broke the silence. They sat on her bed and watched over the street, as if they were hoping their mother would return. "I've heard them fight, Sara" Laurel whispered, afraid she was heard. Sara, of course, heard, but didn't understand. "You knew?" she couldn't believe her sister. "They usually never fought when we were around and pretened to be fine. But one day they didn't know I was home"
"Did they find out?"
"No, of course not, but I knew I couldn't tell you"
"Well, thanks" Sara mumbled. She had always thought highly of her mother. She used to be proud. She did such a good job at her work and she had raised two daughters. But now... everything she knew about her mother, everything she thought, it changed. 

The same evening Sara texted Julia it wasn't a great time to hang out. She didn't want to see anyone, not even Laurel. 

The weekend had been really hard on Sara. She didn't want to speak with her father, what broke his heart, because he thought all of this was his fault. Julia was as enthusiastic as usually. She didn't even mention the previous weekend. Sara had told her she couldn't hang out because there were 'family problems' at home and she was glad she didn't ask any questions. Julia always tried to fill the silence with random chatting. It didn't make any sense most of the time, but Sara didn't mind. Before they entered their English class she suddenly said: "Wanna come to a party with me next weekend?" 
Sara startled and doubted. She was definitely not in the right mindset. "I don't think I'm up for that" she answered. "Look, I know you're having problems at home. I know how much that sucks, trust me, but it's good to see people" Julia was really convincing. "But-"
"Trust me, it's gonna be fun" Julia smiled and they sat down in their seats. "Fine" Sara mumbled. It was better than sit home the entire day and drown in self-pity. 

Sara used to see Laurel all the time, but since their mother left she wasn't around that much anymore. Sara didn't know whether she should be concerned or not. When she asked her father he simply responded: "I think she's out"
Laurel didn't go 'out' before. Something must've changed. Sara decided to text her. 

Hey where are u?

Sara waited. She did her homework, read a few chapters of her book. Still no answer. She sighed as she put her phone away. She had already eaten dinner with her father. Laurel had called before to tell them she wasn't coming home for dinner. But still, she hadn't responded to her texts. It was eight o'clock when the doorbell rang. Quentin opened it. He was looking at a teenage girl with black curly hair. She smiled at him. "I'm here for Sara. This is this right address, isn't it?" she said with confidence. "Yeah, yeah, you're on the right address" Quentin answered as he let her in. She put her backpack on the floor and made herself at home. Quentin walked to the stairs and called out for Sara. She came down immediately and sighed. "That's Julia, she's my friend from school" Sara explained in a whisper. When she noticed the look on his face she apologized. "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask, but can we go out? I promise I won't make it too late. I'm very responsable" 
"Fine, you have to be home before midnight" Quentin said. As they entered the living room Julia had settled down on the sofa. Quentin gazed at Sara for a moment. He shook his head and walked back to the kitchen. 

"I forgot the time, sorry, I still gotta change" Sara said as her father had left. "That's fine. I'm very curious to see your room, by the way" she smiled and the two girls ran upstairs. 

"What should I wear?" 
"Do you have a dress?"
"I got these" Sara showed Julia the dresses she had. "That one" she pointed to a black one. "I'm not comfortable wearing that. And by the way, that one's isn't even mine"
"You have a sister?"
"Yeah, she's two years older. But not the point. I'm thinking about something basic" Sara continued. She didn't want to discuss her sister now. She barely talked to her since the day they found out their mother left. "Grab at least a skirt" Julia commented. 

Sara ended up wearing jeans and a sweater. Not Julia's first pick, but Sara didn't care. She loved that oversized sweater. "Where's the party?" Sara asked as they walked outside. "There's this boy, I've met him like one time and he invited me over. I think he has a crush on me. It's not far from here" Julia smiled. She was way too excited for this. Sara had never been to a party before, not like this at least, and she wondered what it would be like. 

But when Julia opened the door, it was not was Sara had expected. Not at all.