THE PAINFUL TRUTH

Chapter Thirty- Loneliness is emptiness begging to be filled

Storm's POV

I don't know how long I've been standing on the doorstep, staring at the house I call home. Sometimes we don't realise that home is more than the place  you live in. It can also be a place full of love, joyful memories and laughter. On the other hand, it can also be a place full of pain, miserable memories and suffering. If you think about it really carefully, there are two sides to the saying,' There's no place like home!' Usually people use this expression in a positive way, meaning that their home is probably their favourite place in the world but it could also be used in a negative way, meaning that there's no other place in the world that is so dreadful as home.

From deep inside my pocket, my phone starts to vibrate so I take it out to find someone's calling me: Mum. I accept the call before placing it to my ear to answer with a 'hello'.

"Storm, where are you? It's really late. Your Dad has just finished cooking dinner," the words rush off Mum's tongue as if she's in a competition for who can speak the fastest.

"I've just arrived on the doorstep," I partly-lie.

"Ok, I'm coming to open the door for you," she replies before ending the call hurriedly. Seconds later, the front door opens and an anxious-looking Mum is in sight.

"Where have you been, Storm? We've been worried!" she exclaims and her arms open wide for a hug but I dodge it. I have an excellent memory but I can't remember the last time either of my parents gave me a hug or even attempted to so it would feel awkward to embrace affectionately as if it's normal for the two of us(however, I bet it's normal for any other mother and daughter). Mum has been really loving and caring towards me since...oh wait, how could I forget to tell you?

What a storyteller I am; I definitely know for sure that I'm better at acting out a story rather than telling it! When River had gone Christmas shopping and I had discovered what she had been up to, I told her that she either tells me or Mum and Dad. What she didn't know was that even if she chose to confess to me, I would still make her confess to our parents.

After she had finished revealing all the secrets she had kept from me, I told River that all this information will be passed on to Mum and Dad; she was petrified. Up until our parents returned home from work, she kept on begging for me to keep my mouth shut by apologising frantically and trying to persuade me why I shouldn't go through with my decision. There were tears in her eyes while she pleaded that made me experience a sharp pang of guilt.

Should I really tell Mum and Dad? Everyone deserves a second chance, don't they?

River will need all the help she can get to clean up her mistakes, I had argued with my conscience. I had told my sister that nothing she said or did would make me change my choice and I sat down on the sofa to start watching TV. On seeing she was fighting a losing battle, River sat on the other sofa while we waited for Mum and Dad to come home. Although we were both staring at the television, none of us were concentrating on what was being shown on the screen as we awaited in apprehension.

When we heard the key turn in the lock, River looked like she was about to puke and for a second I forgot all the fury I felt towards her.

"Have you had dinner?" Dad asked.

"Yes," I lied because I knew that both of us would have lost our appetite.

Dad had been oblivious to the tense atmosphere but Mum had picked up on it.

"Storm, what have you done this time?" she questioned.

"Excuse me!" I exclaimed, taken aback by her immediate assumption that I had done something wrong. Then, it hit me: River had kept what she had done so brilliantly because we all thought that she's the golden child; she would never commit such a despicable act. But she did.