The Other Side

Chapter 4

Her mother just shook her head and pretended as if nothing had happened. "Is that everything?"

"Should be," her dad panted as he came in the door behind Lenore with the second bag, dropping it down beside the other one. "But if you forgot anything, Lenore, just let me know. I'm not leaving for San Fran for another few weeks so I can drive up and drop off whatever you need—"

Lenore felt her bottom lip wobble. "T-Thanks, dad." She turned and threw her arms around him.

"It's nothing," he said, patting her head. "It's the least I could do."

"You're going to have to head out soon," Amelia said, narrowing her eyes at him as if he was some kind of trespasser, "if you want to get back to the city before dark."

Lenore separated from her father enough to aim another glare in her mother's direction.

"I don't mind driving in the dark," Stanley said with a shrug.

Amelia was not convinced. "It's dangerous."

"It's fine," he said, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"Well, Lenore needs some time to settle in."

"No, I don't," Lenore interjected.

Her mother's attention turned to her. "I bet you do. I bet you're going to collapse the minute you get up to your room."

Lenore pulled back from her dad. Heat crawled up her face, and she had to grit her teeth to stop herself from launching into a screaming tirade.

Her dad nudged her. He saw the warning signs. "Don't," he whispered, giving her a tight smile. "You've already fought her enough. It won't do any good."

Lenore held her clenched jaw for a moment longer and then let the tension go. Her shoulders dropped as she slumped against her father again. He was right—screaming wouldn't achieve anything. She held tight onto his arm as if he might slip away.

"Maybe you're right, Amelia," Stanley said, sounding defeated. "Maybe I should just go."

Lenore's eyes prickled as they welled with tears. She blinked hard a few times to keep them at bay and tightened her grip on her dad's arm. She didn't want to let go. Letting go meant he'd leave, and she'd be stuck here with her mother.

Her father leaned down and pulled her into another hug, squeezing her tight. A tear escaped this time, sliding down her cheek.

"Remember," he said as he pulled away again, wiping her eyes with the corner of his sleeve. "This is just until you graduate, and then I'll put you on the first flight out to San Francisco. Just one semester."

Lenore nodded with a sniffle. "Just one semester," she repeated. It had become almost a chant, a spell to keep herself from falling apart. It was what she had been clinging to for the past month after she had received the news. "One semester."

"Exactly. One semester and then—"

"One semester?" Amelia cut in.

Lenore bristled at her mother's interruption. "Yeah, I've only got one semester left, remember?"

Her mother released an annoyed sigh. "No, you don't," she said like it should be obvious. "I told your dad the school district won't take all of your credits from your old school. You've got to take the whole year of classes."

It felt like an icicle had been shoved between her ribs, chilling her to her core. "What?" she gasped, her voice trembling. She glanced between her parents. "But you said—"

Her father's brow was folded in. He was just as confused. "You said they'd honour—"

Amelia looked annoyed like she had any right to be. "No, I said they'd honour Lenore's skipped grade. She still has another year to finish."