Raising Teens

Chapter 13

"Why didn't she answer the question?" my daughter asks, looking at me, confused.

"I don't know." I sigh.

My nephew and nieces know, but I'm not going to question them.

Twenty minutes or so later, Noah comes downstairs, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He looks like he brushed half of his head.

"They bro." Liam nods at him.

"Yeah, hey." He mutters, rubbing his eyes. He immediately starts a pot of coffee.

Brecklyn comes wandering downstairs a minute or so later, Ruby following closely behind her.

"Why won't you tell me where you got your dress?" Caroline asks.

Ruby looks to Brecklyn. I narrow my eyes.

"She got it at Justice." Brecklyn says.

Caroline frowns.

"Well, I like it. Most clothes are cuter than the shit they sell at Junior stores." Caroline says.

"You like it?" Ruby asks. Her whole face is lit up, and she's smiling.

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Ruby says.

Brecklyn looks at Caroline.

"Thank you." she mouths. Caroline shrugs, looking at me.

I have no idea what's going on. I just shrug, looking at my sister.

She sighs.

She knows we want to know what the hell happened last night.

Brecklyn studies Ruby and the way she's acting, and then she looks at me and mouths "later."

I shrug, nodding.

"So kids," Noah starts. Brecklyn elbows him. He yelps.

"How'd you sleep?" she finishes his sentence.

They're all quiet.

"I didn't." Rose says.

"Why?" Brecklyn asks.

"Because I kept going to check on Ruby." She says.

"Why?" Liam blurts.

"Because I didn't want her to kill herself, that's why."

"What?" Mom asks.

Brecklyn sighs.

Ruby silently sets her cup down, walking out of the room.

"Why the hell would Ruby kill herself?" Dad asks.

Noah's cringing, looking at Brecklyn.

"I'm sorry I elbowed you." she mumbles.

"It's alright." He says.

Ruby walks back in.

"I'm not suicidal, Rose."

"Well maybe you fuckin' should be!" she snaps.

"Enough!" Brecklyn says loudly. "I'm running on three hours of fucking sleep, I started my damn period this morning, my back fucking hurts, I'm exhausted, I'm disappointed, I'm stressed out, and just fucking stop." She snaps. '"For five minutes, can you guys please act like decent fucking human beings?"

"You're running on three hours of sleep because you decided to bring that shit up at two in the morning." Caden snarls.

"Yeah. Maybe if you weren't such a piece of shit parent, you wouldn't be so fucking tired." Rowan snaps.

"Exactly. Maybe you should've died in that coma." Brooke mutters.

Everyone is dead silent.

Noah's jaw is slack.

Ruby looks shocked.

What the fuck.

I see Brecklyn's mind going crazy, and at first, she looks like she's going to cry.

"Alright." She says. "I'll leave then."

"Brecklyn." Noah whispers.

"No Noah, really, it's okay. I'll just leave. I'll be like I never fucking existed, like I just gave birth and left, that's it."

"Mom." Ruby says.

"Good." Rose says. "We'll get some peace for once."

"Right, exactly." Brecklyn laughs humorlessly and starts ripping through drawers violently, grabbing any sign of her.

She goes into the garage and comes back with boxes.

She starts throwing shit into boxes, ripping photos off the wall, photos she's in, throwing them into the box.

She goes upstairs, and twenty minutes later, comes back with all her clothes.

Any sign of my sister starts to slowly fade.

She puts the boxes in the car, and does one last sweep through, and she vanishes.

Everyone is completely silent.

"Did she just...move out?" I ask carefully.

Noah

I start to panic.

She fucking left.

She fucking left!

I haven't lived without Brecklyn since I was fucking twenty three!

"Whatever. She's such a fucking drama queen." Rowan says. "I'm going to bed."

Oh damn, shit really hit the fan just now.