quixotic. ↣ d.h.

xxviii: madness

"money isn't everything!" she cried, raising her head from her knees. the fabric of her window seat had turned rough beneath her legs with the harshness of their words; they poisoned every lovely thing that was her own.

"of course it is! without enough money, you'll never be able to afford kids, a house! what would your life be then?"

the one i want, she thought bitterly, but kept her lips sealed. the room fell silent, their horrified faces staring at her, eyes wide and empty. so empty, the both of them were, she realized. their minds had been corrupted with the greedy need for money and things. it was sick.

she pictured in front of her the life she wanted to live. graduation was only a few weeks away, and then... then she could really start living, she supposed. the future was so close she could taste it, in all of its rich golden glory. a few weeks were nothing; they may as well learn the truth now.

she took a breath and let it slip off her tongue like honey, the way she'd been dreaming of for years.

"maybe i don't want that."

"of course you do!" her mother insisted, fluffing her hair indignantly. her eyes were unyielding, sharp with annoyance; to her, this little spat would be put down as a mindless teenage mood swing.

"no, i don't," zoe argued. she slid her legs down from their home against her chest and planted them firmly on the floor. "i've told you dozens of times that i don't want kids. and houses? houses are a luxury i'm fine without. i'd rather have a low-paying job that i love, that can only afford me a dungey studio apartment, than have all the money in the world but spend every day in unrelenting misery."

"you don't mean that," her father said, raising his voice. "you're young, you don't know what you want. once you see what it's really like out there, you'll change your mind. you're nothing but a little girl."

his words hung heavy in the tension-filled air. zoe bit her lip and willed the tears out of her eyes. why couldn't they just listen to her?

no one dared to speak as the moon slid across the sky just outside her open window. stars shone like silver freckles across the black velvet, and zoe wished desperately that life was as simple for her as it was for those shimmering stars.

a shrill tone filled the air.

mrs. woods stood and moved smoothly through her door and glided down the steps in her smart black shoes. zoe and her father both stood when they heard the door open below.

"it isn't a good time, daniel. it's wonderful to see you, but-"

zoe raced down the steps the instant her mother's words floated up to her. if dan was here, at this time, something had to be wrong.

"dan!"

"zoe, he was just leaving."

"no, he wasn't. he's my friend, and he needs me." zoe argued, shoving her way between her mother and dan.

"we are in the middle of a discussion," her mother hissed sharply. she glared daggers at dan for the first time, and he stumbled back a bit at the sheer force of her icy eyes.

"no, mother. it was a lecture. and it's over." zoe scowled and wrapped a hand around dan's wrist, pulling him into the house. he mumbled a weak apology in the direction of mrs. woods as he was led upstairs and into zoe's now empty bedroom.

"what happened?" zoe asked quickly, slamming the door closed behind them. "are you okay? is adrian okay?"

then she noticed the hunched way in which dan was standing, the hands he was pressing to his lower back, the grimace that pulled his eyebrows in.