Forgotten

Chapter 12

I wake up to the sound of birds chirping merrily outside my bedroom window, and the sweet aroma of pancakes filling the air. I take in a huge breath through my nose. I grin, despite the last 24 hours I've been through. I here Brit and dad stop talking as soon as they see me nearing the door.
"Morning sleepy head." Says Brittney, the moment I set foot in the kitchen I know I've entered a war zone, what's worse, I'm not prepared for more fighting. I freeze and look at my dad, who is fuming and staring out the window, to Brittney, over cheerful and when she turns her head, I catch the glint of tears in her eyes. I sigh and sit down. Unable to help myself, my eyes automatically turn to the place where mom fell. It's been four whole days since her fall, since we found out she has a sickness that might kill her.
"I've decided to take you guys to mom today for an hour." Dad says softly, breaking the silence. Brittney and I both look at each other at the same time and grin.
"Brilliant, I'll have a pancake, thank you Brit!" I tell her. She smiles and turns back to the stove. She flips the pancake up high and catches it without a problem.
"Geez, Brit, you're really talented!" I gush. "I will never be able to flip it like that!"
"Thanks." Brittney says, blushing slightly. She turns her face back to the stove and takes the pan of the heat. She slides it into a plate, tops it off with blueberries, raspberries and syrup, then pushes it to me.
"Thanks so much!" I tell her, immediately digging in. "What day is it?" I ask my dad, mouth full.
"Friday." He mumbles. I frown.
"Brit, why are you at home when you should be at school? It's already nine o'clock!" I say sternly, giving her a pointed look.
"Um, I wasn't ready to go to school. Besides, we are going to visit mom. Must I miss out on that?" She snaps. I hold my hands up in surrender.
"Wow, sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I was just wondering!" I say apologetically.
"Sorry, I'm just really stressed out." She sighs, turning her head to dad slightly. I nod, understanding what she means. Noticing she wants to get out the kitchen, away from dad.
"Wow, I'm full, thank you Brit, these were excellent! But, lets go wash the dishes to help Rosie, Mary and Bella." I say, gathering a whole bunch of dishes and pans in my arms.
"Ok, yeah, I'm coming." She says, also picking up a bunch of mixing bowls and plates. We escape to the washing room.
"Thank you for saving me back there." She sighs. I notice the shine of tears in her eyes again.
"Hey, don't worry 'bout it, darling." I say soothingly, gathering her in my arms. She sobs into my shirt, making a wet patch. I feel the luke-warm feeling of her tears seeping through my pajama shirt, onto my bare skin underneath it.
"Hey, when did this start? When did dad start being so snappy and mean to you?" I ask her. She lifts her head and wipe her tears away.
"Just before your accident." She says, her voice thick with tears.
"Oh, Brittney, don't believe dad. I can't remember if he was this hard on me, but if he was, I got through it, so can you." I reassure her. She nods. "And Brit, did we fight this much before?" I ask her.
"Y-yes." She stutters.
"Oh, well, can we please stop. We never know what's around the corner. If I had died in that car crash, you would've had to live the rest of your life, knowing that all we did was fight." I tell her. She nods again, clearly in such a state that she can't even bother to talk. "Ok, so we agree to immediately stop fighting every time we start. We don't want to die on bad terms with each other, do we." I say, tickling her. She giggles and moves away from me, accidentally knocking over a pile of dishes. She freezes, waiting for the crash.
"What. Was. That." Dad shouts from the door, his face red with anger. Brittney stands in the middle of a pile of broken pieces of plates and cups.
"Um, dad, I kn-knocked over a p-pile of plates and c-cups." Brittney says shakily.
"What?! Did you just knock over a pile of plates and cups worth thousands of dollars?" He fumes.
"D-Dad, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" She says, tears starting to stream down her face.
"Well, you did, and now you need to face the consequences. You will not visit you mom today." He says crossing his arms.
"B-but Dad!" Brit sobs. She sinks to her knees sobbing into her hands.
"Dad, don't you think this is a bit unfair?" I ask him also crossing my arms.
"No, I think it's unfair that she knocked over a pile of plates and cups. Did she pay for them? No. Did she work her butt of to afford them? No. " He shouts, pointing at Brittney.
"Dad she's only ten! She's gone through more than what you probably did when you were ten! Don't shout at her! It's my fault! I tickled her!" I yell taking a step towards him. He shakily takes a step back.
"No, you're wrong. When I was ten my dad became an alcoholic. He started abusing my mother and I, both verbally and physically." He says. All my anger immediately fades.
"I-I didn't know." I say apologetic. Tears are also starting to gather in his eyes. Before I know what's happening, he's picked up Brittney and gathered her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry darling, I didn't mean to shout. You can go to mom, I was just over reacting." He says soothingly. They both sob into each other's shoulders. I stand off the side awkwardly until Brit wiggles out of my dads embrace and opens her arms to me. I smile and we all sit in the midst of all these broken pieces. At least my heart doesn't feel so torn and broken between my past life and my future life. I shifted all these broken pieces to the plates, finally free of the chains of my past.