Different

Chapter 2

I sat on my bed, staring at my door. I couldn't move. I wanted to but there was no motivation. My eyelids felt heavy. I just wanted to sleep but I couldn't even gather up the courage to lay down. I was frozen, lost in thought.

The problem was, I couldn't even tell you what I was thinking about. It was too much to focus on. My thoughts were like loud music coming from an underwater speaker. They were all there but I couldn't make them out. All I could say is that they weren't good.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, my sister opened the door.

"Where's mom?" she asked.

That's when I was snapped back to reality. My eyes widened, my body began to shake, and my heart started to race. It wasn't panic. It was anger. How could he do this? He tells me that my family is torn apart with no explanation as to why and then just doesn't tell my 15 year old sister, opening up the opportunity for me to do it?! How could he? She could hate me or my father. Even though I may never forgive him for this, she still needed a parent. She could live without me by choice if she wanted to.

"Sit down," I said, patting the spot next to me.

She gave me the look that told me she didn't expect anything good to come out of my mouth. I twisted my body to face hers and held her hands. "Listen to me," I said. "You have to promise to listen to me before you do anything, understand?"

She looked me straight in the eyes, "Okay."

I squeezed her hands, "Mom isn't coming home."

"What do you mean?"

"Mom left."

I watched her eyes glaze with tears. It broke my heart.

She took a deep breath, attempting to stay calm but I could see her whole body trembling. She let go of my hands and stood up, pacing toward the door and back. "Why," she began, her voice almost at a whisper. As she continued, her sentence turned from a question to a loud yelling sob, "Why would sh-she leave? Why are y-you t-telling me this?"

I felt tears run down my cheeks, my heart pound. I can't believe my mother would do this to her. Who cares what happened in their own personal lives to cause this. Didn't either of them love us? If they did, they would have done everything to stay together. For Jasmine. She doesn't have a mother anymore.

"I-I don't know. I know just as much as you do."

She sat on the floor, in complete shock. Her crying completely stopped. We stayed silent for 3 minutes. I wanted to go down there and hug her, to make her feel better but my little sister is like a bomb. If I touched her, she might explode. She doesn't need that. She knows I'm there for her.

"I hate her," she mumbled. She spoke just loud enough for me to hear. I looked at her, taken aback by what had just come out of her mouth. She stared at the ground intently, hardly blinking. It was something from a horror movie. She seemed possessed. Her tone was completely different, something I've never heard before. I was terrified. She was always her mother's daughter. I couldn't believe she would ever say that and truly mean it.

"You don't mean that."

She looked up at me. "I do."

"No, you don't." I probably shouldn't have argued with her when she was in this state but I didn't want her to hate our mother. This was already enough of a shock. I would rather her grieve than be filled with hatred like I was. I didn't want her to be like me.

She stood up and stared me straight in the eyes, "Yes, I do. She left us. She doesn't care about us. What mother would ditch her children? If she wants to leave, she shouldn't have been here in the first place."

She was right. I couldn't argue with that logic, especially since it had already crossed my mind anyways.

"You're right," I said. I needed her to believe we would make it through this. "We'll be alright. We just need to stick together."

She took a deep breath and sat on my bed in front of me. "Do you think she ever actually cared? Was she just pretending?"

I broke eye contact. If I tried to lie, she would know. I couldn't bring myself to do it. She didn't need more lies so I said, "I don't know."

She nodded like she expected the answer. "Alright. I'm going to talk to Dad then going to bed. Thanks for telling me the truth." She left the room without another word.

I cannot believe my father made me do that. He should've told her. He should have sat us down and told us both together. This was going to change everything. This was going to change who we are, our story, our future, everything. What am I going to tell my little friend group? What's going to happen when this spreads around the school? Kids there are cruel. What about the house? What if Dad's income isn't enough to keep up with the bills? Should I get a job to help just in case?

While considering how to deal with this, I hear a bloodcurdling scream from somewhere in the house. It takes a second for the sound to process.

Jasmine!

My heart stops and I bolt, yelling at the top of my lungs, "Jasmine!"

"BRIDGET! CALL 911!"

The screaming is coming from my father's room. I run as fast as my legs will allow down the stairs and slip. My foot misses a step, coming down on hard on the next one. My knee gives out and I tumble all the way down the flight of stairs. When I stopped, I knew I should have felt pain but I didn't feel anything except fear. I couldn't even feel my leg but I didn't care. I was completely running on adrenaline. In desperation, I limp towards the room as fast as I can, using the walls to help me there.

When I finally get the the doorway, my heart drops and I'm on the phone with a dispatcher faster than I've ever moved in my life.