always...

prologue

early april

as he sat at his desk in the corner of his room, he peered outside through the window. small droplets of water slowly trickled down the glass panes, as cars sped down the street, ripping through the ever-expanding puddles.

the sun was setting, and its peachy orange and hazy red hues would have looked like something straight out of a watercolor painting, had there not been any dull gray clouds obstructing the view.

he had his headphones on at almost full volume, listening to his lofi beats playlist, trying to do his physics homework. but regardless of how loud he played his music, there was no blocking out the constant yelling coming from the kitchen.

you could call it a conversation based on how much back and forth there was, but the volume of it all turned it into a screaming match. unfortunately, he was used to this noise and tried to ignore it. the arguing between his parents could go for hours on end with no resolution, but for some reason tonight was different.

they stopped yelling, and for a moment there was a silence.

then, "sweetie! could you come down here please? your father and i need to talk to you about something," his mom called.

the teen raced downstairs, knowing that if he kept either of them waiting, their short tempers and lack of patience might get the best of him. quickly and quietly, he stepped through the doorway to the kitchen. the cold tile sent shivers up his legs as he treaded carefully across the room and sat down at the dinner table.

there was a pause from both of them.

both his parents opened their mouths to speak.

"you tell him," his mom said.

with a heavy sigh, his father spoke.

"your mother and i are getting a divorce."