“Well, I see you guys got to the last of the boxes while I was out today.” I called out as soon as I entered our house. There were a few empty boxes laying in the center of the entry way, so I picked them up on my way through. “Though, usually, when you empty a box, you put it away.” I added, entering the kitchen. To my surprise, nobody was in there. In fact, the table wasn’t even set.
With a frown of confusion, I set the boxes down against the wall and walked through the kitchen into the living room. Nobody was in there, either, though the television was on. I picked up the remote and switched it off.
“Hello?” I called out. A loud thump from upstairs made me jump.
“Clara?” My dad shouted down the stairs. I shook my head before realizing that he was upstairs and couldn’t see me. Walking back through the kitchen and dining room, I looked up the stairs. My eyes widened when my gaze landed on my father, who was very obviously drunk.
“Dad?” I questioned. He gripped the bannister hard and looked down at me.
“Oh, it’s only you.” He grumbled loudly. I would be lying if I said that didn’t hurt a bit. “Where the hell have you been all day?” He asked. I let my lips tilt downwards into a frown. I had told him earlier that I was going out to the park. Of course, I had interrupted him and my mom in the beginnings of an argument, so maybe he wasn’t really paying attention when I told him where I was going.
“I told you this morning I was going to the park. Though, I came home in time for dinner.” I explained. “Did mom call take-out or something?” I asked after a moment. Dad scowled at me.
“The only thing Cara called was a taxi.” He growled. My brows furrowed in confusion.
“But we have a car.” I said slowly, not entirely sure I liked where this conversation was going. My dad let out a loud burp before stumbling a few feet down the hall towards the stairs. I watched him for a moment, thoughts whirring through my brain at the speed of light. “Dad, where’s mom?” I asked finally.
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“Oh, God. Wyatt, I think I’m having a panic attack.” I gasped as I paced around the basement. I could no longer walk around my room, because I’d broken a glass that was sitting on my dresser. Well, that, and I may have also swiped my arm across my desk, sending all of that stuff to the floor as well. I heard Wyatt speaking on the other end of the line, but his words were lost to me as my breathing picked up speed. My knees buckled, and I fell to the floor, dropping the phone in the process.
Instead of picking the phone back up, I curled into a ball and sobbed. She was gone. My mom had left me; she left my dad. She’d packed up all of her belongings and left. I’d searched the entire house once my dad told me she was gone. Nothing. Not even a bobby pin was left. My dad had begun yelling and throwing things while I searched. Eventually, he gave up. Or he passed out somewhere. I wasn’t exactly paying attention at that moment.
“Daeyna? Daeyna! Please pick up your phone.” I could barely hear Wyatt’s panicked voice coming through the speaker on my phone, which was laying a few feet from me. I took a deep, shuddering breath and reached over to grab it. My hand was shaking badly, causing me to become frustrated as I dragged my phone towards me. I let out a loud yell.
“She’s gone, Wyatt!” I practically screeched at the phone, which was now only a few inches in front of me. “Oh, God.” My voice was hoarse as I finally succumbed to mere whimpers.
“I know, Dae. Fuck. I need to be there. You can’t go through this alone.” I could almost see him pacing his room in frustration. My breathing was slowing down now, and I pushed myself up into a seated position. The phone line went silent for a while.
“Wyatt?” I questioned quietly, picking my phone from the carpeted floor and once again holding it up to my ear.
“Yeah?” His voice came out a bit strained, and I felt guilty about putting him through this. Maybe if it hadn’t been for me, my parents would be living happily in this cute little house, making each other dinners and holding hands and going on dates. And if I hadn’t called Wyatt, his day would have gone great. It was only 8 there. And, it was Saturday. He and Kendra were going to some Battle of the Bands thing later on. Now he wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy it. I felt tears begin to make their way down my cheeks once again.
“I’m so sorry.” I whimpered. I heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line.
“Don’t you dare, Daeyna Larksen.” He said firmly. “Don’t you dare apologize for a single thing. You have done absolutely nothing wrong.” I let out a puff of air before speaking again.
“But—“
“No. No buts. You’re perfect, beautiful, and most importantly, you’re strong.” He said, cutting off my protest before it was even really started. “And you know what that means?” He paused, and after a moment, I realized he was waiting for a reply from me.
“No?” I said, more as a question than anything else.
“It means that you’re going to come out of all of this in one piece.” He answered. I let out a little cry of despair.
“But I’m already broken, Wyatt!” I exclaimed.
“Shh, calm down, okay? You may have chips and cracks, but that’s why Kendra and I are here. We’re the ones who’ll glue those pieces back.” He soothed gently. “Now, enough with the bad news of today. I want to hear about the good. What happened today that made you smile?” He added. I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
“I sang today.” I said, the tone of my voice sounding substantially better than it had only moments before.
“Oh really? What did you sing?”
“What Went Wrong. Um, I sang it at the park—with a boy.” I added the last bit really quietly, but Wyatt picked up on it anyways.
“With a boy?! What’s his name? Who is he?” Wyatt asked question after question, and for the first time since I came home today, I felt my lips finally tilt up into a small smile.
“Well, his name is Ashton. He’s really nice, Wyatt. He told me about how my choir teacher makes his students perform in front of the class, and he convinced me to sing for him. He plays drums in a band. He actually invited me to a gig of theirs. Apparently his band mates would love me.” I realized I was rambling a bit, and stopped speaking.
“Is this Ashton cute?” Wyatt asked after a lengthy pause. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment, even though nobody was there to see them.
“Um, I guess?” I said, attempting to downplay the fact that Ashton was really cute. Wyatt saw right through my act, and I heard a shout on his side of the phone line.
“Pictures! I need a picture of this kid before he can get the Wyatt Stamp of Approval.” He declared. I laughed at that.
“There’s not going to be a Wyatt Stamp of Approval. I think he might have a girlfriend.” I said. Wyatt scoffed.
“Did he mention one?” He asked. I started to shake my head before realizing I was talking to him on the phone, and not Skype.
“No, he didn’t.” I admitted.
“Then you can always claim innocence if one shows up during a steamy makeout session.” He quipped. I snorted.
“Well,” I began, standing up from the floor and walking over to the couch in the center of the basement. “I need to get some sleep. I’ve got to help with the grocery shopping tomorrow. Mom—“ I caught myself, choking on the words slightly.
“It’ll be okay, Daeyna.” Wyatt said gently. I swallowed thickly.
“I really hope so.” I whispered.
“Sleep well, Dae. Okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“Kendra and I love you.”
“Love you guys too.”
“Goodnight, Dae.”
“’Night.”
As I pulled the small blanket from the back of the couch and settled down, I fought the urge to cry again. She was really gone. My mom had left me here without even a simple goodbye. There wasn’t even a note from her saying sorry to me. Nothing. Like she hadn’t even cared enough to think of me as she packed her things and left. Before I knew it, silent tears were dripping from my chin. I wiped them away angrily. No. I would not be torn up about this. I practically predicted it. I knew she wouldn’t last in Sydney. I knew. Those were the last thoughts running through my head as I drifted into a rather fitful sleep.
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Alrighty! Here is chapter four for you all! I'm not absolutely in love with the way I wrote this chapter, but oh well. I hope you guys liked it none the less! Please let me know what you thought of the events! Your comments/votes mean the world to me! Until next time my lovelies!