You Know Why (on hold till april 24)

Chapter 41: Sweet lull

I woke up happily the next morning.

My life was going great so far. If you ignore the anxiety of my finals game being in four days of course, I was actually doing all right. I felt confident.

If that isn't any indication, it just had to be the one day that everything went wrong.

I had just finished my morning routine, walking downstairs for breakfast when I saw my entire family around the kitchen table. My mom and dad were standing on one side, expectantly waiting, while Nick sat there with a bored look on his face, scrolling through his phone.

My mom noticed me walk in and spoke up. "Well, now that both of you are here, your father and I have something to tell you."

Confused, I sat down next to Nick, wondering what this could possibly be about. He put his phone down as well, his curiosity piqued.

"As you know, we've been having a lot of...disagreements lately, about a lot of things." My mom started. "And frankly, it's been going on for a while now because we thought we would eventually work it out. Unfortunately... it's proven to be quite the task and neither of us honestly know what to do anymore. So, we decided that it was in both of our best interests, as well as the both of you, that...we get a divorce."

That's when my blood ran cold.

It felt like someone had scratched a record to a stop, the entire world coming to a standstill. I could almost hear the sound of glass shattering, like all the molecules in my brain had just broken up into a million pieces.

"Now, the two of you should never have to be separated from either of us, so you're more that welcome to visit your dad anytime you want when he moves out..."

My mom continued to speak but I could barely hear her. It felt like hell, with a loud ringing in my ears, blocking out any sound. It was like my limbs had suddenly gone numb, the sensation spreading through out my entire body and leaving me coherent. It had suddenly gotten very difficult to breathe. It was as if the walls were closing in, making the entire room smaller and everything else seem bigger. A storm seemed to be swarming through my head, fire erupting in my veins. I couldn't believe it.

I grabbed my bag off the chair and left without a word, ignoring my parents' protests and slamming the front door shut. I got into the car and drove off, wanting to get as far from my house and as fast to school as possible.

I always knew my parents' marriage had turned rotten, but it had stupidly never occurred to me that they actually might get divorced. I think I'd just gotten used to the usual fighting and yelling, that nothing else seemed like it could possibly change. What the fuck was wrong with me?

After speeding dangerously fast, I managed to reach school in record time, arriving fifteen minutes early. There weren't too many people around, just a couple of students. I knew it was probably a risk to go right now, but I needed my comfort place.

I snuck past a group of girls and ran up to the roof, opening the door and shutting it behind me, breathing heavily against it. It was weird to be up here during the day, but that barely registered to me right now.

I placed my hands on the wall, leaning against it to try and compose myself. I couldn't afford to look like a blubbering idiot in class today.

I nearly had a heart attack as I heard the door open behind me, whirling around to see if someone had caught me up here. I relaxed a little once I saw it was only Shawn, walking towards me with a concerned look on his face.

"Peirce, are you okay? I was about to call out to you in the hallway but you seemed tense. Then you just ran off. What's wrong?"

I quickly managed to keep a straight face. "Nothing. I just needed some air that's all. I have a test today so I'm kind of nervous." The lie slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself.