OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

one-hundred-fifteen.

DECEMBER 27th, 1998, OLYMPIA, WA

THE ABNER HOUSEHOLD was relatively empty for a Sunday afternoon. It almost left Reagan feeling anxious, unsure that she'd found herself in the right house when it was void of the bickering, laughing and general noise that she'd grown up around.

That Sunday had set into motion her understanding that things really had changed. It wasn't just the gray hairs she'd noticed streaked on Richard and Kimberly's heads, or the lines growing more prominent in their faces. It was the absence of her siblings in a space that had always kept them niched close.

Kate had been in town for Christmas but had left the following day, needing to get back to the firm she was working for in Seattle. Robbie was fulfilling a noonday shift at the record store and the twins had taken their pair of bikes, gifted to them by Reagan on the twenty-fifth, to a nearby park.

That left Reagan alone with her parents, which she'd hopefully intended for even though it was strangely awkward. It made her feel lonely, even though Richard and Kimberly were nearby, the three of them watching adoringly as Gracie combed the hair of her new Barbie dolls on the living room floor.

It had been a good holiday, all things considered. Reagan and Gracie had spent Christmas Eve with Dave, allowing for Gracie to open her presents from Santa and them both by the tree. It hadn't gone unnoticed to Reagan that she and Dave had sat far apart, watching Gracie squeal in delight with tense smiles on their faces.

Of course, Dave had given her the best gift that year — a bass guitar that she'd taken to plucking at from the moment it had been unwrapped. Since Gracie had given up on the drums earlier that year, he'd introduced her to another instrument that he'd had in mind for her.

It had devastated Reagan to the point of needing to leave the room.

That was why she'd escaped to Olympia early the next morning, whisking Gracie and herself away on a fifteen hour drive with Dave's blessing that they leave. She'd assumed that he wanted to be alone too, even if it meant being alone on Christmas. It was too hard to pretend that they were still a family when he and Reagan's imminent divorce was looming. Gracie had needed to see Richard and Kimberly anyway, and Dave hadn't seemed all that perturbed when he'd declined on the offer that he join them.

The original plan had been for Dave to come to Washington since Ginny had let them know in advance that she wouldn't be able to make it out to Los Angeles, but that had obviously fallen through. When Reagan and Gracie had left, he'd been holed up in his room of miscellaneous instruments, losing himself in an acoustic. His only protest to the trip, a lifeless one made after Reagan had gently told him of her plans, was that they ought to fly.

Reagan had wanted to drive. She'd thought that driving would soothe her, help her further sort through the myriad of feelings that she was still continually sifting through, and that was why she'd opted to take their SUV to Washington instead of hopping on a plane. Gracie hadn't minded that the trip was occurring on Christmas Day, proving to be thrilled rather than disappointed by the long drive that had laid ahead. They'd gotten to Olympia by nighttime.

It was supposed to be the time of year when there was no bad news, no heartbreak to dampen any moods. But Reagan had gone to Olympia knowing that she had to tell her parents that she and Dave were getting a divorce.

Not only did she have to tell them, but she needed a scrap of comfort from someone other than Kate or Chris. Mostly, she wanted her dad. She had never needed Richard's consolation more than she did then.

"How many Barbies do you have now?" Kimberly cooed from her spot on the other end of the couch. She flashed Reagan a sharp side-eyed glance.

"Did you get her the Barbie house we talked about?" she asked through the corner of her mouth.