The Consequences of Hell Week (Blue Ridge)

Chapter 10: Fights and Findings

I stepped out of my room the next morning and was hit with a wall of shouting.

"I can't believe you would ask me to do that after everything that's happened" my dad's voice shattered the air.

"I can't believe you refuse to even consider it given the circumstances. It's our only option at this point" my mom retaliated.

I slowly eased down the steps, skipping the third due to its inevitable creaks.  Perching on the bottom step, I peered around the corner to see my mom angrily chopping onions while my dad was aggressively unloading the dishwasher.  I pulled my head back before they could see me eavesdropping.

My parents rarely fought, so this had to be about something serious.

"It is not our only option. I'm not going to throw away everything I—we've built over the years. I'm not just going to toss it aside when things get tough" he was pacing, I could tell.

"I'm not throwing it away, I'm trying to save it" my mom slammed something against the counter, clearly frustrated at his distortion of her words. Save what? Their marriage? Just the thought made me want to cry.

Not wanting them to know I was listening and refusing to walk into the kitchen and confront the whole thing, I grabbed my backpack, slid into my converse, and slipped out the front door with an imperceptible click.

My mind wandered over all the possibilities of what the fight was about on my ride to Mason's and all day at school.

I was so distracted that I ran right into someone in the hallway.

When I turned to apologize, I realized it wasn't my distracted state that caused the collision.

"I would say I'm sorry for running into you, but that would be a lie" Turner smiled slyly before pivoting on his heel and walking down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Other than that brief encounter, the rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

When I finally got home from school, I couldn't focus on my homework for more than ten minutes without my thoughts drifting back to my parents' fight, or Turner, or both.

What were my parents screaming about that morning?

What did Turner want with me?

How many stinking licks did it take to get to the center of a stupid Tootsie Pop?

Finally, unable to answer any of those questions, I abandoned my homework on my desk and curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee and this month's SKI Magazine.

I was enviously combing over the new jackets out this month when there came a loud pounding on my front door.

Reluctantly, I set the magazine and my coffee down before answering it.

"What are you doing here?" I sighed before leaving the door ajar and heading toward the kitchen.

"We're here to kidnap you" Mason smiled proudly as Jayden and Turner followed him into the house.

Jayden almost slammed his fingers as he swung the front door shut.

"Normally kidnappers don't announce their agenda, and they also don't tend to kidnap their cousins" I explained to Mason as he and Jayden raided my fridge. Turner was perched on the arm of the couch flipping through my abandoned magazine. He looked up, briefly caught my eye, smiled almost imperceptibly, and returned to the magazine.

"Do you always have to point out the flaws in my plans?" Mason whined as he and Jayden started scooping peanut butter out of the jar and inhaling it by the pound.