Chapter 2
"Divorced" I said slowly. My father nodded his head. It's strange how you see stuff happening and you never put it together until you have a tiny bit of knowledge abut what's happening. I finally understood it. My parents always stopped in the middle of a conversation when Dave, Ally or I walked in the room. They hardly ever held hands, or hugged, or kissed unless they were in public.(Why is this family all about appearances?). Dave looked so hurt when I said "we weren't a family". My mother actually snapped at our father. It made a lot more sense now.
I waited for the feeling of shame, hurt, anger, shame but neither emotion seemed to want to grace me with it's presence. I was just languid. Something that was coming to be quite frequent with me. My mum got up to hug Ally. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
"School." was my laconic reply
"You sure about that hun?"
"Uh huh bye. Dave. Now."
Dave stiffly rose from his chair. His face was locked in a scowl as he followed me out the house and into the garage. I was happy to go to school, just to leave the house.
Dave's ire could not be contained. As soon as I was backing out he exploded. "The hell dude! They serious! Shouldn't they think about this crap before they make children! Jesus! The dumbfucks could at least give people a warning! Did they think breaking the news at breakfast would be easier for us! We have school dude! Oh crap! School! My friends! What will the think?"
I could take the venting but that was just too much. I swerved to the left and pulled over. Dave sweared as he righted himself. He turned to me, probably to yell but I beat him to the punch. "David you idiotic,clot! They are getting divorced. D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D! The big D! You know what that even means! Court dates, fighting over who gets what! The house, the villa, the beach house, the cars, money, custody!" my voice broke on the last word and his face paled. "It's not about your moronic friends." I whispered. He bit back his retort. Something about my voice told him I wasn't to be messed with. I paused waiting for my words to make an impact.
"I know Jass, but I'm in shock for fucks sake. They just sprung this on us. No warning, not a single hint. It's not fair to any of us. Especially Ally" his voice softened. "Allie, poor little Allie. In all the confusion I forgot her." I grimaced. She slipped my mind too. Boy, how selfish!
"She's only three. She probably doesn't even know what's going on." I said.
I started the car again and was driving when he asked "Who do you think will get custody of us?"
"Most judges give custody to the mother but if they find out mum's um-" I cleared my throat "problem they might reconsider"
Dave was looking out the window. I don't think he even heard me. He must have been lost in thought because he didn't talk to me for the rest of the drive.
When we arrived at the large stone building, that was my school; I parked and we parted ways. I passed through the day in a daze. I ignored Sydney, who was the only friend I had. I didn't even listen to English, Lit, Bio and History lectures, and those were my favourite classes. Nothing could break through my reverie. I saw Dave around school and he was in a trance-like state. I didn't have the heart to interrupt his daydreams. Dreams are much better than reality...........except some. I shuddered, thinking about the bone-chilling one I had last night.
At the end of school Dave met me by my car. He was more subdued than usual. When I started the car, he turned the music rather loudly, barring any hope for conversation. It was okay though. I didn't really want to talk. I took a circuitous route home, dreading seeing my parents. Yet, I was soon parked in the driveway. I took my time getting out of the car while Dave hurried.
I trudged on forward on the stone pathway, surrounded by yellow and green durantas and red rose bushes, leading up to a big, beautiful, yellow and brown, two-story home.
I was in a rotten mood, probably even more so as a result of my earlier apathy. I had a lot more time to think about it and now, I WAS PISSED! I inhaled sharply as I entered my house.
My eyes bulged and my jaw almost touched the ground as I took in the image in our living room. Right in front of me was.........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------laconic-using few words
languid- lacking liveliness, lifeless
ire- anger
reverie- daydream
