Foreign |l.r.h au|

0.5

I woke up on the couch in my living room to see Emery playing with her dolls. Either the dolls are very passionate lesbians or they're attempting to kill each other.

"Emery, stop that!" I hear my father. I look up and see him sitting in the chair next to the couch.

"But daddy," she exclaims "they love each other." I can't help but crack a smile at my sister. She was so precious. Emery continues to let the two Barbie's make out, and my father lets out a deep sigh.

"Nice to see that you're awake." he shoots me a quick smile and adverts his eyes back to the television. He's watching the news and I find myself scowling.

"Hey, Dad, where's mom?" I ask him. He looks back at me and picks up his glass of sweet tea.

True Kentuckian. I thought to myself.

"She's finally getting some sleep." he looks happy and takes a drink from his glass. "She didn't get much when you were gone. She'd always get nightmares or she'd stay up all night talking to people who you might have known you." he finishes. I look down at the carpet.

A knot formed in my stomach and I found myself nauseous, feeling more guilty for running away. I could not imagine what I put my parents through. 

I hear sniffles and I look up to see my dad, he has tears in his eyes and he's got his fingers pressed between the bridge of his nose. Tears started to course down his cheeks. I tuck my lips in and feel my eyes begin to water.

I have never seen my dad cry before. Even when my grandfather passed away when I was ten, he didn't cry. He didn't even cry when he saw me come home. He was always so strong for everyone, especially mom. I couldn't imagine the sleepless nights, the tears and the amount of anxiety they had endured.

Emery stopped playing with her toys and looked at me. I mouthed, "go to your room, please." and she did so. I get off the couch and sit on the arm of the chair, putting my hand on my dad's back. And that's when he full-on started sobbing. I could not hold in the tears, and I started crying too.

It was not a cry for me, not a pity party, but a cry for my mom and dad. When I ran away, I didn't think about the what would happen down the road. I ruined my parents.

After a few minutes, he looks to me with his lips quivering.

"I thought you were dead, Remy." his voice cracks. At that moment, I felt the weight of the world drop on my chest.

I broke my dad's, heart.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, only listening to our sniffles and sighs. He stood from his chair and I stand up with him. 

He gives me a tight hug and kisses the top of my head.

"I love you. I'm gonna go lay down with your mother," he says and releases me from his embrace. As soon as he walks out of the room, I break down again.

This time everything in me pours out. All the raping, the beatings, the abortions, the threats, the murders, everything. I collapse on the ground, holding my hands in my face while my body is curled up.

Only a few seconds into my breakdown and I hear the sliding glass door open. I don't move, instead, I just keep crying.

I don't care anymore.

A pair of arms slide under my back and knees and lifts me into the air. I feel our bodies sink down, into the couch. And I don't stop sobbing. I can't breathe out of my nose, causing me to constantly be gasping for air.

I feel the person drawing circles on my back as I cry into their neck. The loud sobs begin to turn into quiet sniffles. My eyes are on fire, and I feel as if I had swallowed a desert.

I remove my wet hands from my face and look up. Luke had been holding me the entire time. He gives me a sad smile and holds me tighter to his chest.

"I'm not going to tell you I understand because I don't." he starts. "But if you need anyone, I'm here for you. I promise." I wrap my arms around his neck, straddling him and he puts his arms around my waist. I lay my head on his shoulder.

We sit there for god knows how long, but Emery interrupts, as she accidentally left one of her Barbie dolls out in the living room. I swing my legs off of him and stand up, with Luke following after me.

He stares at me and cups my face in both of his hands. I do everything I can to avoid his eyes. I felt awful and looked the part as well. 

"I got mascara on your shirt." I point out and slightly chuckle. Luke doesn't remove his hands, instead, he looks down at his shirt and right back up at me, giving me a shrug.

He runs his thumbs under my eyes, wiping the makeup underneath. He then takes his black covered thumbs and rubs them onto his shirt.

"Looks like I got mascara on myself, as well." he grins at me and I start laughing. It hurt to laugh, but I did it. It felt strained, it burned.

"Let's get you some water and tissues." I agree with Luke and follow him to the kitchen.

I sit on the counter and Luke hands me paper towels, so I can blow my nose. And fills a glass full of water.

"Hey Luke," I begin. He looks at me and I gulp down some water before I finish speaking. "where are you from? Your accent?"

"Australia," he says, sitting next to me on the counter. I breathe in through my nose, feeling my heart rate decrease.

"Why'd you move to America? Actually, why did you move to Kentucky?" I ask. I look at him and see that he's gripping the counter and has a clenched jaw.

"It's a long story," he says. I shouldn't push it, but I did.

"I got time." Luke deeply sighs, and I can feel him getting irritated.

"I don't wanna talk about it, Remington." he didn't yell, but his voice raised a bit. I decided it'd be best to back off, not wanting to push him.

"Sorry," I mumble.