When Clyde Parker, the wayward son and the rotten-apple of the Parker family-tree, storms his way back into Avery Fields, he sets out a flurry of butterfly effect in Dawn Marshal's life.
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THERE IS AN EXACT moment when things go wrong.
Does a storm begin with the first caress of the wind making the trees swoon or when the first droplet of rain hits the ground? Does it begin when that droplet merges into the sea or with the precipitation condensing in the clouds? Or when the droplet trickles from the spring and rolls down the mountainside?
Or does it all begin with the beginning of time, the Big Bang Theory, the cosmic catastrophe that gave birth to the universe and the galaxies, oceans and planets.
Everything is cause and effect. The universe was the ultimate screw up that birthed humans, a bunch of airheaded screw ups.
She wasn't much of a believer in fate, destiny, the stars and the whole 'it all happens for a reason' shebang. Did everything happen for a reason? Or did everything happen because somewhere someone screwed up bad and now we all were paying the penalty for it?
She didn't hear him climb in, the click of her window ceased to faze her. Nor his existence lurking in her room that appeared like unicorns had puked all over, where he stood out like a sore thumb amazed her.
He left a trail of his shoes and jacket in disarray sprawled all over the floor and if it was any other day she would've given him a piece of her mind. He flung himself onto her bed and jumped like a toddler, if it was any other day she would have called him a 'baby' and rolled her eyes at his antics, then laughed a good forty-minutes or so at his goofiness.
Some days she wondered who was saving who? She was saving him but there were moments like this when she realized the roles were reversed. He was saving her more than she was saving him.
"And this is the part where you give me your hundredth last warning of throwing me out of your house," He hovered over her, his eyes drinking in her appearance, "Even though I know those are empty threats and that you actually grew a soft spot for me." A cheeky grin sculpted across his lips.
She turned her face sinking in the mass of pillows. She wanted to disappear. You do not exist if no one sees you. "You are awfully quiet today. What's wrong?" he knitted his eyebrows together, he was always trying read her as if she were the best combination of words the 26 alphabets in English Language could be strung into.
"It's just that I feel like..." Her words blurred out. What did she feel like? Empty? Sad? Like she lost a limb? Angry? Hurt, like her heart was being torn open? Numb? She knew how she felt like. She felt like she lost her best friend.
"Feel like?" He scooted closer till their arms were brushing.
"I am just tired," her eyes drooped down at her lap, "I really appreciate this Clyde but I am not up for yet another one of your therapy sessions."
"What pissed in your Captain Crunch this morning?" He muttered under his breath causing her to roll her eyes. They heard the ominous click of the doorknob and two pairs of eyes shot up to the source. Her eyes went to the size of saucers and her heart lurched up her throat.
Clyde leapt out of the bed even before she could mouth the words 'run', throwing his leg over the window he launched himself down in a flash. Her body shuddered at the sheer possibility. It was a close call.
"Honey," In came Mrs. Marshal flurrying through the door that she feared would get unhinged any moment. Subtlety was never her mother's best attribute.
Her mother was in teal scrubs, her hair pulled in a deformed form of messy bun, a few strands betraying the bobby pins and falling over her forehead. Perhaps she was coming back from one of her shifts or going to one; she couldn't tell. But when her defeated eyes met her mother's tired ones, she knew Mrs. Marshal's workload was draining her.
"Caleb called the house-phone," her slender fingers fiddled with the hem, a habit Dawn had picked from her mother, "He sounded worried as he couldn't reach your cell. He just wanted to make sure you got home safe."
"I am pretty sure my phone is lying somewhere in this...mess," she smiled sheepishly, "I will get back at him once I find it." Her mother's eyes wavered from hers and scanned across the room, falling on the pile of Clyde's leather jacket and black boots, lingering there longer than usual.
Mrs. Marshal turned to her daughter, raising one of her eyebrows questioningly. "Erm...that's mi-I mean Cl-Ca-leb's," Dawn muttered weakly in a jitter. Disbelief was written all over her mother's face but Mrs. Marshal chose to prod no more.
"Your room looks like a tornado has whirled it over. You know it doesn't take a spell to keep all your clothes folded and in the closet!" She planted her hands on her hips, staring down at her daughter disapprovingly.
"Roger that!" Dawn shook her head vigorously.
With one skeptic glance, Mrs. Marshal turned on her heels and as she was about to retreat she looked over her shoulder and whispered, "I miss you."
But Dawn heard it. Her eyes washed over her mother's in recognition. She missed herself too.
She took her time to climb out of her bed; the whole process seemingly tedious and trickier than solving a millennium prize problem. Never had she thought the simple task of getting out of her bed could be such an ordeal when all she wanted to do was wallow in there and drown in her sorrows.
She approached her window and craned her neck outside, "Clyde!" She hollered loud enough for him to hear but not loud enough for her brother to burst in their backyard with a baseball bat. There was no sign of him or his displaced figure lying comatose after the suicide jump.
Her thoughts were swimming with vivid images of Clyde Parker's cracked skull, broken ribs and whatnot. A part of her wanted to dial the nearest wing for an ambulance, just in case.
"God, please don't tell me, I killed Clyde Parker. This is officially the worst day ever!" She cried.
"Dawn, you need to see this!" She heard him exclaim while her gaze darted from one place to another.
"Where the fuck are you Parker?!"
"Look up! You need to see this. I need you to see th—"
"How on earth did you get up there?!" Her eyes flicked overhead where his leg dangled limply from the rooftop. Clyde Parker will be the death of her.
"The sky is magnificent tonight and you can see the whole town from here." He said it in a voice of a child receiving candy.
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Bet you didn't see this update coming! To make up for my late update and so that you guys aren't deprived of Clyde Parker for another week, here's a surprise chapter and on that note, don't forget to vote, comment and share this story if you like it.
