"Today, however can change things for better or worse. The outcome depends on you."
When a marriage fails the residue trickles down to everyone in the family. Sixteen-year-old Daya Nicole Johnston must fight to understand what is happening in her li...
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****Terra****
After I cried for a few minutes in my mother's loving arms, the two of us headed downstairs. I could smell the oven from my spot on the staircase. "Dennis," my mother chuckled.
"I'm in here," he yelled from the kitchen.
"Oh, I thought you were burning something in the back yard," I jested. We walked into the kitchen to see Dennis waving a towel over the stove.
"What are you making," I asked.
"I tried to make oven-baked teriyaki chicken from this recipe on Pinterest. I think the meat is good, but I might have burnt the beans." My mom laughed as she walked over to the stove. "The chicken smells wonderful."
I leaned across the island, "How do you burn beans?" I observed after a careful examination.
"I think you mean overcooked. It can be salvaged though."
As Dennis came close to me I whispered, "I understand if you don't want to talk about it in front of mom, but we can talk about what you said privately."
We ate our dinner of smoked Teriyaki chicken and Lima beans with a comforting repartee amongst us. It was almost normal, but not quite there. It always feels that way since he has been absent. I hoped it became more ordinary in time. I adored being with them, but it still felt cloudy and like the rain could fall at any minute and ruin everything.
I decided to get ready for bed early. I had nowhere to run off too, or any more people to disappoint. I went to the bathroom and got ready before I headed back to my room. My hair was in a messy bun as I slipped into something more comfortable. A nervousness traveled throughout my body as I saw my phone. There was no more avoiding it. Earlier on that day, I was looking the most forward to speaking with him. But because of the events of the day, I was worried about what he may say to me.
"Hey," I responded at the first ring, thinking he must've been waiting for me so he would pick up quickly.
"Hi," I drawled before he even answered the phone. My hand fidgeted around the phone, and on my lap. Finally, the ringing stopped, and a voice flowed through.
"Hello," his voice could be compared with velvet, but it still had a strong cadence.
"Hey, it's Day, which rhymed. I'm sorry," I bowed my head.
"Hey Day," he quickly said as if it was one word.
As I fidgeted on my bed I questioned, "Have you talked to Piper?"
"Yeah, we talked," he spoke softly and it caused my anxiety about the situation to only increase.
I think he was about to continue, yet I said, "Yeah, I talked to her too. You know I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be, I don't know, disrespectful to you. I like you and all. He's just been my best friend for eleven years and I was talking to him. Like, he dropped some heavy stuff in my lap, and I had to talk to him. And yeah, I hugged him. We stayed like that for a few minutes. It was more like a side hug than anything. And yeah, there was a kiss, but," I babbled.
