― four: little sister

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[ CHAPTER 04 : LITTLE SISTER : hello, i've waited here for you everlong. tonight, i throw myself into and out of the red, out of her head, she sang. come down, and waste away with me. down with me, slow how you wanted it to be. and over my head, out of her head she sang.. ]

★★★★★


          THE MINUTE PARKER STEPS into her house, a light flicks on from somewhere to her left, and she finds herself coming face to face with her mother's scowl and disappointment. A phone hangs from the clutches of her fingers, and her other hand is holding tightly on her hip. Between the bags underneath her eyes, and the tinge of worry still wearing on her face, the woman has obviously been up for a while. Maybe even since she left. "Where have you been?" The woman demands, her foot stomping a little as the anger fuels her words. Gulping, Parker gestures towards Frank, who sits idly next to her feet.

          "I took Frank for a walk." She murmurs.

          Her mother only shakes her head, "At midnight?"

          Parker's dad, from the couch, gets up to walk over to his wife and daughter. His arm going around her mom's shoulder as he looks between the two of them. His hand runs through his brunette hair, and then down to the light stubble on his chin before a frown forms on his lips. A sigh leaves his mouth, "You're grounded, for the next two weeks," Parker's mouth falls open in protest―she knows she did wrong, but not two weeks' worth of grounding wrong. Her father puts a hand up to stop her from saying anything, "I don't care what you were doing, or why. You do not leave this house after dark unless telling your mother or I. Understood?"

          Slowly, Parker nods as she keeps her eyes casted down at the floor.

           Hands reach out and envelop her in a suffocating hug. "Please don't do that again," Her mother whispers as she holds her tightly and lets her fingers run through Parker's brunette hair. "I was two seconds away from calling Sheriff Clark." Sometimes, Parker forgets how worrisome her parents can be. She's their only child, if something ever happens to her, they would never forgive themselves. Yet, nothing ever happens in this town, and probably never will. The last real crime they ever had, was when some guy from the local community college decided to ransack and squat at an abandoned townhouse not far from Main Street. The sheriff caught on quick, and the kid was taken into police custody. It was on the local news for months. That's how unproblematic this town is. One small insignificant incident like that, stays in this town forever.

           Her father pats the top of her head, "Got to bed, we'll talk more in the morning."

          Her mother lets go of her, sending a firm look her way as Parker heads for the stairs. She doesn't dare look at her father. She doesn't want to see the disappointment or anger. Her number one fear is disappointing her parents: especially her father. She feels like she owes them so much. The two had her at such a young age, and have done everything in their power to take care of her. Forgetting about college, or moving away from their small town―instead getting jobs, buying a falling apart house in order to repair and build a home that isn't necessarily dream worthy, and create an environment that would best fit their young child. They were given terrible looks for being young and having a child. They were chided by people they used to call friends, and her dad's family completely dropped him and moved to upstate New York.

          Her parents became their parent's disappointment all because of her.

          Reaching the top of the stairs (Frank just behind her) Parker glances over the railing to find her parents embracing. Her mother shaking, and her father comforting her. A sigh leaves her mouth as she heads inside her room. First unclipping Frank's leash from his collar, him being grateful as he heads for her bed to curl up on one of her pillows.

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