Take Two

7║Final Fight

S E V E N;

My life had become incredibly repetitive. Sleep. School. Repeat. It was dull, and boring- but it was oddly comforting.

Today had been another one of those repetitive days, my day passed fairly quickly with little interaction at school with anyone besides my teachers. There was a break in the pattern though, when I pulled up to my house after school. As soon as my car door opened, I was greeted by the sound of yelling.

"-she's the way she is, Lillian. You walk around all depressed and you reflect your mood on to her." I stood frozen, my hand resting on my car door as I waited to hear how my mother would respond.

"Reflect my mood on to her? Come on, Jack. I'm not allowed to grieve? My son is dead."

"He was my son too for God's sake. Why can't you remember that?"

"Are you sure that he was your son? Because you haven't acted like it. You've been gone for weeks at a time, Jesus Jack; you left on a business trip the day after Mark's funeral."

"Come on, I'm grieving too-"

"And how do you think your absence affects Zoe?"

I didn't want to hear anymore, I felt sick to my stomach just listening to the small part of their fight.

My parents had always been the picture perfect couple, married two years after they first got together in high school, pregnant with me and my brother three years after that. They were always happy, laughing, sneaking kisses- it was disgusting as a child but I knew that it was the type of love that only existed in fairytales.

This was the first time that I had ever heard them fight, and I knew that I didn't want to listen to it any further if I had to. So with one last glance at the house, I got into my car and drove off.

║

I didn't know where I was going. I had driven around my neighbourhood for half an hour, careful not to drive down my street, before I found myself pulling into an all too familiar driveway.

Carter's house seemed incredibly imposing from my little beat up car. I didn't know why I had come; Carter had asked if we could meet up later that night to work on our project but right now it was three thirty- not six o'clock like we had agreed upon.

I was ready to put my car in reverse and continue driving laps around the neighbourhood when the front door to the Jacobs house flew open and Carter came running down the front steps, practically sprinting towards my car. I pursed my lips when he tapped on the window, motioning for me to roll it down.

"What's the matter?" He asked, poking his head into the car. Carter's eyes seemed to be inspecting my face, dancing from my nose to my lips and back to my eyes, when he seemed satisfied that I was physically okay, he leaned back.

I focused on his fingers which were holding onto my window, like he was afraid that I would roll it up and shut him out. "Nothing's the matter."

He rolled his eyes, "Come on Zoe, I know you." It was true, he did know me. Whenever I used to be upset I used to always come running to Carter- my knight in shining armor- and I suppose that I had subconsciously come to him today.

"I'm okay."

"Then why are you here?"

I didn't answer him; instead I wrapped my fingers around the wheel. Clenching and relaxing them as I kept my eyes focused on the grey garage before me.

Carter sighed, taking his hands off of my window. "Listen, I'm about to go over to my Grandpa's- do you mind giving me a ride?"

I took my eyes off of the garage and instead turned to look at him. I knew that this was his way of trying to comfort me, something that Carter had never truly been good at, and at that moment I needed to do something to take my mind off of my parents and their fight. So I reached over and unlocked the passenger door, then motioned for him to get in.