The Only Exception
Disclaimer.. The characters and the song are not mine. The character's names and a little bit of their background info belongs to the creator of Switched at Birth, one of my favorite TV series on ABC Family. The title of my story and the plot belongs to the song The Only Exception by one of my favorite bands, Paramore.
Please leave reviews. I want to hear what you think so far. Also, I'm still in school, so my schedule is hectic, but I will try to post as often as I can.
Chapter 1:
I grabbed the red crayon to finish coloring Ariel's hair. She is my favorite Disney Princess, next to Belle. Mom just bought me a new coloring book since I finished coloring everything in the last one. Our fridge in the kitchen is constantly covered with my pictures. I don't even know what color the actual fridge is anymore.
As I set down the box of crayons and began to color, I heard my dad yell out my name. Assuming that he is calling me, I set down the crayon and walked out of my room and towards the top of the stairs. Normally, I would yell out, "Yes, Daddy?" But this time, I could hear Mom talking kind of loudly to my dad. They have been fighting a lot lately, and if this argument is anything like the last four or five, I don't want to interrupt. So I sat down on the top step quietly, trying to listen. I heard them talking, but I could only understand a few words: "She… You didn't… Sorry… Kiss or… Sorry." Their voices got louder and clearer. They are coming closer towards the stairs. They were probably down the hallway that ran along-side the stairs from the front door into the kitchen, but they moved into the living room, which was directly down to my right.
Things became silent for a moment aside from my mom's occasional sniffle and a few deep breaths.
Then she said softly, "When?"
There was a pause. Then Dad replied back, "Last Saturday night after I went to the bar with Donny." As he spoke, the words got quieter. You could hear the remorse in the tone of his voice.
This argument wasn't like the others. Normally, they were loud, and they would walk around the house with one walking behind and chasing the other, as if playing follow-the-leader. Then one of them would go outside to get some air and take a break before things got any worse than they already were, and the fight would be over. However, aside from Dad yelling my name earlier, this one was quiet and calm.
It was quiet for a few minutes. The couch squeaked as it shifted on the hardwood floors like someone was standing up. My mom walked down the hallway toward the front door. She opened the door, paused and started to turn back, but stopped herself and proceeded out the front door.
The fight was over, and I didn't gain much info on what this one was about besides the fact that Dad did something last Saturday.
I got up from the stairs, and as I turned around to head back to my room, the floor squeaked. I heard my dad get up from the couch and walk through the hallway towards the stairs, so I turned back around and took a step down the stairs. My dad was looking up at me with his big brown eyes from the bottom of the stairs and asked, "Where have you been?" hoping that I would say anything that didn't include me listening to them, like I was. But I'm only six, and I know that I shouldn't lie to my parents, so I answered truthfully, "Sitting here. Listening to you and Mommy." As I spoke, his fake smile turned to an ashamed frown. He looked down at the bottom step and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair.
He didn't say anything, so I asked, "What did you do last Saturday?"
He continued to stare at the bottom step. He moved his hand that had been resting on the back of his neck and put it over his mouth, as if it would stop the words from coming out so that he wouldn't have to tell me what he clearly didn't want to say. After thinking of a reasonable response, he looked up at me again and said, "I just had dinner with Donny."
Donny is a friend of my dad's from back when he played baseball, and they had dinner every now and then, so it didn't seem weird to me. I smiled and said, "Ok. Wanna see my new pictures?"
He seemed relieved that I didn't ask any other questions. "Sorry, sweetie, not now. Finish a few more, and then I will put them on the fridge with the rest." He started back down the hallway before I could say that I have already colored four more since he last saw my coloring book. I turned around and went back to my room to finish coloring Ariel.