Hi, guys! Halle here posting something for the first time and feeling a little insecure about it. I've read fanfiction all my life, and I finally summoned some courage to write one! Enough of me rambling, I hope you all like Countryside Trip. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush or any of the characters. Sadly.
And please, do not be shy about pointing any mistake I make during the chapter. English is my second language and I'm trying my best to always improve it.
As far as Kendall was concerned, his life was pretty boring. He had been the popular kid since he can remember, so making friends was never a problem. School was more a pain than a challenge. Girls came easy to him, the hockey team leader, but they were never more than a fling. He had a loving family, consisting of his mother Jennifer, his sister Katie and his two best friends James and Carlos.
The only real deception Kendall had in life has been his father leaving them. Kendall was only five when his mother got pregnant again. Jennifer told him, as she caressed his cheek, that he's going to be a big brother. It took him maybe two or three seconds to realize what that meant. By dinner, his cheeks hurt from all the smiling.
As the months passed by, Kendall's parents grew distant. It started with Kendall's father working extra shifts. He would sometimes come home by dinner, but eventually he'd only come after Kendall was asleep. Then it went to whispered talks. They would wait until Kendall was out of listening range and would start whispering things to each other. It wasn't loving things like they used before, their expressions showing nothing but concern.
At that time, Kendall didn't really knew what was happening. His father showed less and less for dinner, his mother grew worried, his father would ignore him on the weekends, his mother tummy grew…
Then, they started yelling.
The first time he heard, it was his mother. Kendall only caught the end of it, her mother shouting "But you are never home!" before sitting on the couch hiding her face in her hands while his father shook his head.
The second time came a week later, after his mother feeling a little nauseous. She walked out of the bathroom after vomiting still holding her stomach. As she passed by Kendall on the hallway she ruffled his hair and sent him a small smile, saying that his little brother or sister felt a little bad that morning. His eyes got wide as he asked if they were going to get better and his mother answered that they would be just fine after some rest. Kendall took that as a good sign and skipped to the kitchen to wait for breakfast.
Kendall hadn't seen his father the day before. He missed his dad and wished he would spend some more time with him and his mother, but something deep inside him told him that it wasn't to tell his mother. What he didn't expect though was for his father to show up a little before breakfast looking like he hadn't sleep in days and reeking of something acid that Kendall couldn't quite place. Jennifer shot him a strange look – which Kendall would later learn that it was distress – and pulled him into the living room, telling Kendall to make himself some cereal. It wasn't long before Kendall heard them. The first one was his father.
"I didn't want it!"
"You think I did it on purpose? That I choose this?" His mother's voice was up a good octave.
"I think that you could have done something! I already have to feed three mouths, we don't need another."
His father was out the house in less than five seconds.
Later his mother would come tuck him in to bed and tell him that his father had to work late again. Kendall would ask why were they screaming earlier and Jennifer would say that his father just didn't know if he would be a good parent to another child and Kendall said that yes, he will because I will be a good big brother so that he don't have to worry so much. His mother stared at him water-eyed and leaned in to give a kiss to his forehead, yes, honey, you will. She ruffled his hair a bit, bid him goodnight and turned off the lights on her way out, leaving his bedroom door open.
Years later Jennifer would discover that Kendall drew a little green dot on their calendar that day.
The next week or two seemed relatively calm for Kendall. His parents didn't talk that much but at least they didn't argue. His father started showing for dinner more often and started looking as he had been sleeping better, but only a bit. Still, it was better than nothing.
Oh, how had he been wrong.
His mother was having some pretty bad days. Her pregnancy has not been going that well. Jennifer would occasionally feel strong waves of nausea and some strong headaches. One day, a little before dinner, when she was putting up the table, Jennifer felt the strongest wave of nausea yet. Doubling over, she let the plate that was on her hands to fall and crack against the recently swept floor.
Kendall, startled by the sudden noise, went running to the kitchen. Avoiding the broken pieces of the plate, went to his mother's side and rested his small hands on her arm while asking if she was alright.
"What happened here?" Asked his father as he walked into the kitchen. Kendall thought he looked angry.
"Nothing, honey, I just let it slip…"
"Damn, woman! Sometimes I think you do this on purpose! Do you think we can afford breaking all our dishes? Do you?" He pressed on, his neck and face coloring up quickly.
"I told you, it was an accident!" Retorted Jennifer offended.
"The only accident I see is this useless son of yours!"
As Kendall hid behind his mother, he could feel the room growing colder and he could almost taste the tension in the air. His mother's arm started shaking.
"Get. Out. Of. The. House." Said Jennifer through gritted teeth, stressing every word.
"Jennifer…" He tried, his voice sounding soft now.
"OUT!" Yelled Jennifer at the top of her lungs, whole body shivering while she pointed towards the general direction of the front door.
Once again, his father was out of the house in less than five seconds.
Another little green dot was added to the calendar.
Over the following months, Kendall would continue marking his calendar with a little green dot after every fight his parents had.
He expected them to fight less as time passed but it was the exact opposite.
His father no longer slept in their house, restricting himself to little visits from time to time to shower, grab some clothes or have an argument with Jennifer.
Jennifer's belly had grown so much that she had to lean back a bit to keep her center of gravity and not fall over. She could feel that she was very close to giving birth. Every morning, before school, Kendall would rub his mother's belly trying to feel the baby moving. When Jennifer told him that he would have a little sister, Kendall got so happy that he almost forgot to draw the little green dot on his calendar. Almost.
Two weeks later, Kendall was called and asked to go to the principal's officer during one of his classes. As soon as he got there, he saw his father standing, telling him that they would go see his mother. Kendall thought his face looked confused. He would later learn that it was guilt. Within a second, the expression he wore was replaced by one of indifference.
Kendall tried not to ask questions while he got in his father's car and he begun to drive. His right leg was bouncing a little when his father told him that Jennifer was giving birth. Kendall gave him a goofy smile, finally his sister was here! His leg bounced a little faster after that.
The trip to the hospital was a short and quiet one. Kendall trembled with anxiety from the car to the waiting room. He got really disappointed when he was told to wait, though.
After almost three hours of waiting and some pacing around on Kendall's father's part a nurse told them that they could go see Jennifer. She was in a daze, a huge smile plastered on her face as she cradled the baby in her arms. Kendall approached them cautiously, studying the baby. She was such a tiny little thing, curled up to Jennifer, a health blush adorning her miniature cheeks.
"Your sister, sweetie." Jennifer barely whispered, clearly exhausted after the labor.
Kendall looked from his mother to his new sister. The baby stared at him with big brown eyes, witch made him smile so big that he though his face wouldn't ever be normal again.
His happiness, however, was about to fade in the background noise as his father walked up to them and said loud and clear:
"I'm moving out."
Thank you all for reading the first chapter of Countryside Trip and if you guys have some time leave me a review to know what you thought of it, I would really appreciate!