Chapter 2:Hidden Truths
Dad came and knocked on my door about an hour latter.
"Do you want any dinner?" he asked from the door. He held it open just a crack so that there was a small line of light was coming in from the hall.
"No" I said still staring up at the ceiling. The room was starting to get dark as the light was fading outside.
"Abigail, for your mother's sake, please come have something."
"No" I simply said and rolled over. My back was to him just standing there in the doorway.
He paused. Tears were brimming on my eyes. Silence filled the air. Then the door clicked shut and foot steps faded down the hall.
The room slowly got darker, and crickets started to serenade the first stars. Tears were sliding slowly down my face and hitting my comforter. Cars whizzed by on the street as people were coming home to their families. Then a tapping came from the window. I rolled over slowly, wiping the tears from my eyes at the same time. And there stood Chelsey and Karen in the flowerbed just outside my window. I stood and walked over to the window. The room was almost completely dark now. Long shadows were cast from the furniture in the room. I opened the window.
"Hey" said Chelsey.
"What are you two doing here?" I asked annoyed almost to see them.
"Excuse me!" said Karen waving her hands around, "sleepover! Remember!"
"Not tonight." I said and started to close the window.
Karen pushed her hand against the glass and stopped it from closing. "What's the matter?" her eyes were so confused.
My hand dropped from the glass. "Just go home." I whispered fighting back the tears welling up in my eyes.
"Not till you tell us what's going on." Said Chelsey pulling the window open all the way.
"You don't understand!" I whispered.
"Then make us." Said Karen looking at me.
"All I wanted was to come home." I whispered.
"And now you are" said Chelsey smiling.
Tears started to slide down my cheeks.
"Abby" said Karen looking at me.
"All I wanted was to come home!" I whispered my voice shaking. "And she don't want me home."
"Who Abby? Who doesn't want you home?" said Karen.
"My Mom…." Tears started to run down my face so hard I couldn't see anything.
Then some arms were wrapped around my shoulders a few seconds latter.
"She wants you home Abby, everyone wants you home." Said Karen's soft voice into my ear.
"No she doesn't!" I whispered. "She never wanted me to come home. She wanted to leave me in that place forever if…….."
"If what Abby?" asked Chelsey. She too must have climbed through the window into my room.
"You wouldn't understand." I whispered.
"I lost my mom when I was twelve, Abby I think I understand a lot more than you think."
I just shook my head no into her shoulder. "It's not the same Karen!" I wanted to yell, but it came out as a whisper.
"How would I not know what it's like if I'm losing a friend before my very eyes and I know her every last secret?" asked Karen.
"She wants her back! She wants her back more than me!" I screamed at Karen. "Is that what you want to hear!" Tears kept pouring down my face.
"Why would you say that?" asked Karen holding my shoulders so I had to look her straight in the face.
"They talk!" I screamed at her. "I always hear them talk! In the hospital they were talking right outside the door! They thought I was asleep! My mom said that life would be better if I stayed there, and Dad wanted me home! They were arguing! Right there out in the hall! Mom wanted me to stay! She wanted me to stay so that maybe she'd have me longer. She was wrong! She's always wrong!" I collapsed to the floor shaking from crying.
"Abby I didn't know!" said Karen kneeling down on the floor next to me.
Then from the hall the door opened.
"Abby?" Dad walked in. I could only tell from his voice. "What are you two doing here?" he asked questionably.
"We were just leaving." Said Chelsey and pulled Karen by the hand out of my room as I was wiping tears from my eyes.
"Abby what's going on?" asked dad as he walked into the room.
"Go away." I whispered.
"Not till you tell me what's going on."
"GO!" I screamed tears rolling down my face once more. I pointed to the door.
"Abby" he tried again.
"No! Go!" I screamed, and he turned slowly and left. He shut the door and headed down the hall, his footsteps fading, and from the kitchen low mumbling came drifting down to my room. They were fighting again, I knew they were. I curled up on the floor and just fell asleep crying.
I woke up on the floor. Tears lines were crusted on my face. The morning sun was sparkling on the dew-covered lawn. I pushed myself up slowly and walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall. My brown hair hung limply along my face. Everything was falling apart. I couldn't see how anything could get worse. How could it when there was nothing else to go wrong? Then there was a knock on the door.
"Abby?" it was my mom's voice.
"What" I said to the door.
"Breakfast is on the table." She said to the door. I think she was afraid to open the door, that I might start yelling at her like I had Dad.
"Fine" I said and turned back to the mirror. I didn't look like my mom. Kimberly had always looked more like mom. It was hard for people to really think that we had been twins. Had been. But that was the past, and I didn't like to go there in my past, because some things are meant to be left there. Left in the deep corners of your mind where no one will know them if you haven't told them or if they haven't already known themselves. That was the thing about Kimberly, I wanted to forget her so much, that I remembered her more.
I walked out of my room, down the hall, and into the kitchen.
"Good morning" said Mom.
I just replied with silence and sat down at the table.
"What would you like? We've got pancakes, eggs, bacon, anything you want." Her voice was so chipper. She had a smile on her face, but it was like she was hiding something.
"I'm just going to have cereal" I said and walked over to the pantry. I pulled out some Frosted Flakes and walked over to the cupboards for a bowl.
Then the phone rang. "Oh I'll get it" said Mom and looked at the wall, the portable phone wasn't there. "Gosh darn that father of yours. I tell him to put the phone back…." And she kept mumbling to herself as she walked down the hall and to the study for the other phone.
I just turned back to my cereal and started to pour it into the bowl when a sheet of paper caught my eye. I put down the box and picked it up. It was a crisp white legal document with my worst nightmare spelled out on the top Divorce.
I was speechless. No, this can't be happening just kept going over and over in my head. The paper was clamped in my hand and I was staring at it such disbelief that I didn't even see Mom walk back in.
"Abby that was…" she paused and stared at the paper "Abby we were…"
"You were what! Going to tell me?" I yelled angrily. "I highly doubt it! You never tell me anything!"
"Now Abigail there's no need for that tone. Your father and I were…" she started.
"Were going to ruin everything!" I screamed angrily and stormed past her and to the door. My hand was on the handle when she spoke.
"We didn't want to make you even more upset." She tried.
"Well guess what you just ruined it even more!" I screamed whipping around to face her.
"Abigail…."
"No Mom! You don't get it! You never get it!" I yelled tears rolling down my cheeks.
"When your sister moved on….."
"She died Mom, died, she's dead!" I sobbed and ran out the door and down the road. I didn't want to talk to Mom. I didn't want to remember her, not anymore.