Sigh.. I didn't get any reviews on my favorite chapter, but oh well. The show must go on. Things are getting hairy and a little tense.
Hope you enjoy and Review!
The next few weeks Lydia noticed Kiera becoming increasingly agitated. The simplest things would set her off and she would end up blinking for several seconds at her daughter before Kiera would break down in tears, apologize and dash up the stairs to her room. Kiera began to spend long periods in her bedroom, locking everyone out. Lydia was scared for her daughter, but she didn't know what to do. Beetlejuice said that all she needed was time, but Lydia was beginning to wonder if that would even help.
Kiera laid on her bed and listened to her music. She had one arm thrown over her eyes, blocking everything out. She should have been doing her homework, but she just didn't care anymore. Not about school, not about anything. The only thing that consumed her mind was her real father. She wanted to find him and talk to him. There was a knock on the door, but Kiera didn't hear it.
Gwen quietly opened her sister's door after she knocked and saw Kiera laying on her bed.
"Kiera?" She asked, but Kiera didn't hear her. She slowly walked up and gave Kiera a slight nudge on her leg. Kiera jumped up and grabbed the earphones out of her ears and glared at her sister.
"Don't come into my room without knocking. I can't believe you did that Guinevere. Why doesn't anyone want to leave me alone, just leave me alone. I don't want to see you, I don't want to see anyone." She screamed at her little sister. Gwen just stood there and stared at her sister before she burst into tears and ran out of the room. Kiera knew that she should have cared, but she didn't. She just shrugged her shoulders and laid back down on her bed.
Lydia heard Gwen's crying and then saw her youngest daughter race down the stairs and nearly knock her over when she grabbed onto her waist.
"What's the matter Darling?" She asked. Gwen wiped her tears on her mother's shirt before looking up.
"Kiera yelled at me. She told me she didn't want to see me or anyone else and to leave her alone. I was just going to ask her if she had a pencil sharpener, I can't find mine." She said and started to cry again. Lydia felt herself fuming as she bent down and lifted her daughter into her arms to cuddle her.
"It's okay Gwen." She said stroking her daughter's long hair.
"What did I do?" She asked against her mother's shoulder.
"Nothing Baby, absolutely nothing." She said and gently pulled Gwen away from her so she look into her face. "Listen to me Gwen, this is not your fault. Kiera isn't mad at you, she's mad at someone else. She's just taking it out on you, do you understand?" Lydia asked. Gwen rubbed her eyes and shook her head. Lydia sighed and hugged her daughter to her. "I know it's hard, but just know that you didn't do anything." Lydia said. Gwen nodded and Lydia kissed her temple and set her down.
"Will things ever be like they were Mom?" She asked looking up, her eyes reddened from crying.
"Of course they will Baby, now why don't you go upstairs and play for a little bit. I'll find you a pencil sharpener so you can finish your homework." She said and smiled. Gwen nodded and turned to walk back up the stairs. Lydia waited until she heard Gwen's door quietly close before she marched up the stairs and straight to Kiera's room.
Lydia didn't bother knocking, she just burst straight in, her hands on her hips. Kiera sat up on her bed and took her earphones out again.
"What is with everyone today. Gwen walking in and now you?" She snapped at her mother.
"Don't you dare take that tone with me young lady. How dare you talk to your sister like that? She came to ask you a simple question and you scared her so badly she cried." Lydia fumed.
"She's always crying about something or other." Kiera shot back.
"She does not and you know it Kiera. Now I want you to apologize to your sister."
"Not a chance, she walked into my room without knocking."
"Are you refusing to do what I asked you to do young lady?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Did I stutter?" Kiera asked, crossing her arms and challenging Lydia. Lydia had never been so furious with her daughter in her entire life. She felt herself charging with energy and had to force herself to not shoot a lightening bolt at her daughter. She closed her eyes and silently counted to ten to calm herself down.
"You will do what I asked Kiera, I will not ask you again." She said in a low voice. Kiera thrust her chin up in the air and didn't move.
"Make me." She said.
"What has gotten into you Kiera. I know that you're upset, but this has gone on long enough. You can't keep lashing out at people." Lydia said, her anger fading away into worry. Her daughter was becoming way too defiant and it was starting to scare her. Kiera just kept her chin in the air and stared down her mother.
"I just don't feel like taking orders from a person who cheats on her husband with another guy when he's not there. Jeez Mom couldn't wait for a few years? Nice role model I've got." Kiera asked looking down and examining her fingernails. Lydia was shocked and deeply hurt by what her daughter said.
"That was below the belt Kiera." She said and turned to shut the door. Kiera almost ran out and begged her mother for forgiveness, but she stopped herself. Why should she go apologize? She meant what she had said to her mother, just because it was her mother didn't mean that she shouldn't have said it. She still felt guilt in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed it aside and laid back down on her bed.
Lydia couldn't help it, what her daughter said stung her and she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She rubbed her eyes trying not to let the tears fall, but it didn't stop the lump from growing in her throat and the sob break out. She tried to keep it to herself as she walked into her room before she burst out in her pillow.
Beetlejuice walked in and felt the house eerily empty. No one was in the living room or the kitchen, which was strange in his house. He took off his coat and slowly walked up the stairs and knocked on Kiera's door.
"Yeah?" She asked. He cracked open the door and looked at her. She didn't say anything, but stiffened up.
"Do you know where your sister and mother are?" He asked. He really didn't have time to try and make her feel better so he kept it short and clipped. She shrugged her shoulders and turned back to what she was doing.
"Right, well night." He said and shut her door again. He knocked on Gwen's door and opened it up. Gwen was laying on her bed and playing with her dolls.
"Hi Dad." She said and smiled. He smiled at his youngest daughter.
"Hi Gwenny. How was your day?" He asked coming in and sitting down on her bed.
"Good, until Kiera snapped at me." She said and shrugged. He just nodded and locked that bit of information away.
"Do you know where your mother is?" He asked. Gwen shook her head and returned to playing with her dolls. He watched her for a few seconds before he patted her back and got up to leave her be. He walked down the hall to his own room and opened the door. He was shocked to find Lydia laying on the bed, her head buried in her pillow. It looked like she'd fallen asleep as she laid there. He gently laid his hand on her back and gave her a gentle shake.
Lydia slowly woke up feeling a cool hand on her own cool skin. She lifted her head and looked at her husband who was sitting on the bed. She rubbed her eyes and slowly got up.
"When did you get in?" She asked. Beetlejuice didn't respond to her just kept looking at her. She'd been crying, it was clear on her face.
"What happened this afternoon Lydia?" He asked. Lydia sighed and looked at him.
"Is it that obvious?" She asked. He laid down on the bed and she laid back down and put her head on his shoulder.
"Yes, now tell me what happened." He said.
"Kiera snapped at Gwen and Gwen came running down crying and told me what happened. Gwen just wanted to ask Kiera if she had a pencil sharpener and Kiera blew up. I got angry and walked up to talk to Kiera. She copped an attitude with me and then told be that why should she listen to a woman who cheated on her husband." She said. Beetlejuice tried to keep his mind open, but his patience with Kiera was growing thin as well. He, Lydia and Gwen had been on their toes for weeks now moving around Kiera's moods and it was beginning to wear thin.
"We'll figure something out Babes." He said and sighed. They had been laying there for a few minutes when the phone rang. Beetlejuice bent over to pick it up.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Oh, hello Mr. Juice, this is Miss Simms, Kiera's teacher? I was wondering if you got my note this afternoon?" She asked over the phone. Beetlejuice looked over at Lydia and covered the mouth piece.
"Did you get a note from Kiera's teacher Babes?" He asked. Lydia shook her head and raised her eyebrows. "No, we didn't get a note Miss Simms, what can we help you with?" He said returning to the phone.
"I'd like to have a meeting with you and your wife regarding Kiera's...behavior over the past few weeks. Does tomorrow at three sound all right?"
"Yes, that will be fine." Beetlejuice said and hung up the phone. He laid back down and looked up at the ceiling.
"We have a meeting with Kiera's teacher tomorrow at three." He said. Lydia sighed and shook her head.
"What are we going to do Beej? This is going way over our heads."
"I don't know, but we'll have to do something and fast." He hated the fact that they were stuck in this just because of two idiots who couldn't keep their mouths shut. He began to wonder why, after seven years did they even bother?
"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Juice." Miss Simms said in a singsong voice that reminded Lydia of Delia when she wanted to fake nice.
"Good afternoon Miss Simms." They said in unison, holding each other's hands. Lydia had left Kiera and Gwen with their neighbor Molly when she went to meet with Beetlejuice at the school.
"Over the past few weeks I've noticed that Kiera has been going downward very fast. She used to be one of the best students in my class, but now it seems like she doesn't even care." Miss Simms said with genuine concern.
"We know Miss Simms, she's been acting out a lot at home too." Lydia said.
"It's not just acting out, but she hasn't been completing any homework. When the other children are doing their work in class she just sits there and looks bored and when I ask her to do something she snaps at me. Has anything happened recently that I need to be aware of?" She asked. Lydia and Beetlejuice shot a glance at one another before they turned back to look at Kiera's teacher.
"She found out a few things recently that we had been protecting her from." Beetlejuice said. "She should have never found out about them, but it happened and we're trying to figure out the best way to deal with it."
"What exactly did she find out?" Miss Simms asked. Lydia frowned at the middle aged woman. She could smell the hunger for gossip coursing through Miss Simms and she wrinkled her nose at it.
"It is something that happened a long time ago and like my husband said, we're dealing with it. We were trying to give her some space to understand, but now we need to take some action and get her back on the right track." Lydia said, narrowing her eyes. She wanted to spit in Miss Simms face when she saw the look of disappointment when Lydia didn't give her any details.
"All right, well if Kiera keeps doing this I will have to contact the counselor and the principal to see what needs to be done. I actually should have done that now, but I wanted you two to have a chance to tell me what's wrong with Kiera before this became something that could get very big." Miss Simms said, a clear threat in her tone. Lydia kept her glare on the teacher as they left.
"This has to stop Lyds, Kiera is going down a dark path and if we don't get her back on the right track it will be bad." Beetlejuice said shaking his head.
"I know it. That teacher wanted something and we weren't going to give it to her. Now the next time Kiera does something in class she'll call everyone in on it until we tell them what happened. It will be a huge mess." Lydia said.
"We'll talk about it when I get home okay? We'll figure it out like we always do." He said and bent down to kiss her on the mouth. Lydia sighed against him and nodded her head. She hoped they would be able to fix this soon. If they didn't then she wasn't sure what was going to happen to Kiera.