Chapter 31

Penny was doing some light cleaning in the kitchen when she heard the front door open. She took a peek and saw her daughter coming into the house, walking towards the stairs and looking a little glum.

"Hey sweetie! What's up?" said Penny, trying to cheer her daughter up. Sarah didn't respond and continued walking upstairs so Penny followed her. Penny could always tell when something's bothering her children or if they're trying to hide something from her. A trick she learned after many years of raising them. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

"It's nothing mom." Sarah said without looking at her mother.

"Are you feeling sick?" asked Penny as she neared her daughter. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you a sandwich?" she said, hoping to cheer the young lady up.

"I said I'm fine mom!" Sarah said, surprising her mother.

"Hey! Is that how you talk to me now?" Penny said.

Sarah grunted with frustration. "Urrgghh! Can't you just leave me alone mom!? I'm not a child anymore!" she said, facing her mother.

Penny could feel herself losing control after hearing the tone of her daughter's voice. "You're my child! And I wouldn't leave you alone until you tell me what's going on with you!" yelled Penny, giving her daughter a stern look.

Sarah stomped her feet and went inside her bedroom as Penny followed her. "Mom just leave me alone! Please!?" she said. "When are you gonna stop treating me like a little girl!?"

"Because you're my girl!" Penny yelled back.

"I'm not a little girl anymore! I'm a woman now!" Sarah yelled, surprising Penny.

"What did you say!?" Penny asked as Sarah backed off a bit, realizing she slipped with her words. "What did you say to me?"

"Mom please!?" Sarah said, trying hard in holding back her tears.

"No! You said that you're a woman now!" Penny asked, dreading the answer that she's gonna get from her daughter. "I want you to tell me what you mean by that!"

"Mom please!? Just leave me alone!" Sarah pleaded.

Penny looked at her daughter and thought for a while. "Sarah, I want you to tell me the truth! What did you mean when you told me you're a woman now!?"

Sarah eventually lost her patience. "Do you really want to know!?" she yelled.

Penny finally lost it and yelled back. "Tell me or I swear to god!"

"I already did it mom! Okay!?" Sarah yelled. "I did it with Jason! There, are you happy now!"

Penny gasped, unable to take what her daughter just told her. "You didn't."

"Yes mom, I did. That's what you wanted to hear right!?" Sarah said.

"How dare you!?" Penny said, glaring at her daughter,

"It's done mom!" Sarah said, somewhat defiant of her mother. "You and dad were always so strict with me. Unlike what you are with your prince William! It's like I always have to contend with him for your attention! Even if he always acts like a jackass, you and dad never really punished him. But when it comes to me, one slip up and I always get my butt kicked, even after I said sorry!"

"Don't you dare turn this on us young lady! You very well know that your dad and I always treated both of you fairly!" said Penny, trying hard to hold back her tears.

"It doesn't matter now mom!" Sarah yelled. "After all, I'm your daughter right?" she said, surprising Penny.

"And what does that supposed to mean!?" said Penny.

"I heard the stories mom! About how you were when you were my age. About all the crazy things you did back in Nebraska! Isn't this one of them?" Sarah said.

Penny didn't know what came to her when she slapped her daughter. "How dare you talk to me like that!?"

Sarah held her tears and faced her mother, touching her cheek. "But it's true, right mom? All the drinking, and smoking and kissing boys...you did all that when you were my age right?"

Penny's anger finally burst out and slapped her again. "You have no right young lady! I'm still your mother and I did not raise you to be disrespectful, you got that!?" she yelled.

Sarah finally cried and ran out of the bedroom, leaving Penny behind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile outside the house, Leonard parked his car on the driveway, pulling the handbrake before getting his briefcase and locking the car as he climbed up the steps of their porch. He opened the front door and put his keys on the bowl by the side of the door when he heard his wife and daughter yelling at each other from upstairs. He sighed and put his briefcase on his desk before going upstairs to diffuse the tension between his girls. He saw their dog Marty looking at him, visibly terrified with the fighting between mother and daughter.

"Hey Marty, are you scared?" he said while patting the dog on his head. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just another stupid thing going on between your mom and your sister." he added as Marty licked his hand, wagging his tail at Leonard.

Leonard was already on the top steps when he saw his daughter running out from her bedroom, crying while touching her cheek. "Hey, hey! Why are you crying?" he asked, holding his daughter as Penny came out of Sarah's bedroom, walking towards Leonard. "What's going on honey? I heard you two yelling at each other."

"Why don't you ask your daughter?" said Penny.

Leonard sighed, knowing that his wife caught their daughter doing something stupid again. "Sarah honey, tell me why your mom is angry at you." he said as Sarah tried to straighten herself.

"Daddy please! I don't want to talk about it!" said Sarah.

"If you're not gonna say it then I would!" Penny yelled as Sarah kept quiet and bowed her head. "Fine, your daughter here is no longer a little girl Leonard. She's a woman now!" Penny said with a bit of sarcasm.

Leonard didn't know what Penny meant. "What!?" he said.

"Ugh you're so clueless!" Penny exclaimed, grunting at her husband. "Don't you get it!? Your precious daughter already did it with Jason!" Penny yelled as Sarah began to cry.

Leonard froze, unable to process his wife's words. He looked at his daughter and saw the truth in Penny's words. He saw the little girl wearing her princess dress, clutching her Olaf toy slowly disappear as he saw how his daughter has grown into a young woman. He felt his chest tighten, making him slightly gasp for air.

"Honey...is this true?" Leonard asked his daughter.

Sarah didn't respond and looked at her father, not wanting to break his heart which she knew she already did.

"Sarah, honey...?" Leonard said while touching his daughter's arm.

Penny decided to butt in. "Believe it Leonard! Urrgghh! I don't know what I did wrong with your daughter!?" she exclaimed.

"Dad please...?" said Sarah. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me the truth." said Leonard.

Sarah took a deep breath and started crying. "It's true dad...I did it...with Jason." she said.

"Did he forced you to do this?" Leonard asked, trying hard not to break down.

"No! And it's my choice! It's my life and I decide what to do with it!" Sarah yelled, surprising her father.

"That's it young lady! I will not have you talking like that to your father!" Penny yelled as Sarah turned around and ran downstairs. "We're not done here!"

"Sarah where are you going?" Leonard yelled as Penny cried, covering her face with her hands.

"I'm getting away from this house!" she yelled. "Away from you two!" she said as she saw the dog looking at her, clearly afraid of the yelling and fighting. "What do you want Marty!?" she yelled at the dog.

Marty barked at her and wagged his tail, hoping to calm his sister down. "Get away from me!" she yelled, making the dog slink back. "Do you think you could replace Buster huh!? Well you're not Buster! You will never be Buster and you can never replace him! You got that!?" yelled Sarah as Marty quickly backed away, afraid of his sister. Sarah grunted as she opened the front door, slamming it behind her before running away.

Leonard came running down the stairs. "Sarah come back here!" he yelled as Marty joined him, barking and wagging his tail.

Penny wiped her tears and decided to come downstairs, hearing the dog barking furiously. She was down the final steps when she saw Marty running and baking loudly at her. Penny's eyes then widened when she saw her husband lying unconscious on the floor as Marty ran to his side barking loudly while licking his neck and face, trying to wake him up. Penny screamed like she never screamed before, seeing the horror in front of her, wishing and hoping that it was all a bad dream.