A/N: i completely suck at keeping promises. especially one's that have to do with updating more often. so here's not one.. not two.. but THREE chapters for everyone who's stuck around and still manages to bear with me. don't fret, i'm still around! better late than never...? haha. nonetheless, i hope it's enough of a consolation that i have come back (...with a vengeance?). anyway, i miss getting reviews... so gimme one, why don't you? J

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Fall To Pieces

My bare feet hit the cold pavement as I climbed out of the front seat of my car. I lifted the skirt of my dress, swinging the pair of high-heeled sandals in my hand as I walked to the front door.

I'd spent the last half hour in the parking lot, the torrent of tears bringing me no comfort. I'd managed to get myself together to drive home from the dance. I just wanted to collapse, fall asleep... and never wake up again.

Not to this.

I turned the door knob, blinking as my eyes got used to the bright house. It was late. I didn't think anyone else would be up. My confusion increased tenfold when I saw suitcases in the foyer. What's going on? Apprehensive, I walked into the house, past the living room.

"Mom? Dad?" They were sitting across the dining room table from each other. I could somehow physically feel the tension. It was suffocating. Nothing could have prepared me for this moment.

Time was a blur. I stood in the wide doorway of the room, leaning against the frame, seeking the support I desperately needed as they told me their news.

We've been trying to work things out... Too many arguments... We feel that this is the best... None of this is your fault.. We still love you no matter what, remember that...

...Charlotte, we're getting a divorce.

I felt light-headed, like the breath had been knocked out of me. I opened my mouth to speak, but only a strangled noise came out. I didn't know what to say.. what to do... what to feel.

So I stood, rooted in my spot as Dad came over to kiss my forehead and tell me good-bye. I remember grabbing desperately onto his arm, pleading for him to stay, my voice barely above a whisper. With tears in his eyes, he slowly shook head.

"Good-bye," he said.

And that was it.

He left. She drove him away.

My life shattered in a matter of minutes.

...How could my life change so drastically with so few words said?

I didn't shed a single tear that night as I lay in bed. The numbness was overwhelming. I was paralyzed. It was like there was this huge gaping hole in the middle of my chest where my heart used to be.

I was empty and devoid of feeling. Loathsome fate had won. And I accepted defeat.