Chapter Three
Donna sighed out heavily in annoyance and shook her head in frustration at the news that one of her twin daughters had disappeared from her bedroom. They were of course worried about her safety as parents, but with her it always turned out to be something selfish and stupid that Audrey threw a tantrum about. She'd been like this ever since she was a little girl. If Audrey wasn't happy, everyone knew about it, now matter how minor the problem was. And she couldn't have picked a worse time to throw a temper tantrum than now. Donna desperately needed her daughters' support, and now Katie desperately needed her mother for support.
Both parents knew instinctively and from experience exactly where Audrey would be with a 99.9 guarantee. She was probably at her best friend, Ella's house. Ella had been friends with both girls since they met in preschool at the age of three. Audrey and Ella had grown especially close over the years, and both girls first ran to each other in times of need, or in this case, to bitch and moan about her life.
"Well, she's probably at the Parkers'." Donna said out loud, echoing both of their inferences.
"Yeah. Do you think she would be there by now? She'd only been left in her room for about 20 minutes." Josh asked.
Donna gave him a look that caused him to withdraw his question.
"Okay, so she probably bolted right after I closed the door." Josh reasoned.
Audrey ran where she knew she would always get caught – at Ella's house. She was trying to prove a point and annoy them, not run away. Audrey wasn't that stupid – she knew that if she ever really ran away, her parents would have the police all over it, and it would be a media nightmare. Audrey liked to test her boundaries and assert herself and her place in this family.
"I'm going over there now. Are you coming too?" Josh fished his keys out of his workbag and found the one to their Jeep Grand Cherokee.
"Yes, of course I'm coming." Donna said assertively. "But Josh, you know she just wants attention, and we're not going to give it to her, right? She's not the boss."
"Donna…"
"Josh, you can't chew her to pieces. That's what she wants. She wants to know that she pissed us off and that me running for office really bothers her. Audrey's only concerned about herself, like you said before. We don't say a word in the car…" She was cut off.
"You expect me to let her get away with this crap?"
"Of course not, Josh! We lay down the law when she gets back quickly and calmly, and then we leave her alone. She gets no attention for this."
"Okay, fine." Josh agreed, though an outsider could tell the parental unit didn't agree on this one.
Josh and Donna had been struggling lately about how they should handle Audrey and all her uprisings. On one hand, they were both pissed, hurt, and angry with her, but they also knew she was trying to get their attention in the wrong way by acting up. They didn't want to reward that behavior, but she also needed to know her behavior was unacceptable. Josh and Donna were struggling with the balance.
Caught up in the current mini-crisis, they had pretty much forgotten about their well-behaved daughter who was waiting patiently for her mother to return in the next room. Donna had sleepless nights about whether they were damaging Katie because they had to give so much attention to Audrey. Katie was so quiet and easygoing that she often just blended in. It was true – Audrey got all the attention in this household. Josh and Donna didn't ignore her on purpose – they were always just so busy with Audrey. It wasn't fair, and Donna knew this especially.
They were almost to the door, when Donna mentally kicked herself for leaving Katie unaware and waiting.
"Shit. Hold on, Josh." She walked back down the hall to Katie's room where she had begun to read a book quietly.
"Katie, baby, I'm so sorry." Donna started as she sat down on her bed. "Audrey ran off again, so we're going to get her at the Parkers'. We'll be back as soon as possible, okay?" Donna reached out to touch Katie on the cheek, but she moved her head ever-so-slightly to let Donna know her comfort was not welcome. Katie stared ahead to her book, waiting for her mother to get the hint and leave. Donna's heart dropped at this gesture and she wanted to break down in tears right then and hold Katie in her arms forever. It wasn't fair. She felt a sudden strong disliking for Audrey for making her abandon Katie like this, but she had to go. Audrey would never go with just Josh, and she couldn't leave them alone together. Josh would most definitely give her the yelling-at of a lifetime if Donna wasn't there to calm him.
Donna retrieved her hand slowly.
"Okay." She swallowed uncomfortably. "We'll be back soon. I love you."
Katie didn't say anything and waited for her mother to leave. As soon as the door had closed, Katie slowly placed the book face-down on her stomach and just stared up at her ceiling for a few moments, searching for nothing and everything at the same time. All of her anger towards Audrey started to boil up. Her mother had just been here, and now she was alone again, all because of Audrey and her self-involvement. Katie threw her book across the room and it hit her dresser drawers with a loud thud moments later. She started to sob and her body soon began to shake in loneliness and hurt. Why was she just so mean to her mother? She was just trying to help. Katie curled up on her bed and listened to her crying echoing throughout the empty house.
This is for all you girls about thirteen
High school can be so rough,
Can be so mean
Hold on to,
On to your innocence
Stand your ground
When everybody's giving in
This one's for the girls
This one's for the girls
Who've ever had a broken heart
Who've wished upon a shooting star
You're beautiful the way you are
This one's for the girls
Who love without holding back
Who dream with everything they have
All around the world
This one's for the girls
Donna and Josh walked up the steps to John and Carol Parker's modest suburban home moments later, hoping to get this over with soon. They'd been here countless times to retrieve Audrey, in both bad times like this and the good. The Parkers had also been to their house for the same reasons. Josh knocked on the door and waited for a reply. It was now almost eleven o'clock on a school night, and they were just now getting to the Parkers'. They were sure they didn't appreciate the unexpected guest and now all three girls would probably be tired tomorrow at school.
John answered the door with an annoyed look on his face. John was tough as nails and the Lymans could tell easily that he wasn't thrilled about Audrey's little intrusion.
"Mr. Parker, we're so sorry to bother you." Donna began.
"She's here." John interrupted with an edge to his voice, opening the door a little wider to let them in. Josh and Donna stepped in and immediately began looking around the room for their daughter.
"She snuck in through Ella's window." John informed them. "She's still in there."
"Donna? Josh? Is that you?" They heard a grown female's voice call from the kitchen.
"Carol, just stay in there and finish up. I'll handle this." John said with command in his voice. Carol said nothing back and they assumed she continued working like he told her to. The Parkers' relationship had always been an unsteady one, and John had always made Josh and Donna nervous. He was so domineering towards both his wife and their only child, Ella. They'd even expected abuse for years, seeing bruises on Ella from time to time, but they'd all always denied it.
"I'll go get her." John told them, but they both followed him down the hall to Ella's bedroom. John didn't knock and just barged into the room, making both girls visibly jump.
"Audrey, your parents are here." He announced, ready to get her out of the house and go to bed himself. The girls were playing a card game, not something that someone 'so upset' would be doing. From what Josh and Donna could tell, she seemed just fine. Just another one of her attention-getting tactics.
"Come on, Audrey, let's go." Donna told her, clapping her hands together. "The Parkers are ready for bed, I'm sure, and we've got work and school in the morning."
"I'm not going. I'm staying here." She said, point black, slamming a card down on the pile.
Mr. Parker would handle this part.
"Audrey Lyman, it is a school night and you are most definitely not welcome to stay overnight. Do what your mom said and go." He pointed to Ella's bedroom door with his thumb, and then his hand joined his other on each hip.
Audrey, sighed, feeling defeated. She was getting tired herself and though she didn't care who she pissed off most of the time, she didn't want to piss off Ella's dad. He was scary. Audrey let out a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes, slamming the rest of her cards down on the floor.
"Fine." She said, getting up with attitude. She walked right past her parents without making eye contact and headed for the door.
"Bye, Audrey!" Ella called, feeling a little used at her friend's abrupt departure.
Josh and Donna followed Audrey out of the room and Mr. Parker was close behind them. Audrey went straight out the front door and proceeded to wait by the Jeep while her parents mopped up the mess she'd caused.
"Again, Mr. Parker, I'm so sorry that Audrey caused all this trouble. She's really upset about some news we told her tonight, but of course that's no excuse." Donna explained.
"Thanks for your help, John." Josh said as he grabbed the doorknob, ready to get out of there. "Bye, Carol!" He acknowledged her even though her husband wouldn't. They heard a faint goodbye from the kitchen and then left.
Audrey was leaning against the car chewing on her thumbnail. She didn't know why she always acted this way. Her parents paid enough attention to her, but she just always wanted more, and this is how she got it. Her feelings were always so dichotomous at times like this – she of course didn't like being in trouble, but she liked that all their energy was focused on her.
Instead of instantly reprimanding her like they normally did, her parents wordlessly got into the car and she heard her dad start the engine. Surprised, Audrey decided she better get in. Why hadn't they bitten her head off yet? She decided not to put her seat belt on so they'd at least have to tell her to do that, but as they pulled out of the driveway, they still said nothing. The short trip home continued uneventfully and silently. When they finally parked in the driveway and her parents got out, Audrey finally spoke up in disappointment.
"Don't you want to know why I ran away?" She asked them with a little bit of attitude as her front.
They both finally turned to look at her as they made their way to the garage door.
"No, not really." Josh said calmly. "You've done it so many times, we've kind of learned to just ignore it. It's usually something pretty trivial." He opened the door and walked into their home before she had the time to respond. Donna followed closely behind her and said nothing. Audrey was a little confused and even angry at their dismissiveness. She'd have to turn up the heat.
"I ran away because you're both being so selfish about this family!" She yelled as she stepped in and slammed the door behind her. Josh and Donna stopped in the hallway and turned around to look at her. "You never asked me what I thought about mom running for election. You decided before you asked me and didn't care what I thought! This is going to ruin my life! All the kids at school will be asking me about it and I'll have to leave home to go on your stupid campaign trail and the stupid bus just like with dad. I can't believe they actually elected you, dad. They won't be stupid enough to elect mom too."
Josh finally snapped, hearing someone, even if it was his own daughter, bad-mouthing his wife. Donna most definitely did not deserve that, especially from her own flesh and blood. Before Donna could stop in, he had Audrey by the upper arm and was marching her towards her bedroom. Once they were both in, he slammed the door shut and started in on her.
Josh angrily let go of her arm and Audrey grasped it with her own hand where his grip had left red marks.
"Nobody talks to MY WIFE that way! Nobody!" He boomed. "I have never seen anyone act so selfishly and heartlessly in my life! You should be ashamed of yourself, Audrey, because I am! Your mother has been worried sick the last few days about whether she should run or not and took me a long time to build her up to this just to have you act like a spoiled five-year-old and bring her down! Do you have any concern for anyone but yourself?" He could feel his heart about ready to beat out of his chest. When she didn't say anything, only stared at the ground, he yelled even louder. "Answer me!"
Audrey shifted her stance uncomfortably and finally looked up at him. She'd never seen him this angry in his life. Audrey felt like she'd definitely overstepped a boundary here, and for once, she was ashamed of herself.
"No." She answered quietly.
"Yeah, that's been showing a lot lately." He said, a little quieter. "Your mother deserves to do this more than you know, Audrey. You're not the only person in this world who needs her. She can and will do a lot of good in this world, and she doesn't need you second-guessing her."
Josh stared at her for a few moments as he slowly started to talk himself back down. She's thirteen years old, Josh, she's not your political opponent. He immediately felt bad for yelling at her like that, but she definitely needed a wake-up call.
"Audrey, I know this is hard. It will be hard for all of us both physically and emotionally, but this is what your mom wants, and we will support her. Can you do that?"
Audrey pondered this request for a few moments and finally nodded.
"Good. You have school tomorrow, so you need to get to bed. We'll talk about your punishment more tomorrow. You really put the Parkers in a hard spot, Audrey, barging in at 11:00 at night."
"I know." She said quietly, staring down at the floor. Right now, she seemed more like Katie, staying quiet and not making eye contact.
"Alright." He took a step towards her. "I love you, Audrey. Good night." He kissed her on the forehead and then left the room, closing it quietly this time.
As Josh closed the door, he looked across the hall to Katie's room, where he could see Donna sitting on their daughter's bed. From what he could see, Katie was fast asleep already. As Josh stepped into the doorway, Donna looked up and he could see tears in her eyes. Katie desperately needed her mother tonight, and she was taken away when she was needed most. Josh could tell it was killing his wife. He carefully walked over to Katie's bed and knelt down next to his wife, gently placing his hand on her back.
"Donna, honey, I'm so sorry we had to leave. But we needed to deal with Audrey." He said as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake up Katie.
Donna sniffled and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"I know. I just feel….you know." She said simply.
"I know. It's hard, but you can talk to her tomorrow. Let's go to bed, okay?"
Donna looked back down at the sleeping Katie, who she could tell had cried herself to sleep. Her lips were in a frown the way they always were when she went to bed angry or upset. Her tanned arms were wrapped around the teddy bear she'd had since she was a baby, offering her the comfort that Donna had failed to give her earlier.
"Come on." Josh urged as he stood up and took her hand. He gave her arm a gentle tug, pulling her to her feet reluctantly. With his hand at the small of her back, Josh led his wife out of the room, turning the light off and gently shutting the door.
Once they were out of the room, Donna was sniffling again, feeling like she had once again abandoned Katie. She wanted so badly to wake her up to tell her that her Momma was back. She wanted to lay there with her, holding Katie in her arms and telling her how much she loved her and that she could tell them anything, even if it hurt to hear. But she couldn't – she just watched her angel sleep, off in a better, less stressful place for the time being; a place free of elections and twin sisters, and all the stresses of being a new adolescent.
"Hey, come here." Josh said, holding out his arms. Donna responded quickly and buried her head in his shoulder and started sobbing. "It's okay, Donna. We can't be everywhere at the same time."
"I know, but she doesn't deserve to always be second." She looked at him. "She's the most giving, caring person I know, and Audrey always gets our attention because she's always acting up. How does that make her feel? I'm such an awful mother, Josh." She put her head back on his shoulder.
Josh quickly retrieved her head with his hands and held it where he could look her in the eyes.
"Donnatella Lyman, don't you ever say that." He looked at her seriously, but with so much care. "They're both going through a rough time right now, and we've been trying our best to deal with it, and there will be times when it doesn't seem fair." He moved his hands to her shoulders when he saw her face soften a little. "Yes, Audrey is being a selfish pain in the ass right now, but we'll get through it. And Katie will get through this stage too. We just have to be there and be patient."
Donna nodded and had since put her arms around his waist. They began to sway back and forth to an unheard rhythm, but they were perfectly in sync. Josh dropped his left hand to her hip and then took her left hand in his right. He rested his cheek against hers and nuzzled lovingly before giving her a gentle, caring kiss on the cheek. He began humming their favorite song quietly to her. After a few seconds, she joined in with him and they sang the words together in their minds.
It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark
Try as I may, I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me
Whenever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
All day long I can hear people talking about
But when you hold me near
You drown out the crowd
Oh, Mr. Webster could never define
What's being said between your heart and mine
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me
Whenever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
The married couple of seventeen years slowly rocked to each other's gentle voices, and continued to move long after the song had ended. After a while, they stopped and just held onto each other silently. Josh finally pulled back a little bit and kissed Donna softly and soundly on her soft, down turned lips. She at last gave him a small hint of a smile and he mirrored her, seeing she was okay.
"Let's go to bed, okay?" Josh whispered.
"Okay." She whispered back. After a decidedly long day, they slowly walked back to their bedroom hand and hand and quickly drifted off into a much-deserved sleep.
…TBC….
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