Josh's POV.
"What is your fucking problem, Mark? Why am I always the one who fucks things up? You think you're so fucking perfect?"
I lay under the covers of my bed, curled up and crying profusely. Oh my God. Look what's happening because of me. Dad and Aba are fighting even more than the last time. I pulled the green duvet over my head and tried to block my ears to the horrible screaming coming from their room. When they sounded like they had quietened down, I heaved a sigh of relief and sat up. I didn't know what else to do, so I did the first thing that came to mind. I knelt on my bed, clasped my hands together and whispered:
"Dear God, I don't know if you're out there or if you're even listening to me, but I can't take this anymore. Please stop my parents from fighting. I love them so much and I don't want anything to happen to them, please. I promise I'll never disappoint them again. Please stop it. Please." I whimpered and wiped the tears off my face, then crawled under the covers and fell asleep, as I had to get up early for school tomorrow. I hoped everything would be okay in the morning.
BBBBBEEEEEEEEPPPPPP!
I woke up at 7.00 am to the sound of my alarm. I showered, dressed in blue jeans, a Snoopy t-shirt and grabbed my school bag. I walked into the living room expecting to see my parents necking one another in the kitchen like they usually do, but what I saw today shocked and hurt me. Dad was dressed in his ripped jeans, with a chain hanging off the side, a Dirty Sanchez t-shirt and his leather jacket, and placed a suitcase near the loft door. Aba sat silently on the couch, his arms and legs clenched together. I froze. Why did Dad bring a suitcase? What was going on? Just then, Aba saw me and quickly wiped his eyes. He got up from his seat and walked towards me.
"Good morning, Yeshula," he said as he hugged me. I backed away from his hug and stared at him.
"What's going on, Aba? What's Dad doing?" I babbled too quickly.
Aba took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as he could. "Look Josh, Dad and I have decided that we need some time apart. So – "
"What? You're splitting up?" I could feel tears brimming in my eyes, but I blinked them away. Aba gently stroked my hair, a few tears showing up in his eyes too, and continued:
"No Josh, we're not. It's just that, we still have a lot of pain between us that doesn't seem to be going away, so we've decided that we just need to spend some time away from each other. You know, to regenerate and think things through. We can't go on arguing like this every night, so we need this. Just think of it as a little break for us. When we both feel better, we'll get back together."
Break? What fucking break did they need? I struggled to make my voice work. "But Aba, I don't understand. Why? You guys love each other."
"I know, we do." Aba sighed heavily. "And that's why we need this, so we don't keep hurting each other like this." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, as a single tear slid down his cheek. "Please don't blame yourself for this, Joshy. We love you so much. This is not your fault at all. It's just some old wounds from the past, that's all."
I didn't know what to say or do, so I just nodded silently. Aba wiped his tears away, smiled weakly at me and went to the kitchen to make me some toast. But I was far from hungry. I watched as Dad held his suitcase in one hand and slid open the loft door with the other. I ran up to him and grabbed his arm, as the hot tears ran down my face.
"Please don't go Dad, please! I'm sorry! I'll never go to a school party again, I promise! I'm sorry I made you guys fight! Please Dad!" I begged.
Dad turned around and gave me the tightest hug I've ever gotten, his strong muscular arms practically crushing me into his solid frame and his face resting against mine, but I didn't care. I hugged him back and whimpered softly. Dad then pulled away and looked deep into my eyes.
"I'm so sorry to do this to you, little buddy," he mumbled, his voice shaking. "But believe me, it's for the best. We just need to think things through on our own for some time. I promise I'll come back once everything's been smoothed over. We love you so much." And once again, I was back in his arms. I could feel his breath warm on my neck as he softly whispered, "Please take care of yourself and Aba for me, ok?"
I mumbled "Okay" as Dad pulled away from me. He mouthed an 'I love you' to me which I mouthed back, and I watched as a couple of tears slid out of his green eyes and down his face. He turned his gaze briefly to the kitchen, where Aba was making coffee with his back facing us. I felt so hurt at how he could just pretend that nothing was going on. Dad then shifted his gaze back to me, his lips quivering, and whispered, "'Bye Joshua". Giving my arm one last squeeze, he picked up his suitcase and car keys, wiped his face, opened the loft door and shut it behind him. I could hear his footsteps as they got softer and softer and finally no more. I just stood there, staring at the door for the longest time. My Dad's gone. Where; I don't know. When he would come back; no idea. Why...? Why did he have to leave? Why did Aba make him leave? All of a sudden, my grief was replaced with anger. Anger at Aba for sending Dad away when we both loved him and needed him here. Without saying another word, I grabbed my school bag and headed for the door.
"Josh, your toast!" Aba called after me.
"Shove it, Aba! I don't want it!" I yelled back at him. I slammed the loft door behind me and walked out of the building. I felt a mixture of anger and pain and guilt and sadness over what just happened there. I felt I was being selfish for thinking about their problems but hey, I needed to be consulted on their decisions too, right? God help me survive through this day……
Oh dear, what's become of our favourite little family? Stay tuned to find out... -evil witch cackle-