Dahven forced herself to be up before Julia. Changing as noisily as possible, she shut her door loudly and bounced down to the kitchen.
There she took in a sharp breath. Her parents were having coffee together, and they were talking. Not screaming as they used to.
She started to back away slowly, and walked out onto the back patio. The sun wasn’t shining and the sky was full of grey clouds.
She loved grey clouds. They always reminded her that not everything in the world could be pretty and happy all of the time. Slowly she started to hum ‘Kiss the Rain’ to herself, falling in love with that song all over again since she played it for Isaac.
Smiling contently, she let herself into daydream about Isaac.
She must have dozed off, because she started to lose control of the sweet daydream and Julia entered it. Shattering everything that she had carefully and tirelessly tried to piece back together.
There were only a few things she couldn’t piece back together. Her family was one and the other was her respect for her parents. They all had huge pieces missing, and it didn’t bother her that they did have the pieces missing. What bothered her was that it seemed as if Julia was the one holding them.
Feeling herself being shaken, Dahven at first thought that it was her dreams that were shaking. But then she looked up and saw Isaac staring down at her with a look of concern and confusion, she knew she was alright again.
"You okay?" He asked gently.
Not saying anything, Dahven just threw her arms around him. Hugging him close to her to keep the bad memories and thoughts at bay.
He sat down next to her and hugged her back, and she noticed that it was raining again.
She smiled as she reluctantly pulled back from him. "Thank you." She said softly.
He smiled tenderly and pushed a hair back from her forehead, "For what?"
Dahven’s smiled widened, "because you didn’t leave me when my parents did." She said as pain quickly flickered in her eyes, then was gone again. "Even Arie left me. But you stayed." She kissed him. "I’m glad that you stuck by."
Isaac responded instantly. He saw the pain in her eyes, and he knew it went deep too. Even though she didn't want to admit it.
The spent the day mostly in companionable silence. Ignoring the rest of world and concentrating on themselves. Strengthening the bonds between them.
And when it came time to call it a night, and end their time, they regretted the parting but suffered through it together.
Strolling around her neighborhood the next day on her rollerblades, Dahven was doing everything she could not to go home. She’d already been to the mall three times claiming that she kept forgetting something every time she came home and saw that everyone was still there.
She groaned out loud as she kicked a can down the street as she bladed by. Deciding that she had to go home sometime that day, she might as well go now. Still hanging onto the hope that no one would be there.
Quickly she rollerbladed to her house, and took her blades off on the porch.
Slowly opening the door, she leaned in and looked around to see if anyone was there. Praying, hoping, and wishing that they weren’t she quietly crept up the stairs.
Then she heard it.
"Charm? Charm, will you come in here please?" Her mother’s voice sent chills down Dahven’s spine and goosebumps rise on her arms.
Dahven looked up at the ceiling. Oh geez, thank you!
She started to walk to where she heard their voices. Walking into the room, she looked back up at the ceiling. Just tell me what I did, Lord. She silently asked the heavens.
Kasha, Syrus, Arie, Essence, and Julia were all seated and were all talking in hushed tones.
Straining to hear them, Dahven swore that she was their topic. Straining even more, she tried to pick up on what they were saying.
She didn’t get the chance to though. When Arie cleared his throat, he announced her presence, and everyone went silent.
"Oh, please don’t stop because of me." Dahven said calmly, her voice edged in ice. Clenching her fists at her side, she also clenched her teeth.
"Charm, we think that it would be better if you went to a private school for girls than stay with homeschooling." Arie explained, though he wouldn’t look at her. Keeping his focus on his hands, which he was wringing nervously in front of him.
Dahven reeled back from this sudden harsh and painful low blow. "No." She stated firmly, her fingers twitching as her hands turned cold.
"Now be reasonable, Charm." Syrus started sternly.
Shaking her head furiously, she looked at Arie. "I can’t believe you would sell me out like this. I didn't do anything to you. You never asked me if I would mind if you married Essence or if she could live her, or if Julia could sleep in my room."
She dragged in a breath and continued on before anyone could interrupt. "Yet, you want to, all of a sudden, ship me out of the only place that I know. To some place that I don’t, and you didn't even bother discussing it with me. " She questioned him harshly.
Tears of pain welled up in her eyes. "I won’t go. And if I do, I’ll get myself kicked out. I’m sure that they will have really strict rules against setting the school on fire." She said as she started to walk away.
"This would be a great opportunity for you." Kasha said standing up. "Don’t be a fool, and walk away from it."
Dahven spun around suddenly. "No! A great opportunity for me was having a family. One that the parents weren’t forced to marry because of a pregnancy, or a raping that caused the birth of a child, or a divorce because they just decided that they couldn’t be together anymore. Let alone keeping it all a secret from their children and then trying to split them up. Taking them from the only place that they could even remotely call home."
Dahven didn’t know what just happened, but everything that had been building up in her finally burst out. Like a damn bursting and water flooding out.
Staring at all of the shocked and angry faces, Dahven just took off.
Running to the garage, she got into her V.W. convertible. Making sure she didn’t back up into one of her parent’s Mercedes', she backed down and out of her driveway.
And away from her family.