The day finally came that Susan knew would. Their father was leaving. She couldn’t blame him. All they did was fight.
What she didn’t see coming was that they were going with him. It was a dream come true. Their father always spent time with them and took them places. She didn’t have a single memory of her mother doing that.
All three moved into a cute little two-bedroom apartment. All they brought with them were their clothes because that’s all they had. It was heaven.
They no longer had to hide under their beds or tremble in fear. The school was a higher tax bracket kind of area so that was a bit hard to get used to but getting a good night’s sleep and not hearing constant fighting made it all worth it. In fact, it was a bit too quiet now.
After a few weeks, Susan realized they had not seen their dad in a while. Not for any good amount of time. They were both left to get up and get on the bus before school and then take care of themselves afterwards. His job kept him at work a lot but not this much.
Turns out, the apartment they lived in was directly across from a woman he knew from work. That was where he was all the time. When he did finally pop in, they got to meet her. She was very nice and liked to hug. That was something they never knew before. The best part was seeing their dad smile. As long as he was happy, they would be too.
Ninety days passed and the two were married. Susan and her sister now had an extended family. Dinners were around a table with laughter and fun. Their stepmother was teaching them how to cook and all kinds of other things.
Then one day, Susan’s sister was gone. She was terrified. Her sister was all she knew, her safety blanket in a way. Missy apparently went back to their mother. How could she? That was the first question Susan asked herself. The next was “Should she follow?”
It really wasn’t even a question to ask. Of course she would. She would go to the ends of the earth if it meant being with Missy. She looked around and the new life she thought she would keep and sighed. The choice was made and it was one she would forever regret…
