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They're arguing again. Mom and Dad. They never stop, they've been arguing non-stop for about three years now, and they don't stop when you walk in the room either. I can't even bring friends round because of them. I can't make out all of the "conversation" but I think they're arguing about Dad's friends again. Dad's not exactly the average father; he listens to punk rock, has a motorcycle, doesn't tell Mom when you come home an hour past curfew. I've even had my best friend, Rachel, say she has a crush on him but don't mind. As long as she doesn't try to make a move!

I'm standing outside the kitchen door, there's this little chip in the wood right near the doorframe so even if it's closed I can still see through it. Mom and Dad have most of their arguments in the kitchen, sometimes over dinner, sometimes when Mom's washing the dishes (she usually has a moan about why Dad doesn't help her), sometimes when Dad comes through the back door when he gets home from work. We live in a nice big house, it was my grandfather's before he died. It got left to my Mom in his will, we moved in when I was about two. Oh, no. Dad just broke one of the good china plates. Oh crap, he's coming to the door! He opens it fast and it hits me hard in the face.

"Oww!" I scream.

"Sorry Kate." Dad says softly. I can see he wants to cry, his eyes are clouded over and they're all puffy. He may listen to punk and act really cool, but deep down, he's just a big softie!

"That's OK." I say and Dad's walks upstairs. I walk into the kitchen to talk to Mom. She's sitting at a stool on the island in the middle of the kitchen with her head in her hands.

"Mom?" I say, and she removes her hands and looks at me. I can tell she's been crying. Her bottom lip is all shaky and her eyes ar wet with tears.

"Hi honey. What's up?" She asks me.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." I say and sit down on the stool next to her. "What was it this time?"

"Nothing Kate, you're too young to understand."

"Try me." I say and Mom begins to look angry.

"Katelyn, it's none of your business what goes on between me and your father." Mom says.

"It kind of is, seeing as I have to live in this house with the constant arguing!" I shout. I don't mean to, it just comes out. Mom and Dad never used to argue. They used to make me wanna puke 'cos they used to sit on the couch in each other's arms and kiss and cuddle. They havent' done that in a long time.

"Katelyn, I'm not in the mood for your attitude today, now either sit there quietly or go away." Mom replies sternly. I look at her and get up from where I'm was sitting and walk up the stairs.

I walk along the hallway into Mom and Dad's room. Dad's sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, much like Mom was a minute ago. They're so alike it scares me sometimes, they used to finish each other's sentences and think the same things. They don't do that any more. A sob escapes past my Dad's lips. I've never actually seen him cry before. I guess this argument must have been pretty bad otherwise he would've just gone into the lounge to sit and watch Cable all day while Mom burned the dinner.

"Dad?" I say, standing in the doorway. I'm never allowed in Mom and Dad's room. It's off limits. I went in there once when I was eight and found a family size pack of condoms along with a vibrator, some handcuffs, and three pregnancy tests. I was so freaked I never went in there again!

"Come in." He says, which surprises me. He usually shouts at me to go away and he'll be along to my room in a minute. I walk in slowly, trying not to look around too much, in case I get thrown out again.

"Dad? Are you okay?" I ask.

"I wish I could say yes sweetheart." He says softly. He motions for me to go over to him and give him a hug. I do and snuggle into his chest. For a second, I felt like a little girl again. I pull back and look at him. His eyes are clouded over and his usually pale face is blood red, it was clear he had been crying. His peroxide blonde hair is all mussed and untidy, he never wears it like that.

"What was the argument about this time?" I ask. Dad tells me everything, especially things Mom doesn't.

"Your Mom thinks I don't spend enough time at home, and that I should think about spending more time with my family, instead of with my mates. Now where did she get that from eh? I go out every once in a while with Xander and Willow and she always refuses to come along, saying she's got better things to do. Do you think that's fair?" Dad asks. I don't know what to say, it's like he's just asked me to choose between my Mom and my Dad.

"No it's not." He can hear the uncertainty in my voice, I can tell by the way he looks at me. He lifts his scarred eyebrow and smiles sweetly as if to say "I know this is hard for you."

"I don't know, maybe she's right. I love your mum to pieces but sometimes I think she doesn't feel the same way about me. Maybe I should talk to her about a divorce." He says. I stand there, mouth open, eyes wide. Did he just say what I think he said. My Mom and Dad, madly in love, would do anything for each other, would take a silver bullet for each other, sacrificed everything to be together. Getting a divorce?

He wants a divorce.

A divorce.

A divorce.

A divorce.

"Kate, did you hear me?" Dad says. I nod and look at him with an unreadable expression. I run, down the stairs, through the kitchen, I can hear Mom shouting my curfew, down the road, past the store, past the cemetary, past my grandpa's, past Willow and Tara's, I don't stop until I get to Rachel's. I knock, she opens the door, I cry.

A divorce?


TBC





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