“Look, it was my idea,” my mother cuts my dad off. “I’m not proud of it, but we’ve come to a point where we can’t hide it anymore. Your father is going to stay in a hotel for a while…”
Nick launches himself from the couch. “And then he’ll move out for good, right? That’s how it always starts.”
“Nick,” my mother speaks, but my brother just shakes his head and walks away, pounding his feet on the stairs as he marches up to his room and slams the door. She then looks over at me. “I’m sorry, Amelia…truly.”
“I don’t get it, and I know there are probably things you can’t really discuss with me, but have you guys considered counseling?”
My dad nods. “Yes, but…”
“But what?” I interrupt him. “Do it. Fight for our family, damn it!” I stand up now, raising my voice at my parents, which I’ve rarely done before.
“Amelia, there’s just things you can’t possibly understand…”
“What I don’t understand is why you’re both willing to throw almost twenty years of your lives away, that you’re willing to rip apart our family, over what?”
They remain silent.
And I can’t even begin to form any other words to say.
So I spin on my heels and march up the stairs as well, feeling broken, rattled, and even more unsettled than I ever have in my entire life.
My parents might be getting a divorce, my family is being torn apart, and all I can wonder is, does anyone ever really get a happily ever after? Is it even possible to repair something that's broken?
Or are we all naive to think that love really can conquer all…