House Trap

Chapter Three: The Family

Rachel couldn't believe her mother brought that up. Her mother knew how hard it was for her to get over that. She struggled to get through her sophomore year in high school while dealing with the shock of her parents splitting up. It was a miracle that she didn't fall behind in her schoolwork because of the turmoil she felt from her father leaving their home and living in another state and her mother acting like her life was now beginning, like her time with Rachel's father was a prison sentence that was finally over. Rachel struggled to forgive her mother's behavior but she ultimately did.

Rachel, now face down in her green pillow cover, thought about what her mother said in the car. Maybe she hadn't gotten over it; maybe she still blamed her mother for refusing her father's attempt at reconciling their differences. He had called several times and tried to be on good terms with her mom, but she refused for some reason she refused. They both told Rachel and Alex that one wasn't more at fault than the other for their divorce. Yet Rachel didn't think so, her gut told her that it might be her mother. She didn't know why, but she did and she kept trying to shove this feeling away because it didn't do any good. It was useless to rehash something that wouldn't fix anything. Rehashing who caused what wouldn't bring her parents together for which Rachel would want more than ever. A Christmas miracle could, maybe, Rachel thought, but Rachel wouldn't hold her breath anytime soon. Maybe a friendly reconciliation would be the crowning miracle she hoped for now. Yet still, she wouldn't hold her breath for that either. Before she knew it she fell asleep.

"Rachel, Rachel..." someone shook her gently as she woke up. She jerked her head up and glanced at the clock from the bed stand; then burst out a sigh of relief that it wasn't past 5. She slept for a mere hour.

"Are you hungry?" her mother said looking blank, Rachel couldn't really read how she's feeling.

"I guess I should eat something, before I have to go to Alicia's house." she muttered.

"What time do you need to be there?" her mother asked solemnly, deliberately pretending they never argued today.

"Around 5." Rachel said in a soft-spoken tone. There was a tense ambiance in her room; it felt like just a second ago her mother upset her in the car. Rachel quietly followed her mother to the kitchen, and she sat at the dining table while her mother, faced back at Rachel, was doing something in the kitchen. Both of them didn't speak a word to each other. The same tense ambiance followed both of them to the kitchen. Prepared already were a Caesar Salad on a white china plate and a leftover sliced grilled chicken on a saucer. Rachel ate her meal a little bit quicker than usual, and after she was done, she stood up and left the kitchen. Her mother still faced toward her.

Once she arrived in her room, she removed her school clothes: a pale gray knee-length dress and brown leggings along with like color sandals. She decided to change into something more causal: a charcoal-gray, short sleeve t-shirt with dark, denim jeans and plain running shoes. Facing her square, wooden-framed mirror stand nestled by her book top drawer, she combed her disheveled, brown hair to be as straight as it could be. Her thick-rimmed glasses remained on her face as always. And for some reason, examining her reflection in the mirror reminded her of something she wrote and placed in her pocket at cafeteria hour which later was stuffed inside her back pack. Satisfied with her outfit choice, she headed toward her bag propped on the bed stand. She then removed all her textbooks and a piece of paper happened to slip out as well as her cell phone. She bent down and picked up her cell phone and placed it on the bed stand but more importantly, she seized the piece of paper with a note scribbled on it.

"My goodness, I forgot about the charity event this Saturday," She thought, grimacing at the half-torn notebook paper. She sighed deeply, removing her glasses and with the right thumb and index finger pressed her sealed eyelid in frustration. She then put her glasses on her face again. She realized how extremely busy this weekend would be for her, all the more reason to be upset that she's wasting her valuable time with Alicia. I'll just tutor her as quickly as I can, Rachel thought, and in hasty manner, she grabbed her math textbook and dumped it in her backpack, zipping it up. She stormed out of her room with her green backpack strapped on her shoulder. She shouted while climbing down the stairs,"Mom! It's time to leave!"