Our Little Deadly Secret

Another Nightmare

I pulled in the driveway to see my aunt and uncle fighting. I could hear the hollering from inside my car. I knew this wasn't good. Since this was usually a monthly thing that happened.

The second I had put my car in park, I had heard my passenger door open and saw a familiar face sit in the passenger seat.

"Go!" Kassidy told me as her parents started to realise that she was not there with them as they fought.

"But I just got my license a few weeks ago. I can't just drive you..."

"Please, Selena!"

Even though my gut told me no, I pulled the car out of the driveway and sped off. All I knew was that if I got pulled over, Kass was paying for my ticket.

We pulled into the parking lot of our favourite hanging spot after school when we were in middle school: the only best place to get ice cream in our world, which was JJ's. Even though it is now in the next town over -  West Springfield - the trip to get the frozen delicacy is beyond worth it. Especially when you know the owner of the little shop and you use to go to school with his son.

"Hello, Ladies! I didn't know you drove, Sel," Mr. G. greeted as we walked up to the window to order.

"Just got my license a few weeks ago. So it's pretty recent."

"That's good!" He replied.

"How is Jay doing?" Kass asked.

"He's doing well. He misses you a lot, since he went back to India. Always asks me when I will see you again."

"Awe!" I replied. "Your boyfriend misses you even though he can text you if he really wanted to!"

"O hush, Monkey."

"Ooo - ooo - ahhh - ahh," I replied sarcastically.

"You girls gonna have your usual?" Mr. G., the owner of the shop, asked.

"Yes please!" We replied as he served up the delicious ice cream. We didn't have to pay a dime, but we left a generous tip for him as a thank you.

We walked over to the benches and sat in the back on the bench we always sit at. It was quiet for a couple minutes before I got the nerves to ask.

"What was it about this time?"

"You mean the monthly argument my parents get into? You don't wanna know."

"I do cause you are my sister more than you are my cousin."

"Ugh.... they have been at it with each other more lately than their usual monthly fight. My mother got really fed up with my father bull that she served him with divorce papers."

"The hell!!"

"Now, we all know I hate my mother, and I am close with my father, but my mother is fighting for full custody of me. Which means she will try every way possible to make it look like my father is a horrible person... like she always has."

"Is he trying to fight it back?"

"He was. That's why they were at the front door to your house. My mother just wants custody of me just so my father can't have me. But she's made it clear to me she wants nothing to do with me. Like nothing at all. As of right now, she has custody of me and he doesn't. Until everything is worked out. And she basically told me to pack my bags and leave."

"I'm soo sorry, Kass."

"Yeah..." she was now shedding tears. I has never seen that kind of pain inflicted on her. Seeing a family being torn apart is hard. But we all knew that some day it would happen to Kassidy's parents. It was just a matter of when.