The Hurricane of My Life

Chapter Two: The Sun

I got home first that afternoon, even though my younger brother, Jonathan, had managed to catch a ride home with one of his friends. I was out of breath and my legs felt like jelly. It was quite cold outside, being November and all, but running was never one of my hobbies.

I must have been going crazy. There really was no need to run home, since neither Julia or her friends lived anywhere near me. And, even if they did, all I would get would be a verbal attack. I've had much worse than that, and I could easily ignore them.

So, why was I running?

I don't think I'll ever know. All I know was that I was glad to be home. Home felt safer and more comforting than school. I felt like I belonged at home, but I didn't feel like I would ever belong at school, or anywhere else, for that matter.

I turned on the television, as I guzzled an ice-cold bottle of water. I flipped through the channels, looking for something interesting. Finally, I settled on Oprah. However, I almost changed the channel after seeing what the episode was about: mothers.

It was my mother who caused all my problems, along with my older sister, Rosa.

Rosa had a different high school experience than me. Instead of being invisible, she was popular. Not a Julia Williams popular, but the kind of popular were people genuinely like you. She was pretty, with her light brown hair and almond colored eyes. Her freckles had blended together, making her look like she had a wonderful tan. She had gentle curves that made almost every guy stop and stare.

She wasn't just pretty. Rosa was nice to everyone, even the people that hated her for unknown reasons. She was smart, too. Plenty of Ivy League colleges were interested in giving her a full scholarship.

Chris Welber took that all away.

When Rosa first brought home Chris, I thought my father was going to have a heart attack. Chris was covered in tattoos and piercing. He's face was a scowl, which made him look as if he thought that Rosa was not worth his precious time. His attitude was awful. Chris never talked to anyone, and when he did, it came out in a sarcastic tone.

He also had a motorcycle, which my father made clear to Rosa that she could not ride on.

My mother, however, loved Chris. She thought he was a great guy, which made me wonder if we needed to take her to get some glasses, or possibly to the loony bin. Knowing what I know now, I vote the latter.

One day Rosa came home from the mall sobbing. She had something in her hand, which she immediately threw in the trash. Curiosity overcame me, and, as soon as she went up stairs, I dug out what she threw away.

It was a pregnancy test. A pregnancy test that was positive.

I stood in the kitchen, immobilized with shock. I never would have thought that Rosa and Chris were having sex. Rosa always talked about how people should wait until marriage. She even wore a purity ring. At first, I thought it was a figment of my imagination, but then I realized that the test certainly wasn't.

I flung the test to the floor, and ran upstairs, wanting to confront Rosa. I began pounding on her door, screaming at her.

"Diana, go away!" she shouted at me, after a few moments of silence. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"You can't keep this a secret!" I yelled back. "Dad and Mom will find out eventually!"

"Don't you think I know that? I plan to tell them tonight!" Rosa began crying. "I wonder what Chris and I are going to do!"

"Chris and I?" I questioned. "Chris isn't going to help you, Rosa! He only cares about himself!" \par

"Don't say that, Diana!" Rosa screeched. "And I told you to go away!"

It turns out that I was right. When Rosa told Chris he shut the door in her face and told her that it wasn't his problem. It put her in more emotional turmoil that she already was in. A week later Chris had a new girlfriend. My father made sure that Rosa didn't find out about that.

My father, to say the least, was very disappointed in Rosa. He told her that she had betrayed his trust, and he didn't know if he would be able to trust her again. That tore Rosa up. She had always been Daddy's Little Girl.

My mother, however, had a different approach. She said that if Rosa didn't want to keep the baby, then she wouldn't have to. She said that Rosa should get an abortion. My mother's opinion caused plenty of fights in my house. My father said that Rosa made the mistake, so she should have to live with it. After he one partially nasty fight where my mother, who called my dad a sexist, my mother walked out of my life and took Rosa with her. A few months later they got a divorce. My mother gave up custody of her Jonathan and me.

I never felt more hurt than when my mother gave me up. I felt like a piece of garbage, that someone had just thrown away. I still wonder what was wrong with the family my mother left behind.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of those awful thoughts and memories. I looked up at the television screen, and, remembering what was on, I quickly shut off the T.V. \par

I sat there in silence for a while, before getting up to go to my room. Then I shut the door behind me, just like my mother did in this house four years ago.

My Goodness! It's been a while since I've updated, hasn't it. I'm terribly sorry, but August has been one busy month. Hopefully I will be able to update soon again, but it might be a while now that school is starting again. But it will be within this week, I can tell you that!