2 Chapter Two:

We're landing in thirty minutes and I feel like time is running out on me. I can practically hear the ticking of a clock inside my head. On top of that it's obviously for my sisters and mom that something is definitely off with me.

"Honey, we're landing soon. Stop breathing so loud, you're making me nervous." my mom Erica scolded me.

Sometimes it's hard for me to understand what kind of a parent would ditch her four kids and choose working instead of parenting, but here she is, proving to the world it's hundred per cent possible.

My therapist told me she's acting like that because she's trying to reach the teen life and early adulthood she hadn't get to live. My mom gave birth to my brother at the age of seventeen. All I was told by my grandparents is that they were madly in love with each other. When she found out she was pregnant dad didn't leave her side, despite of his parents wishes to forget about her. When Derek was born, dad's parents turned their backs on him and his young family. Mom's parents supported them in every possible way.

My parents were happy, or at least I try to convince myself they were. Three years after Derek was born, mom gave birth to triplers, us. While Derek looked like dad with his dark hair and brown eyes, the three of us girls looked like our mother with blond hair, blue eyes, full heart shaped pink lips, tiny and pointy nose, slim and tall.

But on the inside we're nothing like her. She's demanding, sometimes really rude and harsh. I tried to ignore her comments about us, but it still hurt. When I was recovering from the accident and still struggling to move and walk, she yelled at me and calling me disabled. And if I couldn't remember something or someone, she called me a pure idiot. There were moments in which I wished I died in that car crash so I don't get to deal with her.

"Everything is fine, Tiffany. We're coming home." Hannah said with excitement.

Home? How can I feel at home when my parents don't talk to each other? How could I feel at a place full of people to whom I can't even tell what's bothering me without the fear of being scolded? Their 24/7 judgement is something that even doctors told my mom is toxic and preventing me from recovering.

"I feel tired." I groan and release a long deep breath.

"You've been through a lot. It's normal." Taylor told me and put her hand on top of mine, squeezing it gently.

"Nobody cares, Taylor. Not mom, not dad." I mumble the harsh words without removing my gaze from the window. The world seemed so big from that window and our family problems seemed so small. "When was the last time mom was happy about something we did? When was dad when we tried to reach him on the phone? If you answer one of those questions with a positive sentenses then I'll take my words back." But silence fell on us.

When I was released from the hospital, dad only called on the phone asking our mom how was I doing with the recovering. He knew about the memory loss and still didn't come to visit us. He faced time us for fifteen minutes a day. Ladies and Gentlemen, the father of the year award goes to Jonathan Callahan.

"They still love us." Hannah tried to defend them, but she knew they loved their jobs more than us.

"They didn't even communicate when I was tied to the hospital bed. Derek had to play mail man. What makes you think they care, Han?"

"Derek said dad was worried about you." She tried to defend our father, but God it was pointless.

"And when exactly was that? During their once a year annual fifteen minutes phone call?"

"Tiffany!" Taylor raised her voice. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you are rude! Mom and dad care about us. If they didn't, they wouldn't even talk on the phone every night, discussing how to raise their four kids. You don't know how many times mom cried." her words caught my attention and I looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused with a raised eyebrow.

"You guys go to bed early like chickens." Taylor mumbled then looked at our mom who was on a passionate phone call and by her yelling I assume it's not going so well. "Every night mom and dad Skype call each other. At the beginning they spoke what broke them apart, then us. And then what caught me off guard was something they both said. They couldn't live like kids, fought a lot and didn't want us to see that. And since the car crash they became closer. They're not in love, but at least treating each other well. And you both know how they were when Derek hit puberty, fighting all the time, mom even threw an iron at dad. Thank God she has a bad aim."

That is true. During Derek's puberty they fought so bad that grandma and grandpa forbade them to come near us. It seemed like they hated each other. Mom was talking bad about dad, dad was talking bad about mom and they even tried to force us to pick a side in their fights, something we tried to avoid, but unfortunately we couldn't dodge that bullet. Hannah pickes mom's side, because she was never close with dad, Derek did the same which forced Taylor and I make the final decision. Taylor didn't say anything, but followed mom to California. That was a sign to dad that things were getting worse. I kept my neutral position until things with Jake went bad.

"So your point is?" I asked Taylor a little irritated.

"My point is they had to go all the way down to realize they lost their kids. We hated mom and dad for years because of their behavior. But they really changed for better."

"Then why mom still treats me like trash, why dad hasn't called me yet?" I fought back. I've had enough of that shit.

"Let's give them another chance." Taylor begged us.

While Hannah replied with a nod, I just kept my silence. I couldn't allow myself to have any hope about a ship that already drowned. I don't want my heart to end up broken again. I've played that game for many years.

When the plane landed both my sisters screamed with excitement and rushed out. Mom wrote something on her Ipad and shoved it in her bag. Me? I stayed in my seat.

"What's bothering you, honey?" my mom asked me with concern. "I know you're hiding something." Well, I'm afraid I keep too many secrets of my own that are eating me alive. "Tiffany, I remember three years ago before we left for California, you had that same sad look on your face."

Her words cut me in pieces. Everything is about Jake. I'm afraid of how I'm going to react around him. I' afraid my feelings for him won't let me in peace. But I'm already heartbroken, so what's more to break?! He lied to me and made fun of me. I was a joke. And I'm sick of that.

So I place a smile on my face and grab my bag. But when I made my first step, that's when I cursed Hannah for dressing me in short and tight black jumpsuit and high heels.

"You survived in that outfit." mom said to me.

"Hannah can be so difficult to deal with, this outfit is shit for long flights, but I do look good, so I'm gonna swallow my struggle and pretend I'm Miss Fucking Universe!" I said with confidence.