Finding Lost Loves

Chapter Five-Katie's POV

Can you imagine the situation we were in? Here we were in the middle of what looked like a normal teenage sleepover, talking calmly about a divorce neither of our parents had even mentioned. "We'll all stay together, right? No matter what happens we'll all live at the same house. Dad will want custody, won't he?" Gracie worried, practically wringing her hands.

"Of course he will," Linnie said. "You heard him. Dad said he loved us and wouldn't leave us with Mom…Even if he doesn't want us, we don't have to live with Mom anyway. Grandma would probably take us if we asked," she added, practically.

"Grandma and Dad don't get along so well though," Allie said. "Grandma would probably just give us to Mom anyway. She wouldn't want to mess with her and Mom's relationship. They're like best friends."

"They're not going to get a divorce. Stop worrying about it," Emma said, sadly. Yeah, she's actually SAD that our parents may not get divorced. I was kind of pissed when I found that out.

"Care to explain that?" Linnie asked, testily. "I thought we liked having two parents. At least I did."

Emma rolled her eyes. "You guys are getting way ahead of yourselves. Mom and Dad aren't going to get a divorce because of us. Mom wants to keep Dad here…I don't know why. Money, I guess. Chances are she won't be able to find another guy who'll support her, so she doesn't have to do anything. Dad's staying because he doesn't want to lose us. For whatever reason, Dad thinks he won't get to see us anymore if he leaves Mom."

I still felt confused. I don't think Emma was giving us the whole story. "That still doesn't explain why you're so sad. Shouldn't we be happy?" I asked.

"Um…I was kind of hoping that they would break up. Mom doesn't like people like…she's going to hate me and…she said…I don't…" Emma trailed off, looking helpless.

"Sweetie, you're not making any sense," Gracie said, scooting closer to Emma. "Calm down and start over."

Emma took a deep breath. "Um, Mom said some things about…a certain group of people and…I'm one of those people, so…I don't want to be around Mom anymore…I'm just hoping Dad doesn't…doesn't feel the same about people like me," Emma whispered.

"What is it?" Linnie asked. "What's bothering you? What kind of people?"

Emma burst into tears. "I can't say. Y-you'll hate me."

We all moved in to hug Emma. She's the strong one who never cries and isn't scared of what anyone thinks. "No, we won't. We love you. You're always going to be our sister…even though that thought probably irritates you sometimes," Allie teased. "You don't have to tell us right now. We'll always be here for you. Tell us when you're ready," she murmured.

"O-okay. I s-s-swear I'll t-tell you s-s-soon. I-I-I just c-c-c-can't y-yet." Emma sniffled, pitifully. I felt so bad. There had to be something that would make her feel better. Wait. Maybe there is. "Mom said something about a person named Shay. That must be important to dad. Aunt Tammy probably knows who that is. We're going to be at her house all this weekend We can ask her then. She hates Mom. She'll definitely tell us," I said, confidently. "We can go from there. Maybe this Shay person will tell Dad we don't care if he leaves Mom."

"Good idea, Katie," Emma said, after a pause. She looked kind of hopeful.

Linnie was patting Emma's head, trying to smooth her hair down. "Dad will love you no matter what. He won't care…but if you don't stop smoking, he might kill you," Gracie added, pointedly.

Emma snorted. "Whatever. He won't know if you don't tell him. Now shut up about it," Emma said, laughing.

"Shh. Listen," Allie whispered, gesturing to the vent.

"If that's make up sex…" Linnie muttered, making a "gag me" face.

"GROSS!" we all hissed, but now that I think about it, I've never heard THAT from their room. Mom and Dad's relationship can't be that bad, can it? There was another muffled crash, like something being thrown.

"Get OUT! You're not sleeping in here. Go sleep on the couch. We'd both know where you'd rather be, fag," Mom snarled, hurling another mystery object at Dad. Emma flinched and turned slightly pale. I didn't know Mom and Dad fighting bothered her so much. The door slammed, meaning that Dad had left. He hadn't said one word the whole time.

We all looked at each other, Emma looking the worst of us all, not that any of us were taking this well. "Let's just go to sleep, okay? I don't want to be awake in case Mom decides to start in on round two," Allie suggested.

"Yeah," Linnie murmured. "We've got school tomorrow."

We all curled up under the blankets and tried to forget about everything that had happened. I don't think any one of us got to sleep before dawn.