A Song of Change

Chapter 24
I Promise, Maybe:
I walked the rest of the way home and when I opened the door I saw both of my parents waiting on the couch for me. I ran to them after shutting the door behind me. My father held out his arms for me and caught me, holding me tightly against his chest. I felt another pair of arms around me, those much smaller, and knew my mother had joined in.
"Father…" I started before I was interrupted. "No sweetheart, there's nothing you need to say. Everything will be fine, all of us will be fine," my Father whispered as he stroked my back. I pulled back to look his face. It was then that I realised just what stress had been doing to him.
His once honey blonde hair now had little flecks of grey and his hazel eyes were tired looking and bloodshot as if he had been crying. There were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and his usually cleanly shaven face had stubbles appearing along his chin and cheeks.
I turned to my Mother then and saw that stress had taken its toll on her as well. Her brilliant green eyes weren't shining as brightly anymore and there were telltale signs of tear streaks down her face. Her chestnut brown hair that matched my own didn't hang in its usual wavy curls but was now a tangle of curls with light streaks of grey.
How could I have been so blind as not to notice these changes. They had kept a happy facade that had completely fooled me. My Father was a strong man, one whom I'd never seen cry in my entire life and now he sat here holding me in his arms, a shell of the man he once was.
I needed to stop doing this. I am leaving tomorrow and will never see either of them ever again. Both of them deserve to be able to live the rest of their lives with happy memories of me, not sad and pitiful ones such as this.
I took in a calming breath and fought back any tears that would have escaped, telling myself this is what I need to do for them. They can't ever know just how broken I am by this or they will never be free. I placed a smile on my face and hugged my parents tightly until I knew my voice was strong enough to talk without breaking down.
I stood up in front of them, holding my Mother's hand for strength, "No Father, I have to say this. Both of you need to be strong and when I leave you have to move on because everything is going to be fine. You are going to live the rest of your lives happily because that is what you need to do,"
I looked down at my parents trying to get them to understand, "Don't think that I haven't noticed all the changes that have happened to you, you can't think that I'm that blind and ignorant. I'm going to be coupled tomorrow and I'll never see you two again. I don't want to leave you like this, not knowing if you are going to be able to live your lives the way you were meant to!"
I shook my head not allowing any tears to come, I had to be strong and show them that we could get through all of this, "Both of you have to promise me, no matter what, that from this moment on, even after I leave that you will move on. I can't be what holds you back, I refuse to let that happen. I know that what I'm asking for is selfish but you have to," I finished staring and waiting for my parents to agree or at least say something. Anything.