In the SkyA Story by Treo LeGigeoDivorce destroys more than marriages.Lucy sat on the
edge of her bed, the small coloured square of blotting paper softly illuminated
in the warm glow of the ceiling bulb as it lay between her fingers. A gust of
wind from her bedroom window blew through the room, making her shiver as the
noises from downstairs started up again. “Why are you even
here? I told you never to come back!” “Well excuse me
if I just want to pick up my things!” Lucy let her head
drop to her chest, letting out a sigh. It surprised her just a little how used
she had gotten to the sound of angered shouting. They had always had the occasional disagreement like
any other couple, but recently it had been getting worse. So often now Lucy
would find herself coming home to find her parents locked in a shouting match,
so many times their family dinners would end with fierce arguments that had her
running upstairs and burying her head under her pillow to avoid. She slowly raised
her hand, lifting the square towards her mouth. The fight began to increase in
volume, and Lucy cringed. It was a darkly nostalgic situation, so similar to the
one that had precipitated this whole thing. She lay on her bed with her iPod on full volume, but
even that wasn’t loud enough to drown out the vicious screams that permeated
through the closed door. Through the pounding beat and the thudding bass, she
clearly heard her mother’s final shriek. “That’s it! Get out of my house, I’m filing for
divorce!” Abruptly she flung herself to her feet, ripping out
the earphones and throwing her iPod to the floor. Grabbing a coat slung over
the back of a chair, she raced downstairs and out the back door, hurrying away
from her house. She walked briskly, with no clear destination in mind, until
the hushed voices and muffled laughter of the local park fell on her ears. “Hey, Lucy! You want some?” Out of the corner of her eye she recognised a group
of her schoolmates. “Come on, I won’t even charge you your first trip.” A hand grabbed her arm, halting her movement, and a
tiny square of paper was offered out to her. “Everyone does it.” She looked down at the square, and for a single
fleeting second she found herself ready to say yes, wanting to stop running
from the people around her. But then the second was over. “I don’t do drugs,” she said tersely, twisting
herself free and stalking away. It was a few more hours before she made her way home,
pushing open the door to a thankfully empty foyer. Stepping inside, her foot
kicked up against something and she bent down to see. Lying on the ground was
her mother’s engagement ring, the diamond glinting in the silvery moonlight seeping
through the half-open door and the surrounding gold bent and twisted, as if it
had been stamped on. It was not an image she would easily forget. Lucy opened her
mouth, gently settling the square onto her tongue. She let her lips fall closed
and took a deep, shuddering breath, knowing that just a few months ago she
never would have done this. The taunting started soon after. “Such a chicken, Lucy.” “Always mummy’s perfect girl.” Normally it wouldn’t have affected her, but that
short moment when the temptation had almost proved too much to resist was
suddenly taking on a new light. “Mum, can I talk to you?” “Not now, I’m trying to find a lawyer.” “I know, but this is important.” “I said, I’m busy. “Please mum, I’m just not sure what to do because
there are these people at school that-“ “Goddammit, Lucy, I don’t have time for this! Do
whatever you want!” She let herself
fall backwards onto her bed, tasting the bitterness that was beginning to seep through
her mouth. She really had changed these last few months, and her parents didn’t
even realise how much. “Finally grew some guts, eh? What will your parents say
when they find out what their good little daughter’s been up to?” “Shut up, just give it to me.” Minutes
passed and the yelling continued, but gradually the world began to distort.
Lucy could feel her heart begin to pound and the blood begin to rush through
her temples as the words of the argument morphed into shapes and colours that writhed
and danced across her vision. Her last coherent thought was ‘They won’t find out, they don’t care
anymore.’ A lazy grin
spread across Lucy’s face as she let her head fall to the side, her dilated
pupils falling on the half opened window and the stars of the night sky
splaying across her blurred vision as a mass of glittering diamonds. © 2013 Treo LeGigeoAuthor's Note
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StatsAuthorTreo LeGigeoSydney, NSW, AustraliaAboutI'm from Australia, so some people may find that I spell things differently. I love writing and have had a couple of publications of short stories and novellas under a pseudonym. I started .. more..Writing
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