Read Piercing The Fold for Free Online Page B

unlocked a part of my mind that has been hibernating, until now.
    What has awakened this inside of me?
    I fade back into sleep.

Chapter 6
    I head over to Mom and Dad’s around 12:30. Mom and Dad got me a blue 2001 Mazda CRV on my 16th birthday. I remember being so excited. I had just gotten my license; that was a liberating moment. My car is reliable, practical, nothing fancy or sporty. I only use it to get to Mom and Dad’s and when the weather is beyond wind and light drizzle.
    I turn on the radio. The national news fills the car’s speakers. I am partially listening just to have some background noise as I drive. The news is riddled with global warming theories, upcoming elections, living green eco tips, earthquakes, tsunamis, unstable weather conditions setting unprecedented records this decade. I turn it off before I make it to the turn onto my street. So much is happening lately. Or maybe I was just more aware of the events in the news.
    Why the awareness now?
    I arrive on my street, and immediately the anxiousness turns to a dull burning, starting in my head to my heart, then stomach. It is like that burning sensation you get when something scares you to the core.
    Damn, I hate this feeling!
    My dad says it is called the flight or fight reflex.
    The vibration in my head, my body, starts. I take some deep breaths as I pull into our drive.

Chapter 7
    The first shock—a sign in my yard reading FOR SALE in red letters. The second shock—a plaque of even bigger red letters lies diagonally over the previous red letters stating SOLD.
    The third shock—the Wise Guys moving trucks being loaded by four burly men dressed in navy blue jumpsuits.
    I feel vertigo and clammy. I storm from the car and run past two men moving a desk out of the house. I don’t bother excusing myself as I push past and through the front door.
    I holler, “Mom! Dad!”
    Boxes line the entryway. No response, just silence.
    I yell louder, “Mom!”
    I begin to walk from room to room. As I pass, I see boxes and plastic wrap on furniture. I head to the master bedroom. Dad is removing the bedding, and two movers squeeze past me, with a lamp in one hand and a pillow in the other.
    I look at my father, dumbfounded. “What is going on, Dad?”
    His face is so serious.
    Mom comes out of the closet. “Jes. Honey, I know this is a little shocking…”
    Sarcastically, I respond, “Just a little, Mom. Where are you going? When did all of this happen?”
    Dad and Mom both look at each other. Then they look at me. They approach me and lead me out of the master bedroom toward the living room.
    Dad starts, “Jes, Mom and I decided a few months ago that we were ready for a simpler and smaller life. We are going to be empty nesters soon, with Bethany going away for college next year. We don’t need this huge house anymore. We decided that Colorado is a great place for us to retire.”
    Dad looks at Mom for reassurance. Mom’s smile is small. She continues, “So we put the house on the market, and a week later, we had a contract on it. The couple who bought the house are moving in next week and are expecting their second child in May. This house is perfect for them. We’re sorry you had to find out like this, honey. We just haven’t found the right time to tell you, with all the stress you have been dealing with.”
    Dad adds, “The lack of sleep, nightmares, school, job, all of your responsibilities…we didn’t want to throw in something else for you to worry about.”
    The vertigo feeling subsides. But the humming is still audible.
    Something is off, not right.
    I try to force myself to believe. “It’s fine. I just wish you guys would have warned me. I thought you were getting divorced or something worse like…”
    Dad jumps in. “No, no, sweetheart. We are so happy to make this move. We think that we have been hovering too much over both you and Bethany lately.”
    Dad looks to Mom. Mom adds, “Dad and I need to find ourselves again. Enjoy each