All Four Of Me

Chapter 28

KENZIE

Walking into the house feels like stepping into a funeral parlour. The foyer is unnervingly quiet and if it wasn't for the warm glow of the down lights above, I could have believed that nobody was home. A part of me wishes that this was the case, but at the same time, I know that the dreaded topic on this afternoon's agenda can't be avoided any longer.

I don't like it when the house is quiet. Having lived here for the better part of five months, I have become somewhat desensitised to the craziness that occurs on a daily basis that comes with residing in a house with five other people. The loudness used to make me uncomfortable, but now that I have had the chance to let myself relax in their presence, I have come to enjoy the sounds of laughter and casual conversation which fill the rooms and hallways almost every other hour of the day.

Now, as I stand in the empty space between the front door and the staircase, I find myself craving the sounds that used to drive me crazy, because silence in this house usually only means bad things.

Dumping my schoolbag at the bottom of the stairs, I make my way down the corridor that leads to the kitchen knowing that this is likely where everyone will be if not in the home office. My assumption is correct when I round the corner and spot all three of my legal guardians sitting around the dining table quietly talking amongst themselves.

"Hey cupcake, how was your session with Dr Miller?" Chris greets me with a tired smile as he sees me enter the kitchen area. He is still wearing his uniform and weapon belt which leads me to believe that he hasn't been home from his shift for very long.

"It was actually really good." I answer honestly, earning a surprised smile from all three of my legal guardians in return.

"That's great Kenzie, at least we can say that one good thing happened today, right?"

"I suppose so." Not that I would say attending my counselling session was fun, but at least it didn't end in disaster like everything else has so far today. The indifferent shrug that I give them in response tells them everything they need to know and it doesn't take Nathan very long to steer the conversation towards the main topic on everybody's mind.

"Look, I know this has been a crappy old day for you, and believe me it hasn't been very nice for us either, but we were hoping that we could all just sit down for a while and have a talk about what happened in that meeting this afternoon."

I'm sure that if I were to say no right now, they wouldn't force me to participate in their conversation, but this time I feel the need to defend my future which means that I need them to know where I stand and what I am both willing and unwilling to compromise on when it comes to my education. Pushing off this discussion any longer isn't going to help any of us in the short or long run and I'd much rather get this over with now than spend all my time worrying about it later.

"Alright, as long as Chris isn't cooking dinner tonight." I might as well get something good out of this for all of us. A win is a win, no matter how small.

"Done." Nathan agrees with a relieved laugh which in turn make a small smile tug at my lips in response. I bet he thought this was going to go down differently.

Walking over to the table, I pull out my usual chair and lower myself into the seat and make myself comfortable, knowing that I am probably going to be here for a while unless something drastic happens. Nathan and Will look between each other as if trying to decide who should be the first to broach the subject, but I have something on my chest that I want to get out before we get too far into the nitty gritty stuff.

"Will, before we start talking about anything else, I just want to say that I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you at breakfast this morning and for my crappy attitude towards both you and Nathan again this afternoon. I was in a less than ideal mood and I shouldn't have lashed out at you guys the way that I did."