"Yes?" Olivia responded, rubbing her ears.
"Sorry," Allison apologized, then continued, "but look at this!" She handed the letter excitedly to her sister.
Olivia took the letter in her small hands, her tongue sticking out in concentration as she tried to sound out the words. "C-Conf-grats...you got...uh..." She scrunched her face, clearly struggling with the longer words.
Allison smiled warmly. "It says I got accepted to Cornell University!"
Olivia looked at her, still a little confused. "Corn-ell? What's that?"
"It's a really big school! And guess what? It's for me to be a veterinarian."
"A vet-er...vet-ree-an...uh, what?"
"A veterinarian, Liv. You know, the doctors who take care of animals."
"Ohhhh!" Olivia's face lit up with understanding. "Like when we took Mr. Fluffy to the pet doctor!"
"Exactly!" Allison beamed.
"That's so cool, Ally!" Olivia cheered, her small fists pumping in excitement. Before Allison could say anything more, they heard the front door open. A tired, worn-out man and woman walked into the brightly lit kitchen and set their things down. Allison rushed up to greet them; she didn't care how late it was.
"Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad!" She greeted each of them with a hug, but her father didn't seem happy. Her mother looked too out of it to pay attention but nicely responded with a half-hearted smile. "So guess what?" Allison could hardly contain her excitement.
"We're tired, dear. Could you just go ahead and tell us?" Mrs. Hayze asked as she scooped out some chicken. Allison felt a little let down that they didn't show any enthusiasm, but she was sure their moods would change once she shared the wonderful news.
"I got accepted to Cornell University!"
Her mother set her bowl down and turned to face their beaming daughter. Allison handed her mother the acceptance letter as proof. Mrs. Hayze stood up and took a long minute to read it. Her face remained expressionless. Allison could see she wanted to comment, but something was holding her back.
"Look at the yearly cost, Leanne." Mr. Hayze straightened up, closing the fridge. "I thought we already talked about this, Allison." Allison felt her anger rise inside of her. She knew what was coming. "Why do you want to be a veterinarian? You'll be around slobbery, mangy mutts all day. Lord only knows what sort of diseases you could pick up."
Before she could say more, a small voice cut through the tension.
"Allison got into one of the best schools ever! Can't you just be happy for her?" The high-pitched voice rang out from the other side of the room. No one needed to turn around to know whom it belonged to. "Allison just got accepted into one of the greatest veterinarian schools! Could you at least be happy for her?" Olivia practically shouted from her seat, always standing up for her sister.
"I agree with Olivia," a cold voice declared from the other end of the table. It belonged to Mrs. Hayze. Everyone was stunned—she was siding with her youngest daughter. Olivia seemed pretty happy with herself for swaying their mother, though Allison sensed it was something more than just "supporting" her.
"What?" Mr. Hayze's voice echoed with outrage. "What about all those universities that we want her to go to? What about the careers that would look best for this family name?" Both girls didn't dare to breathe. It was always terrible when their parents fought. Mrs. Hayze quickly whirled around to face Allison.
"Allison, you have my full support. Your father and I will look over costs and the other colleges later."
Both girls were stunned. Their mother, Leanne Taylor Hayze, had just given Allison her permission to pursue her dream, without any questions asked. But Allison knew exactly what was happening. This wasn't about supporting her daughter—it was about their mother trying to one-up their father. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. At last, the two adults shoved their seats out from underneath the table and got up. Mrs. Hayze's brown hair brushed up against the cream-colored walls of the kitchen as she waltzed upstairs, while Mr. Hayze went into the foyer to grab his briefcase.
"Fine!" he shouted. He paused for a moment, then glared at Allison. Anger and disappointment were etched across his face.
"I can never be proud of you, can I?" After the harsh words left his mouth, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Olivia ran over to Allison and hugged her. Allison looked down at her little sister and felt tears pool in her eyes. How could he say that? she asked herself. She wanted to break down right there, but she couldn't do it in front of Olivia. Instead, she knelt down, returning the hug, and tried to focus on the warmth of her sister's embrace.
Later that night, after getting Olivia ready for bed and tucking her in, Allison wandered into the living room. She knew her father wouldn't be home anytime soon, and her mother had gone out for the evening with a friend. Sleep wasn't coming to her either, so she started tidying up the living room. As she folded blankets, one slipped from her hand, knocking down a stack of books on the coffee table. The loud crash echoed through the house. Allison froze, praying she hadn't woken Olivia.
As she gathered the books from the floor, Allison spotted a bright blue one that had fallen into a dusty corner. Curious, she knelt down to pick it up, noticing that the cover was soft and worn. She opened it innocently enough, but her jaw dropped the minute she saw what was inside.
There were dozens of papers with long paragraphs printed on them. The words at the top were in thick black letters: "Lawyer William Smith, Tom Long, Stacy Teal." The list kept going, name after name.
Why are my parents looking at lawyers? Allison wondered. She couldn't process what was going on. The papers seemed to be filled with information about her parents, including their marriage license. Allison's breath caught in her throat when she realized what these papers were.
Divorce papers.
Her hands trembled as she held them, and her heart sank to the floor. She let out a shaky breath, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her. After a moment of stunned silence, Allison slammed the blue leather book shut and shoved it back into the dusty corner where it had fallen. She marched up the stairs, each step heavier than the last.
Her mind swirled with one burning question: What is happening to my family?
Back in her room, she crawled into bed, but sleep didn't come. The tears started falling as soon as her head hit the pillow, and Allison felt as though her world was slowly crumbling around her. She kept thinking of Olivia—how could she protect her little sister from all this?
One thing was certain—this was no longer the picture-perfect life everyone thought the Hayze family had.
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