LAUREL KNEW SHE HAD TO CALL her younger sister. What kind of person would she be if she didn't call Tara to let her know that their father had just died — the worst kind.

She didn't expect Tara to come running back home from her comfortable life in Chicago just for their father. Fuck, even Laurel didn't want to be here for their father but she had taken on the role of being his caretaker once his health and drinking worsened, while Tara got to live thousands of miles away without giving either of them a second thought.

A sigh left Laurel's full lips as her green eyes stared down at her father's lifeless body. This had been a long time coming for Michael Knowles, his drinking consumed his life as well as all the junk that he filled the Knowles home with. Laurel wasn't surprised by his death she had been waiting for it for years.

"I hope you found peace, dad." Laurel leaned down, whispering into his cold ear before quickly walking out of the annoyingly bright hospital room.

No tears fell from her green eyes as she exited the hospital. Why would she cry when she had already mourned his death years ago.

She knew she had to call Tara, but her mind and body were exhausted at just the thought of having a conversation with her younger sister exhausted her even more. A sense of relief filled her body as she sat emotionless in her car, staring out of the windshield. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders now that her father was dead.

Did that make her a terrible person? To feel relieved to no longer have to clean up after her father's mess, to no longer have to worry if he choked on his own vomit from consuming too much alcohol. It probably did, but no one could judge her unless they too had been a caretaker of their own alcoholic parent.

Laurel reached into her pocket pulling out her phone, with a sigh her finger hovered over the unsaved number in her recent call list. She knew she shouldn't have wanted to call him as much as she did right now, but there was a comfort in talking to him — even if he didn't talk that much himself.

Shaking her head, Laurel decided against calling him. It was for once good judgment on her part and she mentally give herself a high five for not giving into her wants.

Her fingers slowly scrolled through her contacts until she reached Tara's with a shaky breath she quickly pressed the small green phone, placing the ringing phone next to her ear with anticipation as she waited to hear Tara's voice.

"Laurel?" Tara's voice sounded confused and maybe a hint of annoyance was in her tone as well.

"The one and only." Laurel muttered. "Look, there's no good way to say this but dad died an hour ago." Laurel's way of breaking the news might have been harsh and rushed but there truly was no good way to break the news of someone dying.

"Are you joking?" A scoff left Tara's lips as she pictured her older sister with a twisted smile on her lips.

"No." Laurel shook her head. She didn't have it in her to say something snarky.

The phone line grew quiet between the sisters, only Tara's heavy breathing could be heard. There was so much distance between the sisters, even before Tara left Charming there was a distance that neither one could figure out — not that they wanted too.

Once Tara left the distance only grew stronger between them. Sure, they called each other once in a while but only because they felt they had too. Laurel was completely fine with letting the rust grow on the phone lines.

"I'll call you back." Tara spoke again after a moment, quickly hanging up before Laurel could say another word.

Laurel shook her head as she placed her phone on the passenger seat. She didn't expect Tara to come back to Charming and in a way she hoped the younger Knowles sister wouldn't.

Charming and Laurel's life wouldn't know what to do if Tara did come back.

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an:
just a short little prologue.