The Mirandas were gone and the stress was high at home.  Dad and Carol were super worried about Charlotte.  She was stable, but she'd probably be in the hospital for at least a month.  When Carol was home, she was like a shell of herself.  Most days, she was at the hospital for hours on end.  It was terrible to listen to her crying.

One evening I was trying to do homework and she was bawling. I couldn't take it anymore.  I grabbed my jacket and put on my shoes.  I needed to go for a walk.  On the way out, I texted Allie to see if he was free.  We met down at a coffee shop down the street and he let me vent.

"Our house is like a storm cloud right now," I told him as I fiddled with the top of my cup.  "Carol is so stressed out."

"Sounds tense," he sympathized.  I nodded and went on with complaining about home and school.  He was such a good listener.  After we'd both had a good moan, we started walking towards Hyde Park holding hands.

"Did you have a good visit with the Mirandas?" he asked me.

"Yeah, it was awesome," I smiled.  "I miss them already.  Sebastian's hilarious."

"Do you think you'll go back for uni?"

I shrugged.  "That's still a few years away.  I haven't decided."

We found a park bench in a somewhat secluded area and started making out.  Allie was such a good kisser.  I could kiss him for hours.  Soon, I got a text message from Dad saying it was almost time for dinner.  Allie walked me home.  I dreaded going in the door.

The house was sullen.  Carol mindlessly served the dinner - a casserole with salad - and we mostly ate in silence.  Dad was doing his best, asking us about our days.  After dinner, we were walking on eggshells.  I offered to help with dishes and Carol disappeared to the bedroom.  When she wasn't at the hospital, she tended to sleep.

I joined my dad on the couch after the dishes were done.  "Uhh...Dad?"

"Yeah, sweet pea?"

"How much longer will Charlotte be in the hospital?"

He sighed and scratched at his head.  "Hard to say.  Hopefully no more than a month.  She's still so tiny and weak."

I nodded.  Nobody had even been able to hold her yet, which was really upsetting Carol.  She wanted to hold her baby daughter so badly.  We all had to settle for touching her through the incubator.

"When's Carol gonna get better?"

He gave me a weak smile.  "Probably when Charlotte's home," he said honestly.  "She won't be able to relax until she's okay."

"Everyone's so sad," I said, and he agreed.

"We'll get through hit," he said, ruffling my hair.  "This is just a rough patch."

A couple days later, I heard Dad and Carol arguing.  It was the first time I'd heard them.  Dad was yelling about how she just moped around all the time and he was having to do everything around the house on top of a full time job.  Carol wasn't working right now and all she did was sleep when she was at home.

Alice and I exchanged worried looks as we sat around the living room, reading.  Dad stormed out a few minutes later and said he'd be back later.  He needed to go for a walk.

Carol managed to scrounge together something for dinner.  It was awkward.  Dad still wasn't back, so I felt like it was me against the rest of the family.  Like I represented my dad and why had he upset Carol?  When we were done, Carol told me to do the dishes.  No one offered to help me.

As the days went on and Charlotte was still stuck in the hospital, things began to get even more and more tense.  Giles was starting to get "cheeky" at school and Carol wasn't having it.

"One more phone call and your phone is mine!" she threatened him.

"But Mum, the teacher's such a prick!" he complained.  "He wouldn't let me turn in my late assignment at all.  He usually just counts off for lateness."

"It shouldn't have been late in the first place," she snapped at him.  "What have you been doing in your room at night?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he retorted.

"Are you on drugs?"

"What?!" he asked, exasperated.  "No!"

Giles was about the last teenager you'd have to worry about being on drugs.  His mom was all over him and I felt bad.

"Just go to your room," she told him, waving her hand.  "Get busy on your homework."

He glared at his mother, shaking his head.  "Sometimes I wish Charlotte was never born.  It turned you into a bitch."

Alice and I both gaped.  Carol threw something at her son as he stormed off to his room.  "Giles!!" she screamed at him.  "Get back here!"

Dad walked out from his office.  "What's going on?"

Carol was too angry to speak, apparently.  Alice said softly, "Giles just called Mum a bitch."

Dad torqued his jaw.

"Will you go deal with him?" Carol asked Dad.  He nodded, crossing his arms, and disappeared down the hallway.  Soon, there was a screaming match and Giles was storming out the front door.

As the week progressed, things continued to get worse.  Carol was at her wit's end with Giles and expected Dad to step in and do the disciplining since he was the man.  I don't think Dad was really comfortable with that.  Giles wasn't his kid, and he'd known him for less than a year.  I heard them arguing in hushed voices one night as I wandered down the hall to the bathroom.

"He's your son, Carol," Dad reminded her.  "I don't mind stepping in every once in a while, but he's not gonna listen to me.  I'm not comfortable with this."

"Grow some balls, Diego," she told him.

"Excuse me?" he asked annoyed, but she didn't respond.  "I am not his father.  You need to deal with this."

"He'll be better once this whole mess with Charlotte is over," she said.

"Will he?" Dad asked.  "And will you?  You've been a mess since Charlotte was born."

"Bugger off, Diego," she told him.  I heard Dad's angry footsteps and I quickly ducked into the bathroom so he didn't know I was listening.  I hid in there for a while, afraid to come out.

The arguing was putting a bit of a rift between Alice and I.  We were kind of taking our own parent's side.  I thought Carol was being impossible, and while I knew Alice was frustrated, she obviously loved her mom.  She thought my dad should be more patient.

Dad started staying at work really late just to avoid Carol.  It was starting to get lonely and really awkward.  For the first time I wondered if they'd get a divorce.  It would be one of the world's shortest marriages.

Carol seemed to start taking things out on me.  She made me do the dishes all the time and said no to me for no good reason.  I was basically a prisoner because she wouldn't let me go out with Allie.  I complained to Dad, but he said we just needed to be patient.

One night, Carol snapped at me and went to my room crying.  It was afternoon in New York, so I decided to take a chance and call Lin.  I was crying so I didn't want to FaceTime him.  I wanted to see his face but I knew I looked always.

"Hey, kiddo," he answered cheerfully from the other side of the ocean.

"Hi, Lin," I said in a small voice.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Carol's being so mean to me," I began tearfully, feeling the waterworks spilling over.  "She's so stressed out and she's mad at Dad but she's taking it out on me cause he's never here anymore and I'm almost failing Chemistry and Alice is being all stand-offish."

"Woah, woah," he stopped me.  "Slow down.  Your dad hasn't been around?"

"No, he keeps avoiding being home because Carol's being so crazy," I explained.  "And everyone else is taking it out on me cuz I have to be here.  It's not fair!"

He sighed.  "I'm sorry, sweetheart.  That's not fair at all.  How's Charlotte doing?"

"She'll still be in the hospital for another week or so," I told him, sniffling.

"Well, I think that's the main source of the problem," he went on.  "Once she's better there will be a lot less stress."

"But I can't take it anymore!" I told him.

"Well, you did the right thing by calling me," he said.  "This isn't a burden you should have to bear.  This is an adult problem, not a kid problem."

For the first time I decided, "I want to come home."

Lin was silent on the other end for a few long moments.  "Talie, we'd love to have you back but I think you need to tough it out for a while longer.  This is just a rough time.  Can you go out for a walk or something?"

"Carol won't let me go anywhere!" I almost yelled.  "Since Dad's not here, she's taking it out on me.  I can't even see Allie."

Lin didn't have a response for that. 

"Well, let me try talking to your dad," he said.  "Have you talked to him about this?"

"No," I said.  "I haven't had a chance to.  He's never here."

"Okay," he said softly.  I wished he could hug me right now.  "Where are you?  In your room?"

"Yeah," I sniffled.

"Lay down for a minute and take some nice deep breaths," he said.  "Do you have a favorite show to watch?"

"Yeah."

"Relax for a while and just chill," he suggested.  "Do you wanna FaceTime with Sebastian when he gets home?"

I smiled.  "Yeah.  That'd be good."

"Okay," he said.  "We'll call later.  I love you, kiddo."

"Love you too."

I hung up, feeling a bit better.  I turned on my TV and signed into Netflix.  I turned on Fuller House to watch something funny and mindless.  I wished I was with the Fullers, where their problems could be solved in half an hour.