Abigail ran out of her yard with her headphones blaring. She jogged up the street and towards the park. She was already dreading going back home. She didn’t run to be healthy or anything, she ran to escape. When she ran all her troubles seemed to stay behind her. With each step she took her troubles seemed to fade away. She had almost forgotten how her home had become a war zone, and how her parents wouldn’t even look at each other. She reached the park and ran past her bench. Although it didn’t actually belong to her, she felt like it did. When she was younger her parents would always take her there and eat ice cream, or look at the clouds, or just sit and talk. Every time they sat there, regardless of what they were doing her mom and dad would tell her how they met on this bench.

It was late summer her dad, James, was nineteen, and her mom, Kate, was seventeen. James was with his friends playing football in the grass right behind the bench while Kate was sitting on that bench with one of her friends. Kate didn’t seem to even notice the boys, but James noticed her. Somehow the football ended up flying right past Kate’s head. James ran over and apologized again and again. He started talking to her, and he abandoned his football game, and Kate’s friend went home. The two of them just sat on that bench and talked and before they knew it it was well into the evening. As they were parting James promised to call her the next day, and so he did. And the next day, and the day after that, and for the next three years. They got married and had Abigail, but somewhere in between then and now it all went wrong.

Abigail was nearing the end of her jog, and end of her sanity. She walked the last couple blocks to delay her arrival, but she knew she couldn’t put it off forever. When she walked in the door, and saw her parents sitting on the couch together, a sight she hadn’t seen in years. “Abi, we need to talk to you about something.” Her mom said. Abigail sat down in front of them. She knew what was coming and she wasn’t sure what side she was on.