My December

One Minute

One Minute
You’re going crazy,
Running on empty,
You can’t make up your mind,
You try to hide it,
But you had to say it,
Restless all this time,
So completely drained from every thing that’s in your life,
It’s so wrong but you had to scream every thought you kept inside,

One minute you laugh,
The next minute you’re slowly sinking into something black,
I get the feeling that lately nothing ever really lasts,I keep trying to get up but I keep falling back,
And you love,
And you hate,
And you wait,
Cause one minute goes fast,

You just can’t escape it,
You’re losing patience,
You wonder what went wrong,
Everything changes,
Happy then jaded,
Always a different song,
Playin’ in your head just when you think you got it down,
Out of nowhere you realize it’s different music playing now,

One minute you laugh,
The next minute you’re slowly sinking into something black,
I get the feeling that lately nothing ever really lasts,
I keep trying to get up but I keep falling back,
And you love,
And you hate,
And you wait,
Cause one minute goes
Fast,

One minute goes fast,
Fast,
Fast,
Fast,
One minute goes fast,
Yeah,
Yeah,

One minute you laugh,
The next minute you’re slowly sinking into something black,
I get the feeling that lately nothing ever really lasts,
I keep trying to get up but I keep falling back,
And you love,
And you hate,
And you wait,
Cause one minute goes,
One minute goes,
One minute goes,
Fast.
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Word Coutnt: 896

The winding rode that Prudence drove on had her on edge. Being on the side of a mountain was not her idea of peaceful. She remembered enjoying the ride to her parents' house much more than she was at the moment, but Jeremy had driven last time.

She gripped the wheel as she rounded the last corner. Her parent's house sat just around the bend, if she remembered correctly.

Letting her mind wander, her eyes grazed the dashboard.

Crap! She almost hit her brakes to keep herself from swerving off the road. The needle on her gas gauge fell below E, and her Check Gauge light was on. She kept herself from screaming at the sky.

"Why me?" she asked instead. "Why?"



~*~



"Prudence, sweetie, I still can't believe you walked all the way from South Peak."

Prudence pushed her vegetables back and forth on her parents' best china. "I thought you lived in South Peak." She tried to give some life to her tone, but she just didn't feel lively. She was tired, achy, and frustrated that her parents had never bothered to mention that they moved to North Peak.

"No, honey," her mother said, sweetly. "We've lived in North Peak for almost a year now."

Prudence wanted to say, "Yeah, well, it's been two years since the last time I was here, but did you think about that?" But she didn't; she slumped over and rested her chin in her open palm in an attempt to loosen up the stress in her shoulders.

"I'm glad your father decided to go get your car tonight."

Her father didn't seem too glad about it. He looked more exhausted than she, sitting silently at the head of the table, his eyes glazing over.

"If Jeremy had come, he would have remembered that we moved to North Peak." Her mother looked so carefree.

Prudence ground her teeth together. "Well, Jeremy isn't here," she grumbled. She would not get mad at her mother. This was just the way she had always been. She could deal with it.

"Jeremy is just perfect," her mother crooned, clasping her hands together. "If he were here, he could fix our door, since your father can't."

Prudence held her head, her mother's voice beginning to irk her. The idolization was sickening. But her mother had always loved Jeremy.

Her mother let out a dreamy sigh that made Prudence's blood boil. How could her mother worship him so?

"Jeremy and I split up."

Her mother's fork clamored to her plate, causing Prudence to flinch. "Why?" her mother demanded, her face the perfect picture of shock.

"He left me." Prudence didn't bother to put any emotion in her voice now; nothing she said would make her mother happy.

"Oh, Prudence." Her mother smiled. "That's nothing. He'll come back." She picked up her fork and continued to eat.

"For another woman," Prudence finished, her anger and bitterness barely concealed.

Her mother buttered a roll and asked, "What did you do that caused him to be unfaithful?"

Something inside Prudence burst into flame. She shoved away from the table and stood up to leave. But before she did, she thought twice about leaving that conversation that way. She turned back to face her mother and leaned over the table so that she was in her mother's face. "I didn't do anything but love him. He didn't cheat because of anything I did. He cheated because he's a selfish, disgusting pig! For once in your life, couldn't you stand up for me, your daughter?"

Her breath barreling out of her chest, Prudence rushed out of the dining room and into the guest room where she had planned to stay the night. Since she just did what she came to do, she had no reason to stay.

She gathered the few things she had and then heard the door open behind her. Her father stepped into the room, closing the mahogany door behind him.

Prudence sat down on the flower-print bedspread, knowing her father would try to persuade her not to be upset.

"If you want to leave, I'll understand."

Prudence's head shot up at his words. Her father had always been the peacmaker of the family, so why was he telling her to leave with unresolved conflict?"

Her father sighed and, as if reading her mind, took a seat next to her and said, "Your mother needs to figure out on her own that this wasn't your fault."

Prudence's eyes shifted between his, and before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around her father's neck. "You don't think this is my fault?" she asked, her voice thick with unshed tears.

Prudence's father pulled out of her embrace and looked at her, almost in confusion. "Of course not. How could it be your fault?"

She sent her father a watery smile.

He gave her a pat on the back. "Get outta here. I'll take care of your mother."



~*~



Driving through South Peak, Prudence found she enjoyed the ride back much more than she had the ride there.

Maybe it was because she couldn't see the cliff's edge or the long drop to the bottom of the valley.

She could only feel the wind in her hair and smell the night air, and she couldn't help but let out a laugh that no one would hear.