Chapter 1: Everything Falls Apart

I watched as Charlie walked away from me and I sighed. I knew how hard long distance relationships were, but I didn't want to not date Charlie just because we lived in different states. I couldn't, not after I kissed him. That Christmas Eve, it was magical. One of the best ones I've ever had. And I'm not one to be all mushy and like "Oh, I'm so in love." Instead of being stuck in a stupid plane with a bunch of annoying passengers, I got to spend it with my new friends(and new boyfriend). I know that I'm a little young to have a boyfriend (I was the youngest out of all of us), but I really liked him so much, and I feel like he was like, my savior.. I knew why Spencer said that we made a good family. It's because we all come from broken homes, and between the four of us, we found a common fact. Divorce and abandonment. My parents divorced when I was a little kid and I barely ever see my father, except for Christmas. That's where I was headed before we all got snowed in. I hate going to my dads house. He's got a new wife and new children now and I'm a stranger in that house when I visit. I'd much rather stay with my mom, even though she hates Christmas. She and dad had a big fight that led to their divorce on Christmas. I hate my dad. I don't think he even knows that I haven't gotten there yet. He hasn't called my cell phone, not that I ever expected him to. He doesn't even call on my birthday. God forbid that he calls his daughter for two minutes on the day that she was born. That's why I prefer my mom so much more over my dad. She at least cares about me, even though she cares too much sometimes. Heck, her last boyfriend acted more like a dad to me than my actual dad does.

Anyways, when I met Grace, Spencer, and Charlie, I felt like I had found some people who actually understood who I am, and even though I can be a little mean sometimes they accepted me for me. I've only known them for not even 24 hours, yet I feel closer to them than I do to some of my 'friends' from school. Especially Charlie. I can't believe that I would fall for someone like him, but I did. I think I started to fall for him after the whole luggage room thing when we were in the warehouse. When we were in that air vent and I was starting to feel claustrophobic, he was so sweet. By then, I had gone all girl on him and developed a full-on crush. I truly care about him so much and I feel so sad that I won't be able to see him for a while.

A flight attendant came up to me and told me where the terminal for my flight was. I grabbed my luggage and went over to the terminal. While I sat and waited for my plane to take off, I started thinking about Charlie again.

"Donna?" A voice asked suddenly snapping me out of my reverie. I looked up and there he was. Charlie. My Charlie.

"Charlie! What are you doing here?"

"This is my terminal."

"No way! Mine too!"

"Are you serious? I'm getting off when we stop in Denver, but we get to hang out more."

I hugged him, something I had not willingly done to anyone in a long while.

He dropped his bags and we sat next to each other.

"Where's your dad live?" He asked.

"New Jersey. Except for I don't want to go."

"Why not?"

I pulled my knees up to my chest. "He's not really a father to me. He has a wife and new kids and I don't really belong in that family. He probably doesn't even know that I'm not there even though I was supposed to get in at midnight. "

"I'm sorry, Donna. I didn't know."

I smiled weakly. "Nobody does. I hate to talk about my family issues. What about you, goofball? What's your family like?"

"Well, I live with my dad and I visit my mom every other week on the weekends. I'm closer to my mom than my dad even though I live with him. I love both of them though."

"I wish I could say that about my dad."

"Don't you love him?"

I shook my head. "How can I?! He's never even acted the slightest bit interested in me, his ONLY biological daughter. He never gets me birthday or Christmas gifts and he hates it when I'm around." A tear ran down my cheek.

Charlie looked surprised. "Donna? You're crying. "

I nodded. There was no point trying to hide it. "I know. He makes me so mad sometimes. My dad."

"Can I hug you?"

I nodded again. I trusted Charlie. He was the only boy I've ever met who hasn't treated me like a weirdo. He hugged me.

"He doesn't deserve to be the father of an amazing girl like you."

"I'm not amazing. I'm average."

"No you're not. You may not think you're amazing but honestly I would never like a girl who punched me except for you,"

I smiled. "Sorry about that again."

"Don't worry about it."

We began boarding our plane and we made sure to get seats next to each other.

I slept on the plane, even though I wanted to stay awake. I had been up for over 24 hours and I was falling asleep already. Charlie was so sweet, he let me sleep on his shoulder. I felt so bad because we got more time together, yet I was sleeping. I woke up about 45 minutes before we landed.

"Oh god, Charlie, I'm so sorry!" I said when I woke up.

"Don't worry, Donna. You're kinda cute when you're sleeping."

I smiled. "Thanks, I guess. I was just so tired. I didn't sleep at all last night and I didn't get any sleep this morning."

"I know how you feel. I slept for like 20 minutes before I met up with you again."

"I'm sorry, Charlie. I shouldn't have fallen asleep. I don't know when I'll see you again."

"Donna, don't worry about it. I got to sleep a little bit, too."

We chatted on the plane for the rest of the flight. I told him more about my mom and my family and he did the same. I felt like I could really open up to him. We got off of the plane and my heart dropped. This was it. Our final goodbye for who knows how long.

"It was good to spend more time with you, Donna. I'm glad that I met you." Charlie said.

I smiled. "Same for you. Don't forget to call me, goofball."

"I won't."

I leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. "I'll see you sometime."

"Definitely."

He turned away and I did the same. Now I had to go and face my dad and his family. My cell phone buzzed and I looked down. It was my mother calling.

"Hello?"

"Merry Christmas, sweetie!" My mom said enthusiastically. "How's it going at your dads house?"

"Hi, mom. I'm not at dads yet, my flight got cancelled last night. I spent the night in the airport."

"Oh, sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mom. I actually had a pretty good Christmas Eve."

"Well that's good. Listen I gotta go, but call me when you do get to dads, okay?"

"Sure, mom. Bye."

"Bye."

I slapped my phone shut. I can't believe my mom didn't know my flight got cancelled. I didn't know whether to be mad at her for not paying attetnion or the airport for not contacting her. I was already sort of mad at her for making me go to dad's year after year after year. I got on my next plane and slept for the whole ride, dreaming about Charlie.

I arrived in New Jersey around three o'clock. I stepped off of the plane and I felt so depressed. I love Christmas, but I hate spending it with people who don't even acknowledge my existence. I dialed my father's number because no one was at the airport to pick me up.

"Hello?"
"Dad? It's me. I'm at the airport,"

"Okay, I'll be there in 15 minutes,"

I sat in the waiting area until I saw my dad's car pull up in front in the airport. I went outside and got into the front seat of my dad's car.

"It's good to see you, Donna," My dad said, leaning over to hug me. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Dad. It's good to see you, too." I rolled my eyes, wanting to be anywhere but in that car.

We went back to my Dad's house and I was greeted by my step-mother and step-siblings.

"Donna, it's so good to see you!" My step-mother, Karen, said.

I nodded. "You too, Karen. How's everything been here?" I asked just for the sake of being semi nice.

"It's been good, We missed you. You should visit more often,"

"Maybe. I don't know, I've been so busy lately," If I have time to visit anyone, I will definitely choose my new friends over my step-family.

"Well, we've been waiting for you to arrive so we can open presents," My dad said and we all gathered around the Christmas tree.

Later that night, I was in the guest room, resting. It was around midnight and everyone else had gone to bed. As usual, I hadn't gotten a present from my father, but my step-mom made up for him. It's crazy to think that maybe she cares more about me than my own father does. I was still really exhausted and I hadn't gotten more than 4 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours, so I thought I'd be asleep really quick, but I couldn't fall asleep. I went downstairs to watch tv to see if that would help me sleep. I turned it on to a marathon on Friends.

Th next morning I was woken up by my stepsister Kelly. I looked at the clock and realized it was only six am.

"Ugh. Why'd you wake me up so early?"

"I thought you'd want to go to the guest room,"

"Oh. Thanks."

I got up and went back to the guest room to go back to sleep. I woke up again around noon, which was late even for me. The house was empty and I assumed everyone forgot I was there again. I decided to call Charlie.

"Donna!" He said when he picked up.

"I miss you so much, Charlie. It's awful here. I hate this. I want to go home,"

"Donna, I hate hearing you so sad. Please try to make the best of this. Maybe you should talk to your dad and tell him how you feel."

"Like he'll listen."

"Have you even tried?"

"No. But he won't care."

"Try. For me. Please?"

"Fine." I sighed. "But, if it doesn't work, I'm calling my mom and telling her I'm coming home."

"Okay. Go talk to you dad, and call me later."

"Okay. Bye,"

I hung up. I wouldn't have even considered talking to my dad, because it was pretty obvious what he thought of me, but for Charlie I would. I went downstairs and found my dad in his home office.

"Dad? Can I talk to you?"

Dad looked up from his computer. "Sure. What's up?"

"Dad." I sighed. "Dad, what do you hate about me?"

Dad looked surprised. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

"Why don't you like it when I'm around? Why don't you call me on my birthday? Why don't you give me presents on Christmas? Why didn't you know I was snowed in at the airport, or at least call to check on me?! I'm your only biological daughter, and I feel like I'm not even related to you. You've never been like a dad to me. Why?"

My dad looked astonished at my words. "Donna. You never let me. You're so tough. I try to relate to you but you won't let me talk to you. You pulled away from me when Mom and I divorced. I didn't think you wanted me around."

Tears started to stream down my face. "Why did you think that, Dad? I was a little kid when you guys divorced! I didn't know any better. You're the father. You're supposed to be the one to keep in touch. Not me."

"I'm sorry, honey. I'll try to be more attentive. Do you think you can forgive me?"

"Are you kidding me? You think one sorry is going to make me forget all those years without a father? Forget it. I'm calling mom and I'm going home. Screw you."

"Donna, please don't go."

"No. I don't want to ever see you again so don't even try."

I went upstairs, trying to hold in the tears that were threatening to spill over. I dialed my mom, my fingers trembling.

"Mom?"

"Donna? Are you okay?"

"No. I want to go home. Now."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No. I just want to go home."

"Okay. I'll look for the next flight out of there. I love you, Donna. I'll call you when I find a flight."

"Love you too." I hung up and collapsed onto the bed in a fit of tears.

My phone rang and I looked at the caller ID. It was my mom.

"Hello?"

"The next flight out is in 5 hours. Do you want me to buy the ticket?"

"Yes. I'll call a cab."

"No you won't. I know you don't want to spend time with dad, but you will not go in a cab alone. Get Karen to drive you. Okay?"

"Fine."

I started to pack. I hated my dad so much and I was so glad I was able to go home. I realized that Charlie didn't know what had happened. I called him, hoping that he'd pick up.

"Hey, Donna. How'd it go?"

"It was a disaster, Charlie. I'm going home."

"Oh, Donna. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"No. At least I got it out of the way. I don't have to deal with him anymore, so thanks. I wish I could come and see you."

"Me too. But go home and relax. I'll see you sometime soon."

"Okay. Bye."

I went downstairs and found Karen in the kitchen.

"Hi Donna. I heard about your fight with your dad."

"Yeah. Can you drive me to the airport?"

"Sure. I'm sorry about your fight."

"Thanks."

I got my bags from upstairs and I went to the car. Karen drove me to the airport. I said my goodbyes and went inside to go on another plane. Yay.

I arrived home around eight and it was so good to be back home. I was so emotionally and physically drained that I just went to sleep without even thinking about calling Charlie to tell him I got home safely. It was really nice to be back somewhere I belonged.