Empty Nest | Parker, Seth, Candace & Their Parents

Candace led on her bed, her feet up on a pillow as she liked it, staring up at her ceiling. She remembered when this house was lively, when she and her two brothers ran around like the adrenaline-fueled teenagers they once were. Now, it was almost silent, the only noise being the sound of her mother preparing the meal they were to have tonight. And then she thought about her brothers, both who were supposed to leave soon. She remembered when she had been treated to the same meal when she was going to college. It was a wonderful gathering, and she knew Parker was going to enjoy it.

But what about Seth? Seth had turned out to be very different to what everyone had thought. Seth was a year older than Parker, and two years younger than her. He was off to join the Marines, instead of going to college. He'd once been the popular boy that everyone loved, but it seemed as though that had since disappeared. She hadn't seen Seth in almost a year, now, and nobody ever talked about him. She sighed and pushed that thought away. Seth was okay, she told herself. She was going to see him any minute now.

Mrs Greene drops her rolling pin as she hears her eldest son's voice creep down the hall. She hadn't heard it in so long, but she hadn't forgotten it. She runs down the hall, wrapping her arms around Seth and pulling him into a warm, loving embrace. She'd missed him so much.

Mr Greene flicks off his lawn mower, pushing it into the corner of the garden, and walks into the house, standing a metre or so away from his eldest son and his wife and smiling.