28

232 12 0
                                    

The door slammed and my mom shouted for me.

"Skylar!"

She sounded...happy.

I crawled out of bed and leaned against my door.

"What?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"I have the best idea!" She chimed, skipping down the hall to me.

"What's that?" I asked, playing along.

"We should go to New York! Right now! Let's get on the train and go see the city lights," she said breathlessly squeezing my cheeks.

"Mom, we can't go anywhere right now. We're broke and there aren't any trains running," I reminded her.

"Don't be such a buzzkill. We can take a taxi. Huh, Waylin? Whatcha think? Come with momma to the city!" She said rushing over to him and twirling in a circle.

He laughed at her and gave me a funny look.

"Did you eat too much sugar again?" He laughed as she danced around the room.

She's high as a kite.

"Hey, I have an idea, why don't you get in the shower, and we'll get dressed to go?" I said grabbing her hand and leading her to the bathroom.

"I don't want to shower," she argued yanking her hand out of mine.

"You don't want to smell like fried food do you?" I persuaded.

"Okay, just a quick one! I'm so excited this is going to be amazing. All the lights," she gasped, "we should go to a show! Broadway!"

I closed the bathroom door and turned the shower on, helping her get undressed.

"Okay, we'll be in the living room," I said.

I took a deep breath before instructing Waylin to go to our room and not come out until I told him to.

"But why? I thought we were going to the city?" he asked confused.

"Momma isn't feeling well, she's not thinking straight," I explained, guiding him to our room.

"Does she need to go to the hospital?" he asked with concern.

"No, she just needs to sleep. I'll be in as soon as I help her get into bed. Okay?" I asked as he climbed onto the top bunk.

"Okay, but I'm not tired," he complained.

"You can read," I suggested, handing him his book from atop the dresser.

"Fine," he sighed, taking the book from my hands and getting comfortable in his bed.

Just as I closed the door, I caught my mom's gaze from where she was getting dressed in her bedroom. She had put on a short shiny dress and some heels.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her eyes wide and pupils dilated as she quickly approached me.

"Nothing, Waylin is going to sleep," I said, standing in front of our door.

"What are you hiding?" She asked, tilting her head, trying to open the bedroom door.

"Skylar! Let me in!" She shouted in my face with sudden anger and fear.

"Mom, just go to your room. Please, leave him alone, he's sleeping," I begged.

She slapped me across the face and it took me a moment to register what just happened.

"You're trying to hide him from me, aren't you?" She cried breathing heavily.

"No, I swear. Just go to bed mom, please," I pleaded, my cheek burning.

"You bitch, you're trying to turn him against me, aren't you?" She yelled.

"Mom, stop," I cried, "stop, please. Just calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down. I'm in charge here. Now move!" She exploded, shoving me aside.

I grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back as she entered the bedroom.

"What did she say to you?" She shouted at Waylin.

"Nu-nu-Nothing. I promise. What's wrong mommy?" He stuttered tears forming in his eyes.

She stared at him blankly before shaking her head and turning to face me.

"What'd you do to him? Why is he crying?" She shouted at me.

"I, I didn't do anything. Mom, you're scaring him. Please, just come out here and we can talk," I begged, yanking on her arm.

"No, you're lying to me. You're lying!" She shouted, roughly ripping her arm out of my grip.

I stumbled backward at the sudden force and fell into my dresser, my shoulder searing with pain. Something felt off, but I couldn't quite place what it was as I stood up.

"That was your fault," she said staring at me.

My arm was limp at my side as I reached for my phone on the floor. I cursed to myself as I waited for it to turn on.

"You're trying to get me arrested?" She asked with pain and fear in her voice, lunging for my phone.

"No, I promise I'm not. I'm just calling...EJ," I stuttered, "you're crashing and you need more of whatever he gave you. Don't you?"

She thought for a moment before nodding.

My phone vibrated in my hand as it turned on. It wouldn't stop buzzing with notifications.

Come on!

I finally was able to unlock it and call EJ. It rang several times before he answered.

"Hey, I need you to bring me more stuff for my mom," I said.

"Woah, slow down mami. You got the money, or are you paying me with pussy?" he asked sucking in a breath with anticipation and excitement.

"Whatever you want, it doesn't matter. I just need you to get here. She's crashing hard and needs something to lighten the blow," I said calmly watching as my mother squinted at me.

Waylin was crying for me and my mom exploded.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!"

I hung up the phone as my mom stared at me expectantly.

"When is he gonna be here?" She asked.

"He said he was coming now," I said quickly, trying to appease her.

She groaned and shouted at Waylin to shut up again before leaving the room. I raced over to Waylin and told him to stay in bed, as I heard the front door slam.

"I don't understand? What did I do?" He sobbed.

"Nothing baby. Nothing, I promise. She's just not herself. Now get some sleep, okay?" I soothed and wiped his cheeks with my functioning arm.

He nodded and hesitantly climbed under the covers. 

Trading Pieces of Sky [COMPLETED]Where stories live. Discover now