Thin Lines

Bonfire

Ryder

I could sense her nervousness as we walked into the house. I knew nothing would happen to her, not with me here.

I'm just scared that I will lose control on Paul and she will see it.

Once we walk in, it's dead silent. We make eye contact, both thinking that maybe he is asleep. We start to move to the stairs leading to her bedroom. Neither of us speak as we go upstairs and see what is left of her room. Everything is thrown everywhere or is completely broken.

I look to her, but she just walks in and starts picking up things that are still in tact. I can tell she is trying not to be upset.

I see her pick up a stuffed animal bear from under her bed, then a tiny picture. She moves it away before I can see what it was, though. I brought a bag for her to put little things in, so she starts putting stuff that she needs in it.

It just takes about ten minutes until she is ready to leave.

We get downstairs and are about to leave when we hear a floorboard creak from behind us.

"Xela?" A fragile voice says. We both turn to see a woman I think is her mom. She is a mess, her hair is matted and greasy, her face is dirty, her eyes are red, her clothes are stained and wrinkled.

"Where are you going?" She asks, her voice is soft and sounds tired. Xela opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out.

"You can't leave me, sweetheart" she starts to sob in front of us. Xela is looking at the floor, I can tell her eyes are starting to water.

She comes closer to us, putting me on edge, but she just embraces Xela in a hug, crying into her shoulder.

The woman pulls something from her pocket, a piece of paper, and hands it to Xela.

She unfolds it and reads it before sighing. I look over her shoulder and read an address.

"Be a good daughter for me okay?" Her mom smiles, wiping her tears.

Oh hell no.

I see my own mother in her. The way she was angry at Xela at school, but now crying and pretending to care. My mom was an addict who did the same thing. But for her to ask her daughter to go to dangerous lengths to buy her drugs, that's a whole different level of terrible.

I wait for Xela to tell her no so that we can leave, but she just nods and puts the piece of paper in her pocket. She turns and leaves. I look at the woman who is her mom with disgust, knowing it's not my place to yell at her. I need to talk to Xela.

I run outside after her and stop her, "What are you doing?!"

"She needs me" she says, her voice weak.

"And what do you need?" I argue with her, "Because you certainly don't need to put yourself in danger for her."

I'm overstepping, I know I am. But it hurts to see her care about that woman who doesn't give a shit about her.

"You don't understand" she tells me, putting her face in her hands.

I pry her hands off of her face, making her look at me, "My mom was just like her." I say, not wanting to make this about me, but wanting her to know that I understand.