Behind These Bars

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

It was silent for a good minute; you could feel the tension in the air between. Slowly, I made my way to the kitchen. My mom was bent over picking up the shattered ceramic plate off the floor. I stood in the doorway waiting to see if my own mother would acknowledge my presence. As I stood there hoping for some sign of emotion from my mother, she turned back to the sink and continued washing dishes like I wasn't even there. My heart dropped as I slowly realized that nothing had changed since I left. My own mother still hated me. I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly as I leveled my gaze on the heartless woman I called my mother. Fine, I thought to myself, if that's how you want to play then let's play.
"So mother, heartless as always I see." I walked to the counter right beside the sink, jumped up on it and sat down. Mom was still washing dishes like her life depended on it. "I'm fine by the way; thanks for asking. I see you've scammed your way into another wealthy bachelor's heart." She clenched her jaw as she continued to scrub the dish she was washing. Jumping off the counter I continued, "Although this one must not really like you seeing as you're here washing the dishes as you should be." The slap came so fast that it took my brain a moment to register the sting in my cheek. Turning my head back to face my mother, I could almost see the steam coming off of her. "Shut your mouth, you ungrateful brat," she said. I could tell that she had been working on hiding her French accent seeing as Robert, her new boy toy, didn't like it. I stepped closer to the woman I called my mother. "Why?" I said. "Because it's true. What is this, like your fourth 'true love'?" "I don't know what you're talking about. Robert loves me. The other men were a mistake. We are happy together," she said. I scoffed as I looked at her. "You mean that you're in love with his money and that once it runs out you'll move on like you always do, right?" My mother's face turned bright red. "You are an ungrateful little witch who is nothing but trouble. I wish I would have got rid of you when I had the chance." Not expecting her to go that far I stumbled back as her comment hit me. "Well I don't want to live here with you but I guess we can't always get what we want now can we?" With that I stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room.
Upon reaching my room, I opened the door and slammed it shut. Then, I promptly ran to my bed and collapsed on it. I felt a few tears roll down my cheeks before I hastily reached up to wipe them away. No, I absolutely refuse to cry over her. I took a deep breath and rolled over onto my side so that I could gaze out the window. It had been a while since I had seen the stars in the sky that I had almost forgotten how beautiful they were. I knew that come Monday, I would be starting school again. Even though I had tried to keep up with my studies in "juvie", I knew I would still be behind. Add that to the fact that I would be a complete and utter social pariah just made Monday seem that much more exciting. Note the sarcasm.
I got up and walked over to my dresser and pulled out a nightshirt and some running shorts. I put my hair in a bun and threw the clothes I did have on in the trash. There was no point in me keeping them as all they symbolized were my wayward past. After brushing my teeth, I climbed back in bed and stared at the ceiling. Quietly putting on my radio, I clapped my hands to turn out the lights. The last thoughts I had before going to sleep were that I just prayed that the next couple of days would be better than the past couple of months.