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"LET ME GO PLEASE, I WON'T TELL! I PROMISE, I PROM-" I was cut off by a hand gripping onto my neck and dragging me back, my vision going dim.
I soon wake upon a hard mattress in a void of nothingness, my neck and throat burning and my vision blurry. "Hello?", my voice croaked out, breaking slightly. I slowly raise my hand to my neck, rubbing it, yet it wouldn't soothe. I slowly get up from the mattress, looking around, vision still slightly blurry, but slightly better.
"Hello?", I called out once more, "is anyone out there?" I heard a slight mumble come from behind me, startling me. I slowly turn around, my breathing turning heavy, causing my throat to burn even more.
Just then, a man with a mask comes rushing towards me-
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I quickly jolt up in the car, gasping for a breath of air and startling my mother and younger brother, Danny. My mom accidently swerved her car to the left, causing my younger brother to yell, "MOM!"
She then quickly retreated back to the lane we were once in before I had accidentally frightened her. There were a few loud honks behind us. The car went into the left lane, rolling their window down once we both reached the stop sign.
"WATCH HOW YOU FUCKING DRIVE, CUNT," the man who seemed to be in his thirties, spat at her.
"SUCK A DICK, ASSHOLE," my mom yelled back, flipping him off. He rolled his eyes, cutting our car off and speeding down the road.
"Jesus Maxine, you almost gave me a near damn heart attack! Bad dream?" she questioned, driving once more.
"Sorry ma," I replied, "it was nothing big, I was just overreacting." I relaxed my body, leaning back and looking out the window.
She let out a dry laugh before speaking, "What a fry he was, huh baby?"
"Yeah, I guess. In all honesty, he seemed like an ass," I replied looking over to my mother, causing her to let out another laugh.
"Yeah, an ass!" Danny mimicked, letting out a loud giggle. It caused my mother and I to smile. Our smiles slowly formed into muffled, quiet laughs, as we were trying our best to teach him to not use vulgar language.
"Watch your language little man, and watch your language around your brother! We don't need him cussing out his new teacher. The old one wasn't too happy to be called a "cock sucker."
Ma reached over me, opening the glove department and pulling out a pack of smokes. "Can you light one for me, babes?" she questioned, putting them in my lap and keeping her eyes on the road ahead.
I nodded, pulling out a cigarette from the almost-new pack. I took out a lighter from the side of the car door and lit the cigarette before placing it between her pointer and index finger, which she had up on the steering wheel, waiting.
"Well, she quite literally was. She was caught sucking off the principal in his car, not too long after we took Dan outta school," I replied, cringing at the thought of the two old, married coworkers fucking.
She took a deep draw from her cig, blowing the smoke out of the open window. She placed the cig into her left hand, holding it on the windowsill.
"Nooo, that's gross! Don't put that image into my mind," she laughed, taking another draw from her cig. "I can just imagine her swinging her saggy little tits in his face, oh god."
"Ew ma, Danny's still here, y'know?" I cringed, looking back at Danny. He tried to hide his laugh by covering his mouth, little squeaks of laughter making their way into our ears.
I turned around to face him. Raising my eyebrows at him, I placed my pointer finger onto my lips and gave him a small smile before turning back around.
"Well, I'm the mama here," she replied, stopping at a red light. "My point exactly," I replied, rolling my eyes at her, earning a soft hit to the head.
"Oh shut it," she joked, slightly pressing her foot on the gas, turning right. She let out a small laugh.
After a few minutes of smoking and silence (other than the slight hums coming from Danny boy, humming Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles) she threw the burning cigarette outside her window, placing her left hand on the steering wheel, once again before striking up another conversation.
"I know you don't want to move, but we need a fresh start, y'know?" she spoke, eyeing me a bit, but keeping her main focus on the road. "Yeah, I know," I shrugged, looking back over to her.
"Hey, maybe you'll meet some cute boys when we get to Denver," she smiled at the thought of her fifteen year old daughter possibly being interested in someone, finally. "Or girl," she smirked, raising her brows my direction.
"Gross ma, I don't have time for any intimate relationships of any kind," I scoffed. "Sweetie, baby, I said the same thing at your age. Fast forward a year and you were born!" laughed the 31 year old.
"God, please don't," I looked at her, raising my hand to my ears before she could talk about my "sex life" and how I need to stay "protected" if I don't want to end up like her.
"Lalalalala," I let out, still being able to slightly hear her. "I want you to come to me before you-"
"Lalalalal."
"Because I don't want you to-"
"Lalalala."
"I mean, the sex was amazi-"
"LALALALA."
"But that's besides the point! You need to stay protected, I'll even get you your own rubbe-"
"God ma, do we have to talk about this in front of Dan," I spoke, agitation lingering in my voice. I smacked my hands into my lap.
"It's nothing he's never heard before," she scoffed. "I just want you to be careful baby. You're growing up, and I'm not quite ready to be a grandma yet, I'm still like basically twenty," she joked.
"Yeah, if a twenty year old had knee AND back problems," I joked, earning another soft hit to the head. "Oh shut up Maxine."
"Fine fine, I'm sorry, you don't seem an age over 53," I replied, earning another smack to the back of my head. "Ouch ma!" I laughed, looking over to her.
"How much longer mom?" Danny questioned, yawning. "Give or take another hour or two. Just lay back, relax, and enjoy the view," she smirked, grabbing her glasses from the cup holder next to her and placing it onto her eyes.
I reached out towards the stereo, turning it on and changing the station, Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty playing. I turned it up all the way and leaned back, closing my eyes once more.
