The Book Club

Chapter Five

Robin sat on her bed with a pair of her sneakers, scrubbing the dirt off the bottom of them. She used a rag to get in between the ridges on the bottom. She sighed as she scrubbed harder, lifting her elbow into the air as she continued to scrub. "Robby!" Her mom yelled from the living room. Robin ignored her and continued to scrub her shoes. Once they were clean she grabbed a sharpie off the nightstand next to her, retracing the writing on her sneakers. "ROBIN!" Melissa yelled again. Robin exhaled angrily as she slammed the shoes down on the bed. She stood up and flew open her bedroom door. She stomped into the living room and let out an exasperated breath.
"What do you need?" She looked at her mom, who was laying on her back on the couch. Her mom was surrounded by empty bottles and cans. She picked up a bill off the table and waved it into the air.
"Go to the store and get mommy a snack." She was drunk, slurring her words as she spoke.
Robin and her mom had never been close. When she was little her mom worked all day, never seeing Robin. It was always just Robin and her dad. Her dad had given up everything for her but Melissa refused. She didn't want a child to stop her from working. Richard had gone to every single one of Robin's soccer practices and games. He had been at every single school event and birthday party. There was one birthday party when Robin was turning six and he took her and one of her friends to ride ponies. He loved Robin. Melissa didn't take a single second to bond with Robin. The last time they hugged, or even had a conversation about something besides her drinking problem, was before Robin started middle school. Now that she's graduated it gives her the opportunity to get the hell away from her mom but she didn't want to leave her dad. And he didn't want to leave Melissa. He knew that if he even brought it up she would get worse. She lost her job a couple years ago and since then she's been a wreck. There's nothing they can really do to help it.
"If you weren't drunk you could take yourself to the store." Robin snarled as she turned and started to walk towards her bedroom. Melissa groaned and grabbed a glass bottle off the floor, throwing it towards Robin, hitting her in the back. "Jesus, mom." Robin turned around, rubbing her back. She winced as she touched the spot. She could feel it bleeding already. Melissa sat up on the couch.
"Listen, I'm your mother and you'll do what I say." Robin scoffed as Melissa's words.
"Shut up." Robin rubbed her forehead. "When have you ever been a mother to me?" Robin watched as Melissa got up off the couch, stumbling as she made her way over to Robin. She lifted her hand and hit Robin. Robin stood, shocked, as she put her hand in the side of her face. Melissa had hit her before, plenty of times, but never in the face.
"You will not talk to me like that. Do you hear me Robin? Never again." Robin took her hand off her face as her eyes welled with tears. Melissa's rings had cut open her lip, leaving a smear of blood in her hand. "I am your mother. Now go to your room." Melissa pushed Robin away and walked back over to the couch.
"Jesus Christ. Maybe if you laid off the alcohol I'd respect you more!" Robin yelled as Melissa turned back around. Melissa walked over to Robin and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the back bedroom. Her nails dug into Robin's skin as she pulled her. "Stop!" Robin yelled at Melissa as she pulled her arm away.
"You won't speak to me that way!" Melissa yelled back. Robin grabbed Melissa's shoulders, holding her arms down as she pushed her towards the front door. She opened the door and shoved Melissa out, slamming it behind her. She locked the door and exhaled sharply. She walked back to her room as Melissa banged on the door, screaming for Robin to let her back in. "You'd respect me if I raised you. I let Richard raise you and now you're a fa-" Robin slammed her bedroom door before Melissa finished her sentence. She made her way into her bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. She used a piece of tissue to wipe off her lip. She tightened her hand around the counter as she looked down. Her arm was covered in fingernail marks and red finger print spots. She sniffled as she used her sleeve to wipe the tears on her cheeks. She walked back into her room and laid down on the bed. She curled into a ball and tightened her arms around a pillow, eventually falling asleep.
She woke up to yelling in the living room. She looked around before getting out of bed. It was dark outside, there was no light in her room. She reached over to her nightstand and turned on her lamp. She took a moment to rub her eyes then pulled herself out of bed. She tip toed into the hallway, peering around the corner into the living room. Her dad was yelling at Melissa as she sat on the couch, crying. "She only kicked you out because you're unbearable! She's a child. She doesn't need a mother that does jack shit all day." Richard yelled as Melissa looked up. She had sat on the front porch until Richard got home and let her back in. He had heard her side of the story. She was the victim in her story, kicked out by her heartless daughter and called terrible things in the process. He rubbed his forehead then turned, seeing Robin standing around the corner. "Robby, what happened?" He walked over to Robin and grabbed her face, looking at the cut in her lip. A bruise had formed around the cut, leaving a mark on her face. She swatted away his hands.
"It's not a big deal, pa." She backed up, making harsh eye contact with Melissa.
"How did it happen?" He asked as Robin's eyes flashed to her dad then back to Melissa. She still felt the pounding ache in her back from the glass bottle.
"It was an accident!" Melissa yelled from the couch as she stood up. She was still visibly drunk.
"Throwing a bottle at me then punching me is not accidental!" Robin yelled back as she pushed past Richard.
"It was!" Melissa begged as she walked towards Robin. Robin was ready to fight, her fist balled up. She took a step back.
"Stay the fuck away from me." Robin scowled as pointed towards Melissa. She turned around and walked back to her room. She slammed the door then looked around, thinking about what to do. She climbed into her bed and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. She let it ring. After a couple minutes Nancy picked up the phone. "Hello! I'm so sorry. Mike didn't tell me you were on until just now." Nancy quickly rambled into the other side of the line. Robin listened to her parents fight. She bit the inside of her cheek then took a deep breath.
"Nance," Robin's voice said softly into the phone. Nancy hummed in response. "I don't think we should do this anymore. You know, until you figure out... w-what you want." She felt her eyes well up with tears. She kept her composer as she tried to talk to Nancy, her throat feeling like it was tightening. Robin cleared her throat and tightened her hand around the phone. Her parents continued to argue in the background so she tried to keep the call brief. "I'm sorry."
"I understand." Nancy's voice was soft but a tad shaky. Robin hung her head with the phone still pressed against her ear. She liked Nancy. A lot. She felt bad but she couldn't get hurt again, not now. She wiped her face.
"I do want to do this but... it's just a lot. I can't get all into you then you decide that you don't want to do this." Robin lied. She didn't want Nancy to see her all cut and bruised. She didn't want Nancy to be pulled into her family drama. She didn't want Nancy to have to deal with the same shit she dealt with day to day and if she started hanging around Robin she'd be pulled into all of it. She put the phone down on the receiver, hanging up on Nancy.
About an hour later, the fighting had stopped. There was no more yelling, no more arguing. Robin was still hiding under her blanket, lost in her thoughts. There were so many ways she could imagine her life without Melissa. It would be better. She wouldn't be getting hurt all the time. She wouldn't constantly be in the middle of arguing. She would be able to be with Nancy and not have to worry about it. She would be able to be happy. There was a soft knock on the door. Her thoughts stopped as she uncovered her head. Richard slowly opened the door, peaking in. "Melissa's gone." He sat down on the edge of Robin's bed. Robin sat up and wiped off her face with her sleeve.
"What?" Robin asked quietly. Richard cleared his throat and nodded.
"She keeps hurting you and she's gotten out of control so I took her to your aunt's house. She's gone." Richard wrapped his arms around Robin, pulling her into a hug. He put his hand on the back of her head. She put her arms around her dad. She finally felt safe. There was a pause of silence before he let go of Robin. He stood up and ruffled her hair. She smoothed down her bangs and frowned at him, her frown shortly turning into a smile. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Robin pulled her legs onto the bed with her. She looked over at the phone. Her hand reached over hand grabbed the phone, dialing a number. "Hey. Do you want to come over? I don't want to be alone."