To Live Is To Fight (#2)

Chapter 24

When I reached the house, it was already beginning to get dark outside since I stopped to shop some groceries. I've been eating takeout lately and I knew it was because Mom didn't have anything to cook so I decided to be a good daughter and get something for the woman to humor herself with.

Or you just want something other than takeout to consume. My conscience corrected me. I amused myself with the thought of me being that good of a daughter to my mom.

I didn't bother shout out that I'm home, they wouldn't have heard me anyways. Their rooms were further back in the house while mine was closer to the door.

I dropped the grocery bags in the kitchen, sorting them out into the cabinets before going up to my room and clean myself up.

I put on a worn out shirt and a pair of shorts that stopped at my mid-thigh. I went to my parents' room and there they were, laying on their bed, both on their phone and the TV on low volume in the background.

"Mom, I bought some groceries so you can cook dinner tonight," I told her with an overly sweet smile that exists to give people diabetes.

My mom rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "You know you have to learn how to cook on your own, sweetheart." I made a face at that and my dad gained a horrid expression when he realized what my mom said.

"We all knew what happened the last time she gave that a try." He reminded my mom pointedly and I nodded in agreement, partly cheering my dad on because if I was to be honest with anyone, I was crazy lazy to cook.

My mom rolled her eyes again, which caused me to wonder if eyes can actually get stuck in an abnormal position due to consistent rolling of the eyes.

"She'll have to learn how to one day and you know that. How is she going to survive on her own? I mean she's already studying in a university for God's sake. The least she can do is cook an egg for herself."

I opened my mouth to protest that I probably can cook an egg for myself but shut my mouth when I came to realize that 'probably' probably doesn't cut it.

I shook my head at their discussion on whether or not it's worth it to risk me burning our kitchen down and walked away from their room to set up my laptop and start doing my homework.

I had a fight coming up and I need to keep myself focused. I was losing my will to get through all this street fighting ordeal because everything in me wanted out from that awful side of my life. But I knew how much I needed to keep this up, I needed to keep my family safe, to keep everyone I love safe. I needed to do this even though what I saw in the park broke my heart, thinking that I might hurt those kids if I beat Cole.

Or maybe he'll beat you and kill you for destroying his brother's life.

Or that.

I took my phone out and phoned Jerry's house to talk to the kids. They were usually all in the living room by this time.

The phone rang twice before someone picked it up. Some shuffling was heard and an annoyed voice floated through the call. "I got it, Pres, just look over Pio."

My heart skipped a beat when a gruff voice greeted me from the other end of the call.

"Hello?" He cleared his throat before repeating himself and this time his voice sounded smoother, like it always have been when he used to whisper jokes in my ear that made me laugh.

My heart leapt and then dropped a few feet. I didn't know what to do or say. Do I greet him back? What if he remembers my voice?

I called to talk to the children, to find some new kind of resolve to keep going; to remind me who I'm fighting for. Those children have a whole future ahead of them and I'd be damned if I let anyone ruin that for them.