Out in the Wind

Chapter 8

"I heard you fighting with Aunt Barbara again last night," I say as I pick a blade of grass and crumble it between my fingers. I look to my mother sitting next to me on the lawn, watching Chloe run around and flap her wings pretending to be a bird.

"Look at me mommy! I'm gonna fly away!" she yells as she flaps some more.

"That's beautiful honey!" my mother shouts back.

"Did you hear me?" I ask. "I've heard you guys fight every single night for the last week. I thought everything was sorted after you sold that very old dresser that belonged to dad's mom and gave Aunt Barbara the money?"

That's what the fights are normally about. They all go the same way. Every single time like the very first time. We have been back to the storage unit twice already. The first time we took out all three television sets. Mine included. I wanted to somehow help even though I know it's not my fault that we're in this mess. The money didn't last long before Aunt Barbara started fighting with mom again. That's when we went to get the old dresser. My dad always said that the dresser came with his great-grandparents from England when they came over here for the first time. He always said it was worth a lot of money. Turns out it wasn't worth that much, or we have been done in. I thought we could have gotten more money for it probably, but we needed to rely on someone to come and get it and we needed the money fast.

"It's costing her a lot of money to keep us here," mom answers as she does the same as me, pick a blade of grass and crush it between her fingers. She doesn't look at me. Instead she picks another blade and crushes that as well.

"There is no way we are costing that much money. That was enough for like one month's rent in our own place mom. We've only been here three weeks, almost four. And it's not like she's feeding us. You still buy extra groceries as well," I say. I have had enough about keeping my mouth shut. I want to know what is going on.

"Your Aunt has been very generous to us. Opening her home to us. We need to repay her generosity," mom answers but she doesn't look at me.

"If we are selling our stuff to live in her living room, while you have no job, we can just as well sell it and live in our own little space while you search for a job," I say.

"And who will look after you sister?" she asks. She looks at me as if daring to come up with a better plan. "Your Aunt is willing to look after her while I try and find work. And getting a job is hard Cory. Jobs don't just fall out of trees."

"I can look after her. I do it in any case when you leave to hunt for a job in the afternoons. You never go in the morning," I say. I have thought this through properly. There is no way we are leaving this conversation again.

"It's done Cory. I don't want to talk about this any longer," mom replies as she picks yet another blade of grass.

"No mom. This can't go on. You fight with Aunt Barbara and then you cry yourself to sleep on that damn uncomfortable couch," I say. I can feel the heat boiling up inside me. I don't get mad often, but my mom is pushing me.

"Cory. I am warning you. Let it go," she says once more and I know that she is finished with the conversation as she stands up. "Look after your sister. I'm going out to look for a job. Keep her outside as long as you can. I'll try to be home before your Aunt comes back."

"This isn't a home," I mutter under my breath as she walks away and disappear into the house.

I take out my phone and scroll to the inbox, checking the message I have received this morning from Rick. He's been inviting me and Mandy to sit with him for lunch some days and he always laughs at my stupid jokes. Then again, I laugh at his too even though Mandy keeps on reminding me his jokes aren't that funny. I keep on reminding her that it's good manners to at least attempt to laugh. I wouldn't quite say that we are friends yet, but it's getting there slowly.