A Mother's Bond

1

Sarayah P.O.V.  July 4, 2016
I stared down at my chocolate cake, willing the night to be over. My mama was sitting across the small table from me, burning a hole into my face. She was still wearing her waitress uniform, hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She hadn't bothered changing. I knew she probably didn't have time since she had to make my cake from scratch, but a malicious part of me wondered if she hadn't changed so she could keep an eye on me, make sure I didn't leave.

She shifted slightly making the table move. Her subtle way of trying to get me to look up, but I refused. I didn't have to look up to know what expression she was wearing. I knew her deep brown eyes were searching my face, waiting for me to spontaneously be grateful for this shitty night, but I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of a smile. This was not how I wanted to spend my 16th birthday and she knew it. She could force me to sit there and eat that cake, but she couldn't force me to like it. I poked the cake a few more times before taking the smallest bite possible.

"How's the cake, baby?" She asked hesitantly.

"Dry," I mumbled.

"What was that?" Her eyes glittered with an unspoken challenge.

"Good," I said, looking up at her, my smile dripping with sarcasm.

She narrowed her eyes at me, but took another bite, choosing to let it go.

I sighed and went back to poking my cake. I tried to imagine what my best friends Nevaeh and Mekhi were doing. Something fun, no doubt. I tried to invite them, but my mama shut that down real quick. She never liked them. Always talking about how they were too wild and were going to drive us apart. I, however, thought that if anything was going to push us apart it would be her insane possessiveness. I didn't know a single person who was forced to spend their 16th birthday locked up in their apartment with their mama.

I frowned and angrily stabbed my cake. This was so unfair.

"Listen, baby," Mama started, but I cut her off, my anger making me bolder than I had ever been.

"No, YOU listen. I'm tired of this." I shouted, slamming my fork down. I was ready to risk it all.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Tired of what?"

"This!" I yelled, wildly gesturing around the tiny room. "The way we live! The way you make us live."

She sighed. "Ray, I'm working two jobs. This is the best we can afford right now."

I groaned in frustration. Our apartment wasn't exactly fancy, with its water-stained ceiling, cracked tiles, peeling paint and diverse insect population. However, I could deal with all that. What I couldn't deal with, was spending 24 hours a day locked inside. I spent the summer praying for school to start back up, so I could have eight sweet hours of freedom. How messed up is that?

"Honestly, I wouldn't mind living in this tiny ass 1-bedroom apartment if you let me go out more often. Or, at all. I'm like a caged animal in here. All you let me do is go to school and occasionally over to Vaeh or Mekhi's place and you rarely even let me do that now. You hide me away like someone's trying to steal me or something."

Her deep brown eyes sparked. Maybe I went too far with the cussing.

She calmly set her fork down, but I could tell from the fire in her eyes that it was about to be some shit.

"Now you listen to me, you ungrateful ass child. This may not be a mansion, but it's shelter, and you best be grateful for it if you know what's good for you."

I looked down, guiltily.

"I just spent the entire day working two back to back seven hour shifts to afford this tiny ass 1-bedroom apartment. Then I came home and spent my limited amount of free time making a chocolate cake that you've barely touched and now you have the audacity to raise your voice at me because it's not exactly what you wanted?"