Convoluted (Book 1)

Chapter 5-Vanessa

       I decided to visit my mom before I went to work my twelve hour shift at the hospital. If I didn't have somewhere to go she would keep me there all day. Being the youngest child, she still saw me as her baby, despite being thirty years old. I ran my hands over my navy blue scrubs before I knocked on the door.

"Oh, its you", my sister said as she opened the door. Her plump body filled up most of the doorway. I squeezed by her, ignoring her comment.

"Where's mom Tiff?" 

"Out."

"Out with who?"

"A friend, she'll be back soon."

"How come I didn't know about this friend?"

"Because you're never around."

I sat down on a chair in the living room, the plastic my mom insisted on placing over it had me re-positioning every other second. It seemed like the time on my watch wasn't moving at all. The only sound heard was the humming of the refrigerator. I wiped the sweat from my forehead. It should be a crime not to have air conditioner in a house with this Florida heat. I stood up and turned on the ceiling fan, the cool breeze felt like heaven.

"So, how's my niece doing?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"What's with you? You've had this attitude since I came here!"

"Don't worry your pretty little self with my problems."

I felt my body getting hot. My anger was about to get the best of me.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't care," I yelled.

She rolled her eyes.

"Really? We're acting immature now?" I asked as I glared at her.

"Oh please, don't act like you're any better than me!"

"What gives you that impression?"

"You come here in your fancy car, looking down on me because I still stay with mom."

I took a deep breath. I envisioned us on the swings in the park when we were younger. We would take turns pushing each other, seeing who could go the highest. My mom made it her business to take us every weekend, that was until my dad left. She never told us why he left or when he'd come back, and as the years passed we realized that he was never going to return. I always thought so highly of my mom because she never cried, at least not in front of us, and she provided us with everything we needed.

My silence must have frustrated Tiffany because she continued to blabber.

"You act like your life is all perfect!" she screamed.

"I never said that."

"Well I know it isn't Miss. I'm-sleeping-with-my-husband's-best-friend!"

The sound of keys giggling just outside the door stopped me from hurting my sister's feelings. I got up and looked through the peephole. It was my mom. I unlocked the door and hugged my mother's slender body. She looked great at the age of sixty-two. It was like staring into a mirror. Ever since I was born people said we were twins. Her make-up was flawless and her hair was in a small afro with a nice mix of black and grey. She always made sure she represented herself well. It was something she instilled in us from childhood.