I'm Just Here for the Dog | Jeff Wittek

Chapter VI

⚠️Trigger Warning: mention of abortion⚠️

"Okay." I said as we stood at my door. "Everyone needs to take off their shoes."

  "Can we do it inside?" Jeff whined. "My balls are freezing."

  "No." I responded plainly, slipping off my own shoes before walking inside.

  "Ina?!" I called out.

  "Ano." My Mom said, greeting us at the front door. My mom was 4'11 so even just being 5'6, I towered over her.

  "Ano." I responded.

  "David, my favorite child." My Mom said walking over to David and hugging him.

  "Ina, he's not even one of your children." I said.

  "I know, but he sends me nice gifts." My Mom said, making me shoot David a glance. "Jason, my God, you have gotten fat. Natalie why aren't you married or pregnant yet? You're right in your prime age. There's a nice boy right down the street, he's about fifteen."

  "Ms. Sanchez, I'm twenty-three." Nat said.

  "I know." My Mom said. "Who are you?"

  "I'm Jeff Wittek. I'm friends with David." Jeff responded, shaking my Mom's hand.

  "How old are you?" My Mom asks. It's starting.

  "Twenty-nine."

  "Where are you from?"

  "Staten Island."

  "Have you been to jail?"

  "Yes."

  "For what?"

  "Drug possession."

  "How tall are you?"

  "Six foot."

  "If you and my daughter had children they would be giants."

  "Oh, my God." I murmured putting my head in my hands, earning a laugh from everyone. "Are we done here?"

  "No." David responded.

  "I'm going to make some tea, Ina." I said, walking into the kitchen. I put water into the water boiler and pressed the start button. I jumped on the counter and sat on my phone.

  "Mackenzie what have I told you about sitting on the counter?" My Mom called from the other room. How can she even see me?

  At about seven we finally left Vernon Hills and went to the hotel.

  "Finally." I said as I got to my own hotel room. I wanted to get out of Vernon Hills as soon as possible. It wasn't the people there, it was one person, my Mom. I took off my jacket and grabbed the bottle of vodka from the fridge. My Mom just makes me want to lose myself in vodka and never come back. I heard a knock on my door and opened it to Nat.

  "I literally love your mom so much." She said as she walked in the door as I took a swig from the vodka bottle.

  "That makes one of us." I responded.

  "I don't understand why you hate her so much."

  "Nat, you know how much she pushes me. You know I barely had a childhood growing up and even when I got to go to California, she was still riding my ass and she was halfway across the country."

  I took another swig from the bottle.

  "I know." Nat said, looking at me.

  "Tonight, I just want to get out on the town, hang out with my best friends, drink really good alcohol and be so hung over tomorrow morning that even no light is too much light."