"Stop! Alex, I am your mother, you have to listen to me."
"You stopped being my mother when you married Rob."
"Don't talk about your father like that"
"He's not my father, and I'm leaving!"
"No. Alex, I'll be better!"
Papers rustle as my brother tries to find his passport. Earlier this week my bother got a scholarship in Florida and he decided to take it. My mom, who had hidden his passport, tried everything she could to keep him here. But she didn't want him here. She only used him to work and pay the bills. "Alex. No. No. No. Please don't leave me. Please... don't... leave..."
My mom's voice went further into the background as Alex walks up to me. "Hey. Stay strong for me buddy. I'll be back as soon as I get a job. Then I'll get you out of here."
"Promise?"
"Promise." The tone in his voice was sounded so certain but I couldn't believe him as much as I tried. There was just no way he was coming back for me.
"I love you, Max. And I always will." That's it. He's not coming back. My brother finally had enough of my mother and leaving me with her. As he reached for the doorknob and looked back, I had a sudden thought of running and wrapping my arms around him.
To ask him not to leave me.
To beg him to bring me with him.
Instead, I walked past my mother and sat on the couch where I held a blanket to my chest and silently cried until my eyelids felt heavy and the sound of my mother finally came to a stop.
YOU ARE READING
Mute Yourself
Teen FictionMaxwell Antonio is the main character in this series. His mother who has PTSD from losing her child at birth and losing her husband tries to convince herself Maxie never died. After having Maxwell, she dresses him like he was a girl, even as far as...
