Faded
Spinning
Pepper wakes me up in the middle of the night. "What is it, girl?" And I hear sniffling and crying from my mother's room again. And I sigh. I get up, tiptoeing across the carpet into the hall, to her room, and knock on the door.
"Mama, what are you doing?" I ask.
"Nothing, Cass." She sighs, hardly audible. I hear her sniffle again. "Go back to bed."
I look down at Pepper, and give her the, 'hey, I tried' look. I go back to my room and look out the window. My brother's car is gone. I text him, 'you okay?'
I don't get a reply. It's about 3 a.m. and there's no way I can fall back asleep, so I take Pepper and go on a jog. We run and run, and before I know it we're in town, next to the library. The place is spooky, and quiet, and me and Pepper just keep going. Drunk frat boys walk around in their letter men jackets, shouting and hollering like idiots. Drunk girls stumble around in heels and their too-short skirts, slurring and slutting all over the place. I duck my head and keep running.
And the sky looks like a milky dusty purple, and the stars glimmer like eyes, and the world is spinning and the concrete looks nice so here, I'll just lay down for a little while.
"Mama, what are you doing?" I ask.
"Nothing, Cass." She sighs, hardly audible. I hear her sniffle again. "Go back to bed."
I look down at Pepper, and give her the, 'hey, I tried' look. I go back to my room and look out the window. My brother's car is gone. I text him, 'you okay?'
I don't get a reply. It's about 3 a.m. and there's no way I can fall back asleep, so I take Pepper and go on a jog. We run and run, and before I know it we're in town, next to the library. The place is spooky, and quiet, and me and Pepper just keep going. Drunk frat boys walk around in their letter men jackets, shouting and hollering like idiots. Drunk girls stumble around in heels and their too-short skirts, slurring and slutting all over the place. I duck my head and keep running.
And the sky looks like a milky dusty purple, and the stars glimmer like eyes, and the world is spinning and the concrete looks nice so here, I'll just lay down for a little while.