Fly Away

"Kimber! Breakfast is ready!" I hear my mother call me from downstairs in the kitchen. I quick glanced at my clock, which read 10:47 and I wonder why Mom has let me sleep in this late. Usually, she likes to keep me on a schedule, which consists of getting up before 8:00AM even on the weekends!

"Coming!" I yell down the stairs as I quickly slip out of my Hello Kitty pajamas and into a pair of sweat pants and an orange t-shirt. Not even bothering to brush my pounding head covered with hair, I slowly make my way down the stairs, attracted to the smell of something other than my usual Frosted Flakes.

I make my way down to the kitchen table, completely covered with an array of food. I see two huge piles of toast and grape jelly, a dish full of egg and cheese omelets, mouthwatering sausage, a variety of waffles, pancakes, french toast, and the killer- a pound full of bacon!

My stomach growls and I immediately sit my butt down in the chair facing the deliciousness.

I poke around for a greasy piece of bacon and am stopped by my mother's disapproving glare.

"Are you having a party or something?" I ask, trying to start morning conversation.

"No, I just wanted to treat myself to some food is all," she responds, not taking her eyes off me.

"Some food?" I ask, bewildered. "You could feed the whole friggin' town!"

"Don't start eating yet I have something special for you," she says laughing.

Curious, I poke my head around the kitchen, but Mom is blocking my view.

What could she have? I already have a buffet here!

I wait impatiently as Mom works in the kitchen.

I'm shocked when I see her walk over with a bowl of--Cheerios?!

She plops it down in front of my face and I'm near speechless.

"What's this?" I question, attempting to shrug it off.

"What does it look like?" she asks, smirking. "It's your breakfast, silly."

"B-But why can't I eat what you made?"

"You can if you want, but it's not healthy for the baby," she says placing a little bit of everything on her plate. "Would you really put your pleasure before the health of your child, Kimber?"

Now I get it. Figures she would have to make my life hell.

"Please Mom. Give me a break," I begged.

"That baby isn't going to give you a break so you better get used to it," she said.

"Whatever," I say slightly annoyed.

"Look, life is not gonna be easy once this baby is born, and I'm having enough trouble making ends meet as it is," she confessed, getting more to the point. "If you are gonna keep it-"

"If?" I cut her off. "This is my child. I'm not gonna kill it before it even has a chance."

"What chance is it gonna have?" she pleaded. "You're gonna be out with your friends all day, no job, his dad is in jail, and he has that shitty Charles to worry about."

"I really don't care what you think of me, Mom. This is my baby, and so what if my history is not the best? I'm going to provide for my child!" I defended myself.

"With what money Kimber? I can't buy everything for it!" she said.

"I'll get a job," I pledged. "I'll do anything to help my child."

"Kimber, it's not gonna be enough. I already took a second mortgage on the house, I'm working double shifts every other day just to keep us out of debt. I can't afford to take care of another person."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, fearing what I was about to hear.

"You can live here until your baby is born, but after that you have to find your own place to live. I'm sorry," she said looking away.

Because she couldn't even look at me.

---

After telling my sob story to Leslie, she asked her parents and they said I could live with them as long as I got a job.

"Thank you so much," I said gratefully. "I will try my best not to be a pain and I will help out with the bills, I promise."

"Don't worry about that, now sweetie," Mrs. Asherdale pleaded. "For now, you can sleep in Leslie's room, and by the time you have your baby, we should have a nursery set up."

"You don't know how much I need this," I said honestly. "Thank you."

She smiled before leaving the room and I already felt at home. Mr. and Mrs. Asherdale went out for the night to dinner and left us twenty bucks for a pizza. We said we weren't hungry, but they insisted we order.

Leslie and I talked for a while and she told me about her new boyfriend, Matt, as we ate our peperoni pizza in her room.

"He's really sweet, and he's cute, and he's coming over tonight!" she told me.

"How did you guys meet?" I asked, curious.

"We were at school and he told me how pretty I was, and he asked me to go see a movie with him and eh was just so nice and it went on from there," she said, excited.

"Oh boy! I hope he's nice!"

"He is, I promise," she said.

"You better be right!"

---

I am startled by the sudden Knock Knock at the door. Leslie scurries downstairs to meet a tall, robust senior with shaggy blond hair and a sweet smile.

"Hey baby!' Leslie greets him with a kiss.

He never closed his eyes, but instead watched meas they kissed.

Some guys are just creepy like that...

She turned around and introduced me. "Matt, this is my friend, Kimber. Kimber, this is my boyfriend, Matt."

"How come you never introduced me to Kimber before?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Matt, Kimber is going to be living with me for a while," she said smiling.

"Oh yeah baby!" he said in a piggish way.

Real sweet, Leslie.

"Iced tea anybody?" she asked, laughing.

"Yeah sounds good, thanks," I said.

She left the room to get our iced teas and Matt got closer to me.

"Hey Kimber you're a pretty one," he said, wasting no time.

"Thanks, Matt, but you're dating my best friend, remember?" I said sitting down on the comfortable couch conveniently there.

"Oh, so you like it down there?" he asked in a perverted way.

I laughed and said," Keep looking tiger."

He sat down and got a little too close for my personal preference.

"Look, Matt. I'm not comfortable"

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I know you want me so just get on with it babe."

I pushed him away and he grabbed my arm. "Is that how you want to be?"

He reminded me so much of Tyler it scared me. "Stop, Matt."

He just gripped tighter and forced a kiss on my lips. I tried to turn away and I screamed, hoping to get Leslie's attention.

"Stop being hard baby," he said, gripping my arm so tight I could feel a bruise coming.

"STOP!" I screamed as loud as I could.

Leslie ran into the room with three glasses of iced tea and lemon, "What is going on in he-"

She watched the scene and immediately her eyes were full of rage and hurt at the same time. She soon placed the iced teas on the table, and ran over toward us.

"Kimber! I'm dating Leslie, get off me!" he lied, and quickly took his hand off my arm.

I shot my head over and hit him on the face, hard.

He shot back and threw me against the floor.

She dashed over to me and her eyes told me how sorry she was. "Matt, get the hell out of my house," she said through her teeth.

"No, Leslie! I'm not leaving until this bitch gets what she deserves!" he hollered, referring to me.

"Don't talk to her like that. GET OUT NOW!" she screamed, grabbing the phone and dialing 911.

He threw it across the room, "What are they gonna do now?"

"If you don't get out of my house, I will force you the hell out."

"How are you gonna do that?" he said, intimidatingly. He slapped her across the face and threw her to the floor.

"Stop, Matt!" I pleaded, protecting my unborn baby.

"I gave you a chance bitch!" he said and proceeding to kick me in the stomach. I screamed hoping someone would hear me.

"You monster!" Leslie said getting up. She punched him in the stomach and kicked him in his pride.

For how skinny and short Leslie was, she sure had fight!

I wished I could've got up, but the pain was too persistent.

Leslie grabbed the phone from the floor and dialed 911 again, this time without Matt's interference.

I watched him whimper on the floor like a little baby, holding his bulge in his hands.

Leslie told the 911 operator the situation and address and she wouldn't let Matt move. Within five minutes, there was an ambulance for me, Leslie and Matt, and a police car. They questioned us and checked out the scene, declaring that all three of us had only minor injuries.

Leslie said she would be fine to stay home, but if I wanted to go to the hospital, it didn't much matter. Leslie said I would be fine and the paramedics cleaned Matt up. My stomach still hurt, and I told one of the aids about how Matt kicked me in my stomach, and she looked over at him with disgrace, as if she were about to spit in his face.

"C'mon sweetie, let me take you to the hospital to treat your child. Do me a favor and stay away from creeps like him, for your child's sake," she said in a mother-like way.

I looked over at 'the creep,' and a husky police officer pinned Matt against the side of the house and read him his Miranda rights for two counts of abuse of a minor, and tucked him away in his police car.

It looked all too familiar.