Something In the Attic

He knocked on the door and I opened it and he took my wet clothes and gave me his dry ones and I changed quickly while he threw my clothes in his dryer.

Then we walked to his bedroom and talked.

“So what happened?” Toby asked after we got situated on his bed.

“I got in a major fight with my mom.” I let out a depressed sigh and held back tears. “I tried talking to her and she wasn’t looking at me and I remember in school we learned about acknowledging people and it kind of hit me hard. I flipped out on her and then left.”

“I’m sorry.” He said and gave me a brotherly hug. I felt my eyes sting. This may be the last time I’ll hug my best friend. He pulled away and I looked down so he wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes but he saw and asked, “Why are you crying?”

My stomach flipped and I thought of maybe lying to him but that would just make everything worse. “My-uh,” I started. I didn’t know how to say it. “My great-grandfather died this morning and-” I swallowed. “His house was left to us in his will.”

“I’m sorry about your great-grandfather. I know how you feel. But it’s exciting you get his house.” He tried reassuring me.

“No, it’s not exciting.” I said and he looked taken aback. “My mom wants to move into the house.” His eyes immediately dropped to his Spiderman bed sheets. “I tried talking to her about it but then we had that fight and now I’m here.”

“When are you moving?” He asked. “How far away will you be?”

“Well, where did your great-grandpa live?”

“Frickin’ Nevada! Who the hell lives in Nevada? There’s nothing there but Vegas and Henderson is like eighteen miles away from there! I don’t want to move and lose my friends and my girlfriend. This is all bull!”

“Dude, that’s horrible! I never even heard of Henderson.”

“That’s because nobody lives there!”

“Well, you’re going to be 18 in December. Would your mom let you stay here and she could move to Henderson?”

“I doubt she’ll let me. She’ll probably make me live with her until I’m 25. I hate her.”

With all the emotions flying, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I let go and started sobbing.

“Everything will be okay.” Toby tried to reassure me but I continued until I felt the need to stop.

“I tried to talk to her but it seems like she never listens, as always, so I freaked out on her.” I said. “Then I ran here.” I took a long sigh and thought of Hailey. “Don’t tell anyone. Not even Hailey. I’ll tell her when I’m ready.”

“I understand, buddy.” The timer on the dryer screamed when the load was finished. “I’ll go get your clothes.” Toby left me sitting on his bed staring out the window.

Please, God. I don’t want to move. My best and most loyal friends live here. I don’t want to lose them. I thought to myself. Just as I finished, Toby returned with my clothes.

“Thanks, dude.” I said and put on the fresh warm clothes.

“Anytime. I’m always here for you.” We exchanged goodbyes and I left.

The rain had just stopped a few minutes ago so I was safe on my way home. But once I walked into my house, my mother started screaming at me.

“I was ready to call the police to come looking for you!” she screamed so loud and her face turned red as the veins started popping out at her neck. “Where were you?” I just ignored her and continued my way up the stairs to my room. “Don’t you ignore me! I asked you a question!” she yelled getting even more pissed off. I went to walk into my room when she said, “How would you like to explain it to your father all next week while I pack?” I stopped dead in my tracks.

“I don’t have a father.” I spat with disgust.

“Yes you do, Craig and I will send you to his house all next week while I pack my things and half of yours.” I bet she could see the fear in my eyes. I don’t want to be by that scum lord. “Now tell me where you went because I’m so upset with you right now, I could just send you to his house this moment.”

“I went to Toby’s house! No big deal!”

“No big deal?!” She cut me off. “You were gone for almost an hour! I was worried sick!”

“Like you would ever worry about me.” I cut her off this time and spilled my guts out. “I did drugs in 8th grade, I skipped school with friends to ‘be cool’, I drink at parties, and I’m addicted to cigarettes; if you worried about me so much I would have never done those things. But you don’t care! You don’t even stop me after school to ask me how my day went. You don’t ask me who I’m currently dating or how my friends are. You don’t even know my friends! You’re just a person that lives with me. It hurts.”

There was an awkward silence and I realized what I had just told my mother. I wanted to take it back because those were my secrets she didn’t know about. I basically just blew myself in. I just turned on my heel and walked into my room and shut the door. I’ll stop talking now. I heard my mother’s footsteps walk away while I just laid on my bed thinking about that night. Everything had gone wrong.