Stuck
Chapter 1
“Ember! Get your ass out here!” Startled, I fell off of the bed with a loud thud. I scrambled to my feet and ran to my mom.
“Yes..?” I spoke, my words barely a whisper. My mom had one hand on her hip, the other held the white shirt; a scowl was permanently plastered on mother’s face.
“What the hell is this bullshit?” she screamed. “I raised you better than to be so wasteful! Throwing away things I bought you.” My mom raised her hand as if she were going to slap me, but closed her hand into a fist and lowered it. “If I’d done such a thing when I was your age, I’d have my ass whooped. You’re lucky I just got my nails done or I oughta slap some sense into that dumb ass head of yours.” My mom shoved the shirt at me, the motion sending me back a few steps.
“No dinner for you tonight.”
“But mom, I-”
“You what?” mom growled.
“N-nothing.…” Sometimes, I feared for my life when it came to mother. I was just thankful my mom hadn’t noticed the blood stain. I retreated back to my room, buried the shirt under an old pile of clothes, and pulled out my laptop. Sure, it wasn’t brand new and some of the keys didn’t work all the time, but it was just about the nicest thing I owned. I typed in the password I’d typed a million times before and went to Facebook. Right as I logged on, a chat box popped up.
“Hey there, bro.” It was Cassidy. Cassidy was literally my only friend. Through everything, Cass was there for me. I didn’t tell her everything in fear of losing my best friend, but she knew quite a few things. I put on my headphones and listened to all my favourite bands while Cassidy and I chatted the night away.
A few hours later, my mom barged into the room, beer bottle in one hand, cigarette in the other.
“I got a bone ta pick with you, little missy.” she slurred. She took a swig of her beer and drooled a little. “Ya teacher called. Says you’re fallin’ behind. Git workin’ on that homework a yours or I’ll… I’ll… I dunno what I’ll do, but you won’t like it.” She let out a drunken chuckle that led to laughter that turned into hacking from too many cigarettes smoked. She stumbled out the door and plopped down on the couch, passing out before her head hit the cushion. I sighed because I knew I’d have to deal with mom’s hangover in the morning. Again. My mom gets drunk a lot more recently. At least it kept mom off my back. Reluctantly, I pulled out my notebook and tried to get some work done. I just couldn’t concentrate. My thoughts kept trailing off. And my stomach wouldn’t shut up. I couldn’t eat though. I’d risk mom yelling at me; plus, mom calls me fat all the time. “Fat” and “useless” were her favourite words to use. By now, I was used to it, but it still kind of bothered me that my own mother hates me so much. Whatever. I tossed it aside and tried to do my work. Nothing was working. I sighed, set down my notebook, sent a final message to Cassidy, and laid my head down, hoping for another dreamless night.
“Yes..?” I spoke, my words barely a whisper. My mom had one hand on her hip, the other held the white shirt; a scowl was permanently plastered on mother’s face.
“What the hell is this bullshit?” she screamed. “I raised you better than to be so wasteful! Throwing away things I bought you.” My mom raised her hand as if she were going to slap me, but closed her hand into a fist and lowered it. “If I’d done such a thing when I was your age, I’d have my ass whooped. You’re lucky I just got my nails done or I oughta slap some sense into that dumb ass head of yours.” My mom shoved the shirt at me, the motion sending me back a few steps.
“No dinner for you tonight.”
“But mom, I-”
“You what?” mom growled.
“N-nothing.…” Sometimes, I feared for my life when it came to mother. I was just thankful my mom hadn’t noticed the blood stain. I retreated back to my room, buried the shirt under an old pile of clothes, and pulled out my laptop. Sure, it wasn’t brand new and some of the keys didn’t work all the time, but it was just about the nicest thing I owned. I typed in the password I’d typed a million times before and went to Facebook. Right as I logged on, a chat box popped up.
“Hey there, bro.” It was Cassidy. Cassidy was literally my only friend. Through everything, Cass was there for me. I didn’t tell her everything in fear of losing my best friend, but she knew quite a few things. I put on my headphones and listened to all my favourite bands while Cassidy and I chatted the night away.
A few hours later, my mom barged into the room, beer bottle in one hand, cigarette in the other.
“I got a bone ta pick with you, little missy.” she slurred. She took a swig of her beer and drooled a little. “Ya teacher called. Says you’re fallin’ behind. Git workin’ on that homework a yours or I’ll… I’ll… I dunno what I’ll do, but you won’t like it.” She let out a drunken chuckle that led to laughter that turned into hacking from too many cigarettes smoked. She stumbled out the door and plopped down on the couch, passing out before her head hit the cushion. I sighed because I knew I’d have to deal with mom’s hangover in the morning. Again. My mom gets drunk a lot more recently. At least it kept mom off my back. Reluctantly, I pulled out my notebook and tried to get some work done. I just couldn’t concentrate. My thoughts kept trailing off. And my stomach wouldn’t shut up. I couldn’t eat though. I’d risk mom yelling at me; plus, mom calls me fat all the time. “Fat” and “useless” were her favourite words to use. By now, I was used to it, but it still kind of bothered me that my own mother hates me so much. Whatever. I tossed it aside and tried to do my work. Nothing was working. I sighed, set down my notebook, sent a final message to Cassidy, and laid my head down, hoping for another dreamless night.