Ballad of a Broken Boy

Meeting Mrs. Bowen

Tw: death and substance abuse mentioned!!!
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Ricky sighed the minute we walked into the house. Nini was confused for a minute before she glanced around, and it was only then that she noticed his dad snoring loudly in his chair, with a beer can in his hand. We tiptoed past him and up the stairs. Unfortunately, we weren't able to avoid his mom.

I've obviously never seen her before, but I guess I was expecting a middle-aged woman who stereotypically looked unkempt, yet she was the complete opposite. In fact, she looked a lot like Ricky. Her features were just a little softer, and she had a different nose.

She was tall and skinny, like Ricky, and her hair and clothes were impeccable. I struggled to believe that she was a drunk. Until she spoke, that is.

"Hey, Ryan. This your girrrlfriend?" she slurred. I winced when she got his name wrong, knowing that would hurt him deeply.

"It's Ricky, mom... and yeah. This is Nini." I was a little surprised. We hadn't officially labeled ourselves a couple, but I guess we were. She smiled at me, her eyes glazed over and distant.

"Hi, Mrs. Bowen." I said softly, not meeting her eyes.

"Oh, we have a shy one. Don't hurrrrt her too much, Ric. She's a reeeeal beauty." She smiled. I couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

"I won't, mom. See you later." He said, kissing her on the cheek quickly and brushing past her. I followed him, turning around to watch her stumble towards the staircase. When we got to his room Ricky slammed the door and said he was sorry.

"What for?" I asked him.

"Her. She's a little..." he struggled for an adjective, so I supplied one.

"Drunk?"

"Yeah. Drunk. She's a little drunk." He sighed, falling onto his bed.

"You look like her. She's beautiful. She looks a little young though to be the mom of a high schooler." I told him, gently.

"My mom had me when she was seventeen. My parents were planning on giving me up for adoption, but she said something changed when she looked at me. She said she couldn't fathom letting me go to a family of abusers or drunks, which is freaking ironic. Look at us now." He said, a little bitterly. "She had my sister, Addison four years later." He sighed, his voice hitching as he said her name.

"You never did tell me about her..." I said softly. He looked at me, and smiled.

"She was the most beautiful, amazing, smart and witty eight year old in the world. She was my best friend. We hung out all the time; jamming out to our favorite songs, taking the piss out of people who thought they could sing. She used to watch The X Factor with me. She always sang along with the contestants and applauded them, as if they could hear her. Whether they were amazing or complete crap, she clapped and hooted like they had already won. She's the reason I like music so much. She's also the reason I stopped taking it seriously. We always wanted to be a duo, get famous overnight. When she died... I couldn't do it anymore." He shrugged, tearing up. I hugged him, kissing him softly.

"I'm glad you told me that. Thank you." He frowned.

"Aren't you going to ask how she died?" he asked, his breath catching on the last word. I shrugged.

"I trust that you'll tell me when you feel like it. I don't want to pry."

"She was staying at a friend's house, for a party. Mom was going to pick her up on the way home from work, but she had to stay late. My dad had too much to drink, although he wasn't a drunk at this point. He just liked to have a drink on a Friday night. Mom almost never drank. Anyway, her friend's mom said it was fine and that she would just drive her home, but she would have to squeeze all four of the kids into the back seat. It was late and dark, so no one would notice. Addison was on one side, right by the door, with her best friend next to her and then two more girls on the other end. There was another girl in the front seat. Anyway, she was going to drop Addison off first, and she pulled up on the sidewalk a couple doors down from our place, so she didn't block any driveways. Addison was on the wrong side, so she had to get out onto the road. But she didn't even get a chance to get out. As she was undoing her seatbelt, some guy crashed into the side of them, crushing the door Addison was about to open. Her entire left side was crushed. She died almost instantly. Everyone else was fine, just scarred from seeing their friend die. She was the only one who even got hurt, Nini. Why did she have to die?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a tight embrace. Tears were spilling down his face, and he didn't seem to care. Even I was crying.