Angel

Prologue: The Last Quote

"I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best," Mamma read aloud. She was reading her Famous Quote of the Day. She read them at random times of the day. That's what made it fun to look forward to for her eight year old daughter Kalli. Sometimes she would read one before she left for work at six. Sometimes before a meal. Sometimes, well, sometimes she would read one while Kalli was in the bathroom doing her business. But Kalli didn't mind. Her life was normal that way. At least, it used to be.

Mamma died in the winter of 2003. Kalli was eight. Back then, after her Papa died the year before, Mamma took over. She worked thrice as hard to pay the bills, bring food on the table, pay for Kalli's school expenses—you name it. If Kalli wanted something, her Mamma would tell her to make use of herself and find a job. Kalli didn't get any special treatment, but she was still her Mamma's little angel. In the middle of the night, Kalli would pretend to sleep while her Mamma snuck into her room and crawled into her bed, cradling her in her arms the way she did when she first gave birth to her. All the while, whispering sweet words of reassurance and love in Kalli's small ears and calling her "angel".

Mamma worked hard every day like a machine programmed to do what it was created to do, but one day she broke. 

Malfunctioned. 

Crashed. 

Burned. 

It was the day of Mamma and Papa's anniversary. Kalli and her Mamma dressed up that day. Mamma curled Kalli's hair and they painted their nails in alternating colours of red, pink, and blue. They wore matching grey dresses and black flats. They were the exact replica of each other.

 In their small, yellow-painted kitchen, Kalli put on a black sweater and approached her Mamma. She tugged the hem of her dress and looked up into her eyes with the utmost love and glee. "Mamma, let's play a game. I'll be Papa, " she said, showing off her black sweater. "And you play you. Let's pretend it's our wedding." 

Kalli thought it was a great idea.  Very mature; very big kid-like. Mamma didn't. She told Kalli it was a great idea, but Kalli knew she was lying. They played anyways. They said their "I do's", they exchanged rings, and Kalli gave her Mamma a sloppy kiss on her cheek. 

Kalli was in the midst of cutting a slice of cake when the phone rang. She glanced over at her Mamma, who didn't seem to hear the phone while she was washing the dishes. Kalli slid off her chair and ran to the living room, answering the phone instead. "Hello, this is Kalli. May I please know who is calling?"

A middle-aged, gruff sounding man answered. "Kalli, what a pretty name."

Kalli nodded her head in shy thanks even though she knew the man on the phone couldn't see her. She looked back at her Mamma once more, who was now sitting by the table and placing a slice of cake on separate plates for each of them.

"Listen Kalli, would you give the phone your pretty mom? Hmm, is that okay? Tell her it's from Joey." The gruff sounding man spoke to her in the slow, doting voice. But it didn't sound very genuine. Kalli felt slightly intimidated by his voice, but she shrugged it off.

"MAMMA! It's from Joey." Kalli ran towards her Mamma and held up the phone. "The man I'm on the phone with is Joey," she repeated. Mamma's face fell, her face looking much older than her age. She swiped the phone away from Kalli's hands and hurried to her room, making sure to lock the door. Kalli stayed silent in the kitchen, sliding back in her seat and eating her slice of cake. After about half an hour, her Mamma came out of her room. Kalli remained seated, watching her Mamma. Her eyes were red, but the rest of her face was covered in makeup. Her hair was curled and her trench coat covered her clothes underneath. Her black heels clicked against the breaking tiles of the floor. 

"Mamma, is everything okay?" Kalli asked.

She looked at her but gave no response. Kalli thought she might not have heard and so she asked again. "Mamma, is everything okay?"

"I heard what you said Kalli. Everything's fine," she snapped. "Everything's fine. I just have to go back to work. Someone called in sick and I have to fill in for them." Again, Kalli knew she was lying. She was always lying. She continued to watch her Mamma as she gave Kalli one last look, sent her a kiss, and walked out the front door. 

Kalli waited for her Mamma to come back. She walked into the kitchen and looked at her Mamma's slice of cake. Not a single bite. Hours passed and Kalli found herself dozing off on their beaten-up couch. Then she heard it. The front door was unlocked, and then came a crash and a thud, and then silence. Kalli forced herself off of the couch to see what had happened. Her Mamma was sprawled on the floor, drunk as ever. Her jacket was gone she wore a very revealing two-piece costume. Her makeup was smeared and one of her shoes was missing.

Kalli grabbed her by the pits and dragged to her room, fixing her onto her bed. Kalli didn't know that her Mamma wouldn't wake up the next day. Or the day after. Or any day.

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Hey guys! I apologize for this slow chapter. If you found it boring, sorry again. I just needed to write this to give you a bit of background of one of  the main character's, Kalli.

~TwinCity1518 (a.k.a. Mouse)