Behind The Screens

7 | Too Much

Alex

"Jack?" Britten repeated. "That's so cute." I nodded and smiled as she laid my little brother down on the bed and began tickling him. He let out a high pitched giggle. "I treasure him. I'll be with him any chance I can get so he doesn't have to be with," I whispered the last part. "My mom." She nodded. "What's wrong with her?"

I didn't want to tell her everything just yet... my mother had a way of hearing things she doesn't like. For example, me telling someone she doesn't know that she smokes 25/8, clubs every Tuesday and Saturday, and goes to the bar looking for men to bring home is unacceptable. The only reason why she's at home this Tuesday is because she decided to take a "short break" from clubbing and go to the bar instead. She's brought home more than fifty men since her divorce when I was seven, including the one she has in her bed now. My mother, ladies and gentlemen.

"She's just got a few... problems." I said, choosing my words carefully for the sake of my baby brother. Britten nodded in understandment. She pressed her nose onto Jack's and he smiled.

"Can we share him?" Britten suggested. "Meh." I replied. "Is Britten's face soft, Jay?" Jack turned his head to look at me. "Yea." He squeaked. She smiled at me, her eyes twinkling with adoration.

The theme song to Friends abruptly sounded from around the area which Britten was sitting.
"Did you seriously-" I began, ready to poke fun at her for her ringtone, but she shooshed me and grabbed it from her pocket. "It's an actual song," She told me, then answered and put the speaker on. "Hello-"

"WHERE ARE YOU???" Mira yelled, startling Jack. He sat up quick and crawled into my lap. I laughed. "Who the-" Mira started until Britten talked over her to stop her from saying anything bad. Britten laughed. "Don't say that, Jack is going to get a bad impression." She said. Not like his mother isn't already one. I thought.

"Who is Jack?" Mira asked.

"Alex's baby brother."

"You're with Alex?" Britten laughed. "Where else would I be?" Mira sighed. "I don't know, dead." Britten laughed again. She laughed a lot, but I couldn't complain, nor did I want to. Her laugh was soft and sweet when she was the slightest bit amused, and energetic, but still light,  when she found something extremely humorous... so maybe I'd taken a couple mental notes.

"Hey, Mira." I said into the phone. "You can't just kidnap my best friend, Alex, you better be making her happy." Mira told me.
"I think she's pretty happy." I replied, smiling at Britten.

Jack reached for Britten's phone and she surprisingly handed it to him. "He won't hang up will he?" Britten asked. "If he would it's too late now." I said. "Who?" Mira asked from the other line. "Jack has the phone, say hi." I told her.

"Ohh hiiii, Jack!!!" Mira squealed. Jack's face lit up and he showed an open mouthed smile and looked up at me. I laughed. "Say hi." I told him. "Hiii." Jack said into the phone. "AWWWW HOW CUTE!!!!" Mira screeched. Jack burst into laughter.

"Okay, I need to go back to sleep before I get hooked on your brother," Mira told me. "I don't want to be too tired before we go to the airport." Britten gasped. "I almost forgot!" She said. "Well don't," Mira said. "I'm going to sleep, night." Then she hung up. "I've gotta go." Britten said.

"Where you going?" Jack whimpered. Britten's face softened. "I have to go so I won't miss my plane." She told him. "Oh come on, you can't stay a little bit longer?" I begged. She looked at me like she was deciding. I nudged Jack and whispered in his ear. He looked up at Britten.

"Pwease?"

"Ohh..." Britten gave a bright smile. "Okay, I guess for a little longer." She said. But a little longer turned into the rest of the night. I had snuck into the kitchen and brung back left over pizza. "Sorry it's cold." I apologized, inspecting its solidified contents.
"I like cold pizza." Britten assured me.

We shared the pieces of pizza and watched the only movie we had that was appropriate for a three year old— Grownups. It's not rated G, but my mother didn't like buying kid movies...

"If you really care about that kid," she'd said to me after I asked why we don't ever buy movies for Jack. "Then you get a job and you buy him that giddy, baby stuff."

After a long and calm thirty minutes, Britten fell asleep with Jack curled up at her side. I don't remember when I fell asleep, but it was sometime after my third pizza and somewhere near the end of the movie.

I woke up to banging on my door the next morning. "ALEX!!!" I heard my mother yell. My mother is an American Latina, but her accent is audible only when she's drunk, mad, or hungover. Judging by the tone of her voice and the type of night she had, I'm sure she's hungover and absolutely furious.

I quickly sat up straight in my bed and Britten turned over, opening her eyes. They widened. Jack was already gone.

"You messing around with girls now?" She yelled. "No! It's not—"

"And your brother was in the room!?" She continued yelling.

"It's not like that!" I told her. "I swear!" She made a nasty face at me. "And how am I supposed to believe that?" She yelled again. "You should know what it's like," I yelled. "You've been screwing guys since I was SEVEN!"

I've said too much.

"What did you just say?" She said, in her soft, but intimidating angry voice. The only thing worse than her yelling is her whispering. Just know, if my mother isn't trying to keep a secret by whispering, she's probably indicating your soon-to-come decapitation by whispering. She took a deep breath in, then left the room. Britten finally spoke, "... She's just going to—" I shook my head. "No, she's not, go outside, like, now, she's probably gonna come back with a pots and pans." I told her. I shooed her off of the bed. I heard Britten tell my mother bye but I don't think she heard her because my mother was back in my room and throwing whatever she had found at me.

Britten

I sat on the hood of Alex's car, listening to the cursing and yelling going on inside. I could see through Alex's window and his mom kept leaving and coming back with different objects to throw at him. He just took it. At one point Alex stood up and walked out of his room while his mother was throwing painful looking punches at his back. I winced and looked away.

I heard the front door open and his mom yelling, "Don't come back until you can learn how to speak to me in my house!" Then she threw his backpack out the door, hitting his feet. I watched him sit down on the steps of the porch and throw his backpack to the side. I decided to leave him alone for right now. I didn't mind being a little late to the airport.

Alex took out his phone and called someone. I didn't know who it was, so I tried to make out what he was saying. I only got "yea, just come," and "every day," and then he said goodbye. I sighed. I felt for him. I hated that he was going through this... every day? And Jack too? I didn't know what was worse; having one, emotionally broken and kind of abusive mother, or having two parents who you only saw once a month if you got lucky.

Alex put his head in his hands, then after a moment, he ran his fingers through his hair. He stood up and started kicking the rocks angrily, his hair flipping each time he kicked. He's kind of hot when he's angry- not the point, though. He tugged at his hair this time, then turned around and finally saw me. I immediately looked down at my hands.

A few seconds later I saw Alex's hands over mine. I looked up. "You okay?" I asked him. He shook his head. "I'm fine, what matters is are you okay?" He said. I nodded and he took my face in his hands. "Britten?" He said. I looked him in the eye. "Yea?" He sighed. "I'm sorry... I got you into this." I let out a soft breath. "It's fine, I'm alright." I told him. He continued to hold my face.

"Britten?" Alex said again. "Yea?" I replied. He smiled. "You make me happy." He told me. I smiled this time. "Oh yea?" I asked. He nodded. "Yea."
I laughed.

"Kiss me."