Eddie runs

Chapter 2

 "I'm hooooomeeeee", She shouted, as she took her shoes off in the hallway.

Their house was not crazy big, but definitely bigger than most of the other houses in New Tokyo.

The hallway led past a large staircase directly into what Eddies dad called "the reading room" although it was mostly used for social gatherings and smoking fake cigars. Left to the front door was the dining room with a large table, which could be used to have actual banquets at but was only used by Eddie and her mom. On the right side of the hallway was the kitchen, with windows overlooking the front yard and the street.

Usually when Eddie came home, her mom made an effort to come from wherever in the house she was, to welcome her daughter in the hallway. She would give her a hug and have the brightest smile on, while already rambling about everything she had gotten done that day. Eddie found it a bit cheesy, but it was always a nice feeling to know that she was there, waiting for her to come home.

Today however, she didn't come. With an uncomfortable suspicion growing in her stomach, Eddie walked over and halted in the door to the kitchen, when she saw her mom doing the dishes, her back still turned towards her.

"I'm home." Eddie repeated, unsure of what was going on.

Her mother didn't look up. "Oh, great honey. The table is set. I made some casserole for you.", she replied with a small voice, still scrubbing one of the plates.

Something was definitely up. The pit in Eddies stomach grew larger as she slowly approached her mom. Quietly, she came up next to her and tried to get a glance at her face.

"Mom? What's going on?" Eddie said, carefully reaching over to take the plate out of her mothers hands and keeping her eyes fixed on her face.

As she leaned forward, she saw the bruises. Her mothers' right eye was swollen shut, with black and blue rings and blotches covering her browbone and cheek. She had a small cut on her forehead and one on her chin, which were both carefully taped with antiseptic stripes. She was crying.

"Mom..." Eddie began, unsure of how to continue that sentence.

Her mother dropped the dishtowel into the sink, keeping her head low.

"He didn't mean to. He was so stressed and I just—" ,she stammered. Then there was silence. It was always silence, nowadays.

Everything that could be said, had already been said – at least in Eddies opinion. Every apology, every accusation had already been made. Her mom knew that there was nothing that could make Eddie understand – so now she chose silence.

Eddie drew a sharp breath. She felt her face getting hot with anger. That pit in her stomach had turned into a rock the size of New Tokyo. She fucking hated that bastard with every last piece of her. She wanted to stab him or hang him or set him on fucking fire. But that was precisely the point; she hated him, not her mom. If she screamed at her now, about how the fuck she could keep staying with that asshole, there would only be tears. Tears and bruises. It was always the same.

Today, Eddie chose not to fight. She put the plate onto the kitchen counter and pulled her mother into a hug. Her mother was even shorter than her and right now definitely felt a lot smaller.

They stood in silence for a moment there in front of the kitchen window. Her mother had mastered the art of crying without making noise, so it was just the voices of people on the street passing by.

"I love you, Mommy.", Eddie said eventually, pulling out of the embrace and looking at her mother's teary face. She tried to give her a smile. "Let's have some of that casserole now. Come on."

***

Later in the afternoon, Eddie was sitting at her desk, mindlessly swiping through her social media. She didn't really post much herself (because what is the sense in posting if you didn't want to be seen), but it was useful to keep up with the gossip and happenings of Silver Oaks. Most of these rich kids uploaded pictures of venues in exclusive clubs or videos of them driving ridiculously expensive cars. Some would just post selfies with celebrities of the city or their new designer outfits. It was a good way to figure out potential clients, though. And to make sure that the old ones didn't get into trouble with her stuff.

Of course, none of them ever posted anything from outside of New Tokyo. Because why would you leave the city that has everything? The city that is everything.

Eddie, however, was always fascinated by the idea of leaving. Not only because of her dad and everything but also just out of curiosity. What could life be like if you didn't spent it between highways, skyscrapers and fake suburbia? Nothing in Silver Oaks was real. Every house, every family, every last piece of grass. It was a show they put on, every day, to make sure all of New Tokyo knew that there is a difference between those with influence and those without. Between them and us.

Suddenly, there was knock at Eddies door. She flinched a little, closed the laptop and straightened up a bit. "Come in.", she said.

It was her mom. The swelling in her face had gone down a bit, but she still looked terrible. She gave her a small smile. "There is someone at the door for you, darling. He says, his name is Arthur."

"Oh yeah, he's a ... classmate. He can just come up." Eddie replied. Arthur was in fact not just a classmate but another local drug dealer. He had hooked Eddie up with his supplier so that she could also start selling Grime. Over time, they had become somewhat closer but she wouldn't really consider him a friend. And she had the slight suspicion that he might have a crush on her – why else would he help her out with the drugs.

Her mom nodded and was just about to turn around, when she stopped. "Actually, could you maybe just go and let him in yourself? I don't really want him to see.. you know... this" ,she made a broad gesture towards her face.

That pit in Eddies stomach was immediately back. Of course, why didn't she think about that? This state of her mom with bruises on her face had become so normal, that she didn't even think about these things anymore. What the fuck. She could feel her face getting hot again.

"Sure" she said, quickly getting up from her chair. She brushed past her mom and rushed down the stairs in an attempt to avoid any more eye contact. Before opening the front door, she saw Arthur on the little monitor next to it, standing there awkwardly. It was a bit strange to see him like this without any notice. She took a deep breath and opened the door.