A Tourist in Mayberry

6/7) Damien Makes Himself at Home

Damien spent the last three hours playing his Xbox. He knew it would be hours before his mom was home, and he absolutely deserved a break from taking care of Sienna. Sometimes he wanted to smack her so badly he literally had to put his hands in his pockets or punch a wall. No hurting her, the mean man said. If you do, you are a dead man. Do you understand? Damien rubbed his missing finger. He understood.

Damn, it was good to be back home and in his own room. His mom had cleaned up the place. He raided the fridge and made himself a sandwich, ate a jar of pickles dripping them all over the cleaned carpet, and drank a 2 liter Dr. Pepper. He was starting to get sleepy. There was plenty of time before his mom got home from work to take a nap. He missed his bed.

Two hours later, it was hard to say who was more surprised to see the other - Damien or his mom with her new boyfriend. Well, that didn't take her long thought Damien. Maybe this was gonna be daddy number four.

"Damien," mom said. "Where in the world have you been, are you ok? Is Sienna with you? Oh my God, I need to call the sheriff."

"Mom, we need to talk," Damien said. "Alone." He gave the boyfriend his best go-to-hell-asshole look, hoping to scare him off.

It worked. The boyfriend left saying he'd call mom later. Damien doubted it.

Damien explained to his mom that Sienna was safe for now, but they were both in danger, and if she told anyone she had seen him, he might get hurt.

"We're staying out Wards Gap way, but I can't tell you where now."

Being a mother, his mom wanted to know what mess Damien was in and who wanted to hurt him. Damien explained he could not tell her a thing, but that he made a deal, and she would have to trust him. Hopefully, in about two weeks, he could come back home, and he would bring Sienna home too.

"What about the baby?" asked Damien's mom. "I heard what people been saying."

Damien started to say there was no baby, but he decided to make this lie one they could use later. "Sienna lost the baby. She didn't carry it long, didn't even get fat, but she is still upset about it. And when she comes home, she don't want to talk about it. She was pretty upset."

Damien knew if he added details to a lie, people were more likely to believe the lie. He added, "She already started buying baby clothes. She just knew it was a girl. She was all tore up about it."

"Oh," said his mom who had been hoping for a girl. "Ok. I'm sorry about the baby, but since y'all are so young, it is probably for the best."

Damien said he needed to get back to Sienna. He told his mom not to tell anyone he'd been there. It was dangerous for him if she told. He showed her his chopped off finger to make his point. He lied for about the tenth time and told her that it was an old man who hurt him, he described Matthew so she could be on the lookout for him.

Damien "borrowed" sixty bucks from her wallet when his mom went to the bathroom. He took the Xbox and said he'd be back soon. Damien said goodbye.

Damien's mom never saw the money, the Xbox, or her son again.