YOU & ME | JENLISA

Chapter 16

Lisa

"Hey mom, how are you feeling?" I noticed an empty bowl lined with oatmeal on the bedside table, it's been a while since she's eaten anything. This was progress.

"I feel better, not as breathless today." Her words were still a struggle but the wheeze that usually lined her chest was not as audible and suddenly everything I did in that hotel room last night was worth it.

I tipped another pill from the canister and handed it to her with a fresh glass of water. She swallowed it down and smiled with pride at me.

"What?" I asked, unable to keep the smile off my own face. Today my mom wasn't in as much pain, so today was a good day.

"Why haven't you gotten yourself a girlfriend yet?" I laughed, while she coughed but only to clear her throat not her usual uncontrolled coughing fits.

"I don't like girls, they've got cooties." I kicked my shoes off and rested them up on the bottom of her bed. She licked her cracked lips and then took another sip of water.

"Well, you've got to have someone to share your life with, Lisa."

I knew what she was doing. Again with the double meanings. The intense talks without the intensity. She didn't want me to be alone when she died. That's why she brought Bryan back, that's why she talked about me finding a girlfriend, that's why she likes Bambam as my friend, even though he's not the greatest influence. I clenched my jaw.

"Mom, I don't need a girlfriend, you're the only woman that matters in my life." I winked at her but she didn't even smile. She seemed disappointed in my answer. She didn't know what the town thought of me. What everybody in school thinks of me. She didn't know that fathers tell their daughters to stay away from me and they listen because they're scared. She hasn't left her bedroom in four months.

My mom knew that I had been accused of rape but only because the officers forced their way into the trailer and arrested me in front of her. She never once asked me if I did it, she just told me that she knew I would never. Then she assumed everybody in this town would know as well because to her, I was this brightly shining star that people couldn't help but love and adore.

"There must be someone that you've got a twinkle in your eye for." She prodded, while pausing mid-sentence to refill her lungs.

"I don't know... I guess the sheriff's daughter is kind of cute. But she doesn't like me, so it's not worth pursuing."

My mom coughed some more, using her upper body strength to get out the dryness of her cough. "Don't worry Lisa, if two people are meant to be, they'll always find their way to one another eventually."

I scoffed. "That's beautiful slop mom." I teased.

"I'm going to find my way to Marco soon." My smile faded. "It's okay. When I go, that's who I'll be looking for and I'll find him because we're meant to be, even in death." I nodded sadly but couldn't muster the strength to form a worded reply. I hated thinking about her dying.

My phone jingled against my thigh and when I pulled it out of my jeans, Bambam had sent me a text stating 'outside.' I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my mom's forehead. "I'll leave you to get some sleep mom, I'll be right outside if you need me." She smiled softly and waved me off with her hand.

Bambam sat in the centre of the trailer park, in an abandoned shopping cart. He put his two hands into the air and shouted 'hooyyahhh' the second I stepped out. I laughed and ran up to him, grabbing the handle and spinning him around until one of the broken wheels fell off and the whole thing tipped to the floor.

"Got something for ya dude!"

I fished a cigarette out from my back pocket and lit it up. He threw me a plastic wallet with an at-home swabbing kit inside. By now, we were used to the swabbing kits and getting medically tested. They wanted a swab sample around my urethra and a urine sample to check for any STDs. These get sent off to the overnight clinic and results will be texted to me within a few hours. I also have to do a finger prick blood test, just to check that I didn't pick up HIV or AIDS. I'm always careful, contraception-wise but in my line of work, you can't be too sloppy, so being regularly tested just makes sense.

"I'll drop your samples off on my way home if you do them now. You can jump right back on that horse tomorrow night. Neighhh!" he motioned a spanking action with his hands and then chuckled to himself.

"God, I hate it."

"It's money though, isn't it?" He made a popping sound with his lips. It was a habit of his, he pops his lips a hell lot. I handed Bambam the cigarette so he could take a puff while I took the kit into my trailer.

I bagged up the shit and washed my hands after I was done. I quickly took a peek into my mom's room, she was sleeping soundly so I lowered the lights and went back out to Bambam. He wasn't sitting on the fallen shopping cart anymore. I threw the plastic pocket down on the deckchair and looked across towards the other trailers.

My ears tuned into the sound of Jennie's voice and then I noticed Bambam standing over her. She was small compared to him, he was a giant. His tanned skin almost camouflaged him into the night but his red tracksuit made him stand out like an unwanted zit. He was trying to take her money. Shit.