Daddy Issues (Edited Version)

Mom

So I lowkey hate the og book. It makes no sense and I decided to re-write it. I ended up going in a different direction in this book than the other one. Some of it is similar but not everything's the same. 

***

I hiss in pain as my mom slaps me one last time. " This shit better be cleaned up before I come home tonight. " Mom warns while dragging her drunk boyfriend outside of the trailer. 

I blink away some tears as I begin picking up shards of glass. 

" Gabbie? Are you okay? " A small voice asks from down the hallway. My younger brother Chase walks into the room with big eyes. " Did mama hit you again? " 

I give him a forced smile. " Hey buddy, I'm okay. Just go back to the room alright. I gotta clean this up. " 

The entire room is trashed from the party my mom had last night.

" I can help! " Chase starts gathering a bunch of red solo cups. Stains of different colors cover our old carpet. I don't know what half of them are and I really don't want to know. 

Last night was horrible. People kept trying to come in our room. Probably to have sex or I don't know. Someone tried to grab me when I went out to get Chase a snack. We ended up having to barricade ourselves in our small room. The last thing I wanted was for Chase to see what was going on outside. 

" Don't come over here. " I mutter while trying to keep him away from the glass. 

" When is momma coming home? " I'll never understand Chases' love for our mother. She's done nothing for him. Ever since he was born I've taken care of him. Our mother doesn't give a shit about is. Neither does my dad. He left me here with her for a reason. Obviously he doesn't care. 

Chases' dad has an excuse. He died a couple of years ago. He was a decent dude I guess. When he wasn't hopped up on heroin he'd sometimes take us to go eat or to the park. He's the closest I've ever had to a father. 

We end up cleaning for a little over half an hour before Chase starts to get bored. 

" Gabbie can I go play with Tommy? " Chase asks while looking at the door. 

" Sure. Just be back by 3 okay? " Tommy's our next door neighbor's kid.

" Yay! Love you Gabbie! Bye! " Chase runs out of the house without a second glance. 

***

The night was fine. Mom didn't end up coming back and things were peaceful for the first time in weeks. 

I wake up at the sound of someone banging on the door. 

" Gabbie? " Chase mumbles tiredly. " Who's that? Mommy? " 

" I'm not sure, buddy. I'll go check. Stay here. " 

There's no way that's mom. She would've just broken a window if she forgot her key. She's fucking insane. 

I glance through the peep hole and I'm met with a bright light. 

" Kathy Jones! Open the door! We have a warrent for your arrest. This is the police. " A man shouts from the other side of the door. 

Fuck fuck fuck. 

The cops are here. 

I rush back to my bedroom where Chase is huddled in the corner in fear. 

If the cops find us they'll split us up. Mom says the cops are bad. She says they'll take us away from each other. I can't let that happen! 

I hear a loud crash from the front of the trailer. I quietly lock the bedroom door as I make my way towards Chase. " Come here Chase we have to go. " I grab his stuffed dog and make my way over to the window. I slide it open and gesture for Chase to come over to me. " Chase! " I panick. 

The sound of heavy feet makes their way towards us. 

" No! I'm scared Gabbie! " Chase sobs loudly. 

" Who's in there! " The same man from before asks. 

Fuck I can't get him out of here. 

" We're kids! We're just kids. " I rush to Chase. I hold him closely as the door knob jiggles. 

" Brady there's kids in here. " The man mumbles to someone. " Look kid, we're not gonna hurt you. We're looking for your mom and dad. " 

" He's not my dad. Jedd's just a fucking loser she hooks up with. " I huff. 

" Just open the door. It's okay. " The man says in a softer tone. " How many of you are in there? " 

I don't know what to do. " Just me and my brother. Please don't hurt us. " 

" We won't. I promise. We want to help you. Just please open the door. " 

I glance down at Chase who's buried his head into my chest. " It's gonna be okay, Chase. It's gonna be okay. " 

I make my way to the door and unlock it. It has to be okay. 

***

" Do you know where your mother could be? " Miss Bell, the social worker the cops called asks. 

Chase's head rests softly on my shoulder. It's been an hour since the cops busted into our trailer. They ended up calling Miss Bell to talk to us. I don't trust her but at this point I don't have any other choice. I can't run. 

" I don't know. " I sigh. " Maybe the bar? My mom goes literally everywhere. She could be in France by now. She doesn't tell me anything. I don't know where she is. " 

Miss Bell nods. " Okay. That's okay. "

" Why are you guys looking for her? " I ask the cops nearby. 

The man from before, Officer Haddish speaks up. " Well, we have reason to believe that your mom may have been involved in a robbery down town. "

Well she's in for it this time. 

" I know this is hard for you, Gabriella. But we need to know if you have any other relatives. You need someone to stay with. You guys can't be alone. " Miss Bell sighs. 

" I don't know. It's always been just mom, Chase and I. I don't know anyone else. " I hold Chase a little tighter. " Are we going to be split up? Can you please keep us together? Please? Chase needs me. I need him. " 

Miss Bell nods. " We're going to try our best to keep you guys together. For tonight we're going to take you to a hospital and get you checked out. " She gestures to a bruise on my arm. " Has your mom ever hit you? " 

I don't speak. I can't rat on mom. If she finds out she'll literally kill me. I have to be here for Chase. 

" I know it's hard to talk about but we need to know. Your mom can't hurt you anymore. " Miss Bell says sympathetically. 

I shake my head. " You don't know anything. My mom's never hurt me. She's fine, okay? " I growl. 

Miss Bell looks over at Officer Haddish in disbelief. " Alright. Let's get you to the hospital, yeah? " 

Fucking mom. She always screws stuff up.