Yellow Roses

Chapter 7: Liz

I wake up groggily to the sound of my alarm going off. I reached around the bed, trying to feel for my phone to shut it off.

The stupid ringtone kept playing. And I couldn't feel it. Fuck, it must have fell on the floor.

I rub my eyes and nearly threw myself over the edge of my bed, feeling around the ground for my phone.

Got it.

I laid in bed for a few minutes, struggling to keep my eyes open. I really should get up and get ready for school, but my bed is too comfy to leave.

Suddenly my phone buzzes. It's Carrie.

Carrie to group: 1 Image Attached

"Not the hickeys... last night was insane. ;)"

I rolled my eyes. Normally I'd be happy for her, but knowing she ditched our plans last night to hang out with her new boy toy instead just rubbed me the wrong way.

Since she sent it to the group chat, I decided to let Ava or Angel respond instead.

I sighed deeply before sitting up and walking to the bathroom. My mom's door is adjacent to it, and for some reason it was wide open.

I decided to peek inside, and noticed she was gone.

Ugh, she always does this, sneaking out in the middle of the night to meet up with some man and do God knows what. Normally she's back by the morning but I guess she decided to stay over and not even let me know.

I head to the toilet and pull out my phone to text her while I pee.

Me: Mom, where the hell are you? At least let me know you're okay.

To my surprise, she called me immediately. I sat up to pull up my pants before answering.

"I'm sorry Liz." She said in a raspy voice. "I am okay. I forgot to tell you I picked up a new part time job during nights at the gas station to bring in some extra money. I get off soon but have plans afterwards. I love you."

I sighed deeply and face palmed before saying "I love you too." And hanging up. I know she's lying. I hate feeling like I am parenting my own mother.

For years now it's only been the two of us. I had a brother named Brett who was addicted to heroin. He passed away 4 years ago from an overdose when I was 13. Since then, neither of us have been the same.

I headed back to my room and sat on my bed while still thinking about my shitty life.

I don't blame him for turning to drugs. Dad was never in the picture and mom was always neglectful. I never had solid proof but I'm sure as shit she pops pills and who knows what the fuck else when she's gone.

She would bring home random men and make us go visit grandma while she "discussed job opportunities". Even as a kid I wasn't that dumb.

I looked down at my phone and noticed I only had 10 minutes left before the bus would arrive. Fuck it, I'm skipping. I'm too upset at Carrie to pretend I'm ok to deal with her, and now I'm feeling as if I'd rather sleep all day instead.

I sighed deeply before lying back in my bed.

I thought a lot about Brett. Normally I'm able to push away the thoughts and laugh the pain away. But my mom hasn't left in the middle of the night like this in so long. It feels like abandonment. Maybe this is how he felt for so long too.

I'm sure he got tired of looking after his little sister, and expected to be the "man" of the house being only 17. That's how old I am now, and I couldn't imagine taking on all the responsibilities she slammed onto him.