HAPPY HOUR

Shattered Hope.

Don't think. Don't react. Just go with the flow. Taiga's voice repeat the mantra inside her head. Her mother, now siting at the kitchen table was chatting nonstop.

"Oh, my baby. I'm so happy," Mary Sue exclaimed. Once a vision of beauty, she now resembled a cautionary figure from one of those 'drugs are bad' commercials. Her hair, a tangled mix of grease and dry strands, framed a face marked by dull, lifeless skin and a scrawny figure. Her once vibrant green eyes now lacked any spark of vitality. As she spoke, her lips were chapped, and her teeth forever stained, perpetuating the toll her struggles had taken. "It's almost unbelievable, after all this time, that I'm getting a second chance!"

Taiga nodded, stirring eggs on a frying pan. The girl was tense, but trying her best to look relaxed. Her mother had called her to share a late breakfast. A brunch as Mary Sue had put it. Taiga couldn't be more miserable. She was tired from work, drained from months without proper rest and still a little shaken from the last interaction with Philip.

"Things will be different now Mary Ann. We will be a family again." The older was woman trying to evoke a soothing tone, but it only served to give her daughter the wrong kind of chills. " I will be a wife again. And you, my beautiful baby; You will have a father!"

From all the times Taiga was hurted, both fiscally and emotionally, she had come to  believe that there was nothing else she couldn't endure. Oh how wrong she was. "I do have a father." She said coldly.

"Your father is dead; May God bless his soul!" The woman's voice was laced with venom and disdain. She didn't noticed the change on Taiga instance, nor didn't care for how cold the younger sounded. " This is a chance for all of us to do things right."

Taiga placed a single plate of bacon and eggs in from of her mother and served herself a cup of coffee. " I am happy for you Mom. Really." She lied through her teeth.

" You are not going to eat?"

"I already did. You were resting." Another lie. Taiga simply couldn't stomach anything now. The disgust and dread she felt were too oppressing.

" Mary Ann, I know I haven't been the greatest mother. But I love you and I hope we can start over... as a family." Mary Sue holded her daughter hand, looking at the girl with hopefulness. "You will see. I will make everything right again."

Taiga swallow the knot on her throat. She heard it before, she had heard shit like that too many times. " I believe in you Mom." Another painful lie. "Eat before it gets cold." 

As she sipped her coffee, she turned to the sink, resigning herself to the fact that sleep was now out of the question. Instead, she resolved to tackle some work while she had the chance.
Despite the rapid thud of her heart, she felt an overwhelming numbness inside. Philip was nothing more than a despicable presence, a self-appointed king of filth. How could she trust him to safeguard her mother?
He had proposed. And Taiga couldn't help but feel relieved. She hated it, but this shit show would be her way out. Altogether, she also couldn't shake the sensation of failure that consumed her. No amount of effort—rehab, therapy, or faith—had managed to pull Mary Sue back from the edge. Taiga had exhausted every avenue in her quest to save her mother, only to be met with the same heartbreaking outcome each time. Watching her mother spiral deeper into her toxic relationship with Philip had been a torment beyond words. The girl knew that if she played her card right she would be leaving soon.

Taiga had diligently saved up a modest sum in her bank account. Through meticulous planning and relentless hard work, she had managed to accumulate enough to cautiously embark on a fresh start, carefully laying the groundwork for a new life ahead. She could see herself pawning those old world jewelry and getting a ticket out of this fucking planet.

The girl knew that she would only be truly free if she got as far away as she could. She would miss her friends and her work but there was no other way. She had to be strong. She could do this.

"Mary Ann!" Her mother voice called demanding the attention of the distracted girl.

"Sorry Mom. I was lost in my own brain." Her thinking helped her with the heavy core that was cleaning the house. The redhead found herself in the living room carefully discarding the biohazard trash scattered around.

"I was telling you that you don't need to do that alone anymore. I want to help."  Mary Sue unhealthy slim figure was standing in the threshold holding an empt card box.

"Oh ... Sure..." Taiga wasn't expecting it. " You can start by grabbing the glass bottles."  The girl had already used a shoe box to safely dispose of the needles and other drug related parafernália. "I'll have to go to work soon."

"Oh... do you still baby sit for Miss Carter?." 

Miss carter is dead and her soon is starting junior high next year, but of course Mary Sue wouldn't remember it. Taiga took a deep calming breath. "No mom, I work at the gas station near the doc." She lied again. Taiga would never tell where she worked. She simply couldn't risk it.

"Oh Maybe Philip could give you a ride?."

"It's okay mom. I don't want to bother." Taiga felt like she was locked in the embrace of a boa constrictor.

" I am just suggesting it as an opportunity for you two to bond. I am sure he will be happy to take you." Mary Sue was getting a little annoyed with her daughter.

" I already have a ride for today." She lied." But maybe next time..." She offered hoping her mother would forget this conversation just like she seems to forget everything else.  Taiga tied the Trash bag with effort. " I going to put this out and then will take a shower. Do you need anything else?"

"No, no." The woman stopped for a moment, her eyes glossing a little."I've missed it."  She paused a little, tears brimming on her eyes. "I've missed you."

"It's okay Mom." Taiga embraced her mother. Caving in on her childish hope that maybe someday they could be just like mother and daughter again." It is okay."

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Só .. I am back... Kinda... Anyway hope y'all enjoy!!!

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