Back To You

Closet

Hiraeth Davenport

"You can't just clean out the storage room, Dad." I followed my father down the stairs.

"Why not?" He asked. Clearly, there was nothing I could say to stop it from happening.

"Because it has very valuable things in there," I claimed. "Like all the photos and things that you don't want to remember, but I do."

My father sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Hiraeth it's time those old things go. There is no purpose for them anymore."

"Says who Angela?" I asked snarkily, getting in front of him so he couldn't go anywhere.

"Says me." He crossed his arms. He tried to move past me but I wasn't budging. He wasn't going to push me... surely.

"You're a liar." I accused.

"Do not call me a liar." He said in a cold and harsh tone.

I rolled my eyes and threw up my arms. "Excuse my language, Father. You're a fibber."

"You are stressing me out, Hiraeth! Either help clean the storage room or go!" He yelled.

I could feel my tears brimming. "I can't believe you. You just want to get rid of her." I pushed through my father to run to my room. I couldn't make it to my doorstep before I started sobbing.

There was a knock on my door before the door opened. "Are you okay?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah, I am perfectly fine." I wiped my eyes.

"You don't sound fine." She sat on my bed, next to me. "Talk to me, Kid."

"We are practically the same age." Jamie was eighteen, while I was seventeen turning eighteen. I sighed before telling Jamie what the problem was. "Your mom convinced my father to clean out the storage room."

"The problem?"

"You wouldn't understand." I shrugged.

"Tell me." Jamie patted my head. I swatted her hand away from me and she laughed.

"The storage room is where my dad keeps all the memories of my mother. All the photos she took, the perfumes she collected, the letters she received from various pen pals. He kept all of it, but he couldn't bear to look at it so he placed it in one little room." My voice shook while I spoke. I was on the verge of tears again.

"And now my mom wants to clean out the area," Jamie murmured. I nodded.

"I understand it must be hard for you and your mom to adjust here, especially since things like parking spots and shit are established but... I don't want anything to change." I sniffled.

"I totally get why you're upset," Jamie said. "I wish I could stop my mother from messing with your mom's stuff."

"There's nothing you can do. Angela's a conniving bitch." I mumbled. "Sorry."

"I understand where you're coming from." Jamie shrugged and stood up.

I laughed. "At least tell me something good about your mom. So I won't dislike her so much."

Jamie waited a while, thinking of what to say. "She throws the best birthday parties."

"That's it?" I raised an eyebrow.

Jamie nodded. "Honestly Hiraeth, you've had more interactions with my mother than I have lately. When's the last time you've seen me talking to her?"

I thought about it. It was rare I saw Jamie talking to her mom without one or two-word responses. She was even more talkative with my father. "What'd she do?"

Jamie snorted. "Other than uprooting my whole life, forcing me to move in with strangers and go to a whole other school... just because she found love with a man she'd known for three weeks? Nothing."

"Damn." I never thought about how hard it must've been from Jamie's perspective. She had to move completely just so she could come here. She didn't know anyone.

"Damn." She nodded with a sigh. "I'm in the mood to put a pause on my problems. Would you like to come with me to visit a friend?" I nodded.

Malakai Davis

I kicked my feet up on the couch and blinked a couple of times. "Man I am so bored, you know what would be great..."

"It was 'no' fifteen minutes ago, and it's 'no' now, Kai." Oscar, the pleasant man who provided me with weed, said.

"Fine." I huffed.

"How's the therapy going?" Oscar's aunt was my therapist. They didn't actually talk or anything, due to him being disowned by his entire family.

But he was the one who convinced me to try therapy in the first place. Apparently, the behaviors I displayed were concerning enough for a drug dealer to be worried.

"It's fine, I go every Tuesday. I've had five sessions so far." I told him. I looked at Oscar who was setting some cookies in a bag. He was probably getting ready to sell some edibles to a client.

I was jealous.

Oscar would rather sell edibles to a, probably new, client than give them to me. A very loyal three-year client. I found it unfair I was only given rations to last me for a week.

He wouldn't even sell me anything more than three blunts. I could smoke more than three blunts in a day and he knew that.

"Who's that for?" I asked nosily.

"Not you, chica." Oscar flashed me a toothy smile and I groaned, looking back to the ceiling.

"Oscar I'm really stressed right now," I complained. Sundays were always terrible days. I would be stuck in the house with my mom and Christian until it was time to go to work. Then my shift would drag on very slowly.

However, this Sunday proved to be extraordinarily stressful. I woke up with an extreme hangover, laying on the couch in some random frat house.

On Saturday Claire invited me to a fraternity party during which I got belligerently drunk. Then at three in the morning, I had to get a ride to the strip club so I could get my car and drive myself home.

When I got home I walked in on Christian and my mother arguing. Like the good daughter I was I stopped it before he put his hands on her again. Yet somehow I ended up kicked out and on my plug's couch.

"You're stressed all the time, fool. Try dealing with the stress while sober. It's healthy for you." He said.

There was a knock on the door and Oscar opened it revealing Hiraeth and one of her friends. "Sorry, I'm late. Family things." Jamie came into the apartment with Hiraeth following behind her timidly.

"Hi, Malakai." She gave me a small wave. She clearly hadn't been here before.

"That's for you?" I pointed to the cookies.

"For her." Hiraeth pointed to Jamie, who was pulling out some money.

"You know this pothead?" Oscar asked Hiraeth.

"Yeah, she's my classmate." Hiraeth scratched her arm awkwardly.

Oscar handed Jamie the cookies in exchange for the money. "Thank you." He grinned.

"No problem." Jamie looked to Hiraeth. "We have an extra cookie..." Jamie shot me a quick glance.

Hiraeth turned to me with a hopeful expression. "Would you like to hang out with us?"

"Aw hell no." Oscar groaned.

"Of course," I jumped up. "Bye Oscar." I kissed Oscar on the cheek before I darted out of the door. I didn't want to give him the chance to convince Jamie not to give me anything.

"Keep your lips off of me." He flipped me off.

"Don't be bitter." I rolled my eyes.

"She does not get more than half a cookie!" Oscar told Jamie as she joined my side.

"Noted." She laughed. "Come on guys, we're walking to Wynn's house."