The Adolescence Of Addiline

Chapter 10: Think

I wake up in a pool of sweat, my nightmares get the best of me. I walk to the bathroom too splash my face with cold water.

The air conditioning hits my face and I get goosebumps, but the sun from the window warms me up. I look out to see 2 bluejays standing perched on a tree singing too each other, even though it's it's the crack of dawn. It makes me think of Abner. He used to chase bluejays when we walked in the woods. I couldn't imagine what must have happened to him when he helped me get away and frankly I didn't want to know. A tear fell down my cheek and I let it fall. I couldn't wipe it off, it was the only one that I meant.
*

Breakfast is laid out on the table. There is an array of French toast, hash browns, eggs and bacon. We grab our plates and throw everything on them.
"This was my families favorite meal" she says "Breakfast?" She looks at me and gives me a smiling laugh "No, this was our favorite meal of the day because when we woke up we couldn't help but look at each others yawning faces and smile. That's the time of day where we all had the chance to come to together and be one big happy family" I look at her, we make eye contact but only for a brief second before she put her head back down.

Just then I could see the grief in her eyes but I have seen this look to many times and to be honest I can't stand it anymore. She is hurt but so am I. All I am doing is giving her another problem to deal with.

I now know that my presence takes her back and I don't want her to grief any longer.

I wash my plate and slowly walk back to my room. I know I can't stay here too much longer but I really want to. I look at my diary and flip to the very last page, it's Mrs. Jolene's number. I pick up the telephone on the side of my desk but I suddenly stop and there she is at the head of my door.

"Would you like to go hunting with me?" She asks me "I haven't gone in a while and it looks like you need to get out of the house" I spin around in my chair  and give her a nodding yes.

**

The woods are quiet for one second and then bursting with sounds the next, It begins to sprinkle rain but we just slip on our water tight jackets. We walk slowly but surely and listen to our feet crunch the forest floor. I pick up one of the leaves that fell from the aspen trees and lined along the stem of the leaf I see dew drops carefully weaved into a web of shiny silk, I admire it for a minute.

I look ahead of me and there she stands with her trucker hat and shot gun. Her facial expression looks about as dead as the squirrel she shot but I guess that's what it does to you after a while.

We walk for a few more hours and by the time the sun starts to fall she has half of her bag full of prizes that she shot down and collected.

"Why do you shoot em?" I asked, she looks back at me and laughs a little. "To eat them!" My face cringes up and the words BLEH come out of my mouth in disgust. "Ew....." She laughs a bit more. "What do you think was in the stew I made a couple nights ago?" she asked, I felt like throwing up. I mean yeah it was delicious but the thought of eating raccoon and squirrel was disgusting. We began our descend home. It started raining even harder and soon the rain turned into snow. Soon I was covered in a thin layer of it but my feet felt like falling off.
***

She makes a fire which sits nicely in her pit against the wall. I sit right up close and throw off my shoes and my feet finally start to warm up like the rest of my body.

I walk back to my room and sitting there is the phone and the number right where I left it. Today was fun but I still feel broken. I typed in her number and put the brick up to my face.

I get the 'Hello Operator' speech and it finally gets through to her.

"Hello, this is Katherine Jolene may I help you?" Just hearing her voice brings a smile to my depressed and dirt covered face. "Mrs. Jolene!!" I scream into the phone "Addiline, is that you??" she says surprised "YES!!" " I have been worried sick about you where have you gone my sweet child?"

Our conversation took off from that point on, I told her about everything from Abner to the black neighborhood shack and now here. I told her about how much I missed her and then she asked me about Mrs. Kera, and now I know who I truly miss the most.... Maybe she is the reason I'm broken.