The day Dad died we lost mum as well. She zoned out she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep. She lost her job which meant we lost all our money, then our belongings until we lost our house. We were put in a tiny 2 bedroom council flat that was filthy and smelt funny. I was 8 so I didn't understand, I cried because my new room which me and Lucas had to share was full of spiders. Mum just walked past me as I sat the dusty carpet sobbing, she looked out the mouldy window and sighed like it was someone else's fault but it wasn't it was hers. That's what Lucas told me that night when he was putting me to bed.
"She looks at me like it's my fault. I'm the one trying to run round after her cleaning up get mess. If I didn't put food in front of her she'd starve, yeah I get that she missed Dad but so do we but we don't walk around emotionless staring and smoking this flat is disgusting and damp as it is without her making stink of smoke as well." He sighed. "Don't worry I'll look after you Lou." He smiled, he gave my hands a friendly squeeze.
He had to look after me and mum he was only 12 and by the time he was 14 he was hardly going to school because he didn't have time to make sure we didn't starve or run out of money and play football in the park. We lived on benefits because Mum wouldn't work. She hardly went out the flat apart from to buy her cigarettes she made Lucas do everything else.She had really changed I hardly recognized her from the Mum I knew when dad was alive. She smoked nearly a packet a day which made her face sink and her skin go yellow and her teeth, she was disgusting. She acted disgusting as well shouting and snarling and she used up all the benefit money on fancy things for her leaving hardly anything for me and Lucas to live off (I missed the days where she didn't say anything at all). So our shirts were too tight and our trousers to short I also ended up only having my school dinner in me most days because they were free but Lucas went somedays with nothing at all. Sometimes I remember things about before it all happened those days felt sunny and happy with smiles all round like the families on TV however we now felt like we were constantly under a raincloud that left us dragging ourselves from one day to another. I think that's why he did it, I think that's why Lucas ran away.
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Teen Fiction"I waited a year for him to come back, he never did." My brother Lucas brought me up because my mum wouldn't, he protect me from her harsh words and sharp slaps but that meant he got the worst of it. When I was 11 Lucas ran away and left me behind h...
