Neriah

3

Jaques

I parked my car in the driveway and saw all the lights were on.

"God please give me strength". Grabbing my stuff from the backseat, I got out the car and made the short trip to the front door.

I grabbed the basketball printed key and stuck it in the front door unlocking it quickly.

"Mom I'm home!"

"Don't try to be cute, you just love to disobey me huh?" She came down the steps with her hair all tied up and a cigarette in between her fingers.

"Ma I'm not in the mood".

"Oh. You think I'm in the mood for you to be disobeying me?" She walked up to me with a look on her face like she was trying to read my mind. "Didn't I tell you not to be out past your curfew?" I put my stuff down and rubbed my hands down my face. "You need your hearing checked?"

"Nah. I don't".

"So why ain't you answerin me when I'm talking to you".

"Because I don't have an answer that you gone like". She took a drag from her cigarette and blew it out in my face.

Don't punch her. Don't do it. You'll go to jail and lose you only chance of leaving this house.

"Well tell me the answer since you think you know every damn thing?" I clenched my first, trying to calm down.

"I was at work".

"Oh Bullshit. Get out my face with that at work shit. Last time you did that you were at work I got a call from the sheriff's office telling me he caught my dumbass son smoking weed with his dumbass friends". I picked my bags up and went upstairs. "Aye get back here, you don't walk out my face when I'm talking to you". I can hear her following behind me but I went into my room and locked the door.

"Open this door dammit!" She beat on the door so hard the frames on the walls shook.

I took my phone from my pocket and the headphones off my nightstand and turned my music up to drown out her craziness.

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