The Devil You Know

Chapter 35: Should Have Come

Ma kept driving. We continued driving through the night. All I could think about was my family and Naomi. The look on Jades face would stick in my head for forever. They should have come with. Ma needed them just as much as she needed me. All in all, it broke me. A part of me felt guilty for leaving my little sister and older brother and Naomi. She was almost like a sister.

Ma became really tired so I took the wheel driving in the late night rain. All I could think about was them. This was all Pops fault. If he wasn't a drunk, Ma wouldn't be hurt. If he wasn't a drunk, all of us wouldn't of been beaten. Naomi's grandma hinted to me that she was getting hit too. She never told me and I wasn't sure why. I couldn't fucking help but be so angry because our own father was doing this to her. To all of us. I'd never forgive him for that.

I was starting to become really tired and we stopped at a motel in a shitty small town. We must have been driving for hours. "Ma, come on, let's go get some rest" I spoke softly to her and felt her forehead. She had fever. She needed to rest. I got out of the car, grabbed enough money to pay for one night and got out of the car. I helped Ma out of the car and we went to the motel room. I layed her on the bed and covered her with the blanket provided for us. I layed next to her as she drifted to sleep. I couldn't fall asleep. I stayed awake thay whole night, making sure Ma was okay.

It had been a few months now, we had found a place to stay. Ma was getting more and more sick each day. I didn't know how much longer she was going to make it. We didn't have any insurance so we couldn't pay for doctors or hospital visits. I had gotten a job at a fast food place to try to help out and I'll probably get another job soon. She needed to get medicines to help her.