Boy Interrupted

➵7

Chris

           "Why don't you ever like talking about my father?" I questioned suddenly. My mother and I were in the middle of dinner, and that had been the first thing on my mind. "You never talk about him. You never told me what happened to him, or even showed me a picture."

"Christopher, I'm not going to have this conversation with you right now." She continued to sip on her wine, and the look in her eyes insisted that she was a little nervous.

"You never wanna have this conversation!" I yelled. I slammed my fork down on the table.

"You have no room to be saying anything about anything. What were you doing with that girl the other night?"

"She has a name, and it's Jade."

"I don't give a rat's ass what her name is! You stay away from her, you hear me!"

I felt a sudden rush of anger come over me, I picked up my plate still filled with food and threw it at the wall. I didn't even realize I was throwing chairs, and cups. I even flipped the table over.

"Chris, baby stop it! I'm sorry!" She pulled me in for a hug. She then pulled back and kissed me on my lips. Something she did often.

Without saying anything else, I went into my room and shut the door. I stared at the wall for a few seconds before finally sliding down my door. I felt my eyes well up with tears, which eventually began to fall. "Just 9 more months." I whispered to myself.

I put my head up when I heard footsteps stop at my door. "I'm going to work baby, I love you." She said. Once I heard her footsteps moving away from my door, I got up and wiped my tears.

My mother was a stripper. She said that's the only way she knows how to make money, and fast. I didn't question her about it though, never even bought it up. I loved my mom, you know she's all I got. And I know she just tries to keep me safe. I think.

After my mother left I went into her room to go snooping for some snacks, she always hides them. She said she doesn't want me eating that crap. I looked through her top drawer but I found nothing but some of her work attire.

It wasn't until I stubbed my foot on something underneath her bed. I lifted up the blanket only to see a small safe sitting there. It had a combination lock, and there was nothing around it that indicated a password. It was too small to contain snacks, so I dropped the blanket and continued to look around.

          It was 2:32 am when I woke up from my nap. This is basically what I did everyday. Eat, watch TV, go outside, and sleep. I truly hated my school with a burning passion, but I'd rather be there then here right now. I noticed that there was light coming from my blinds. I peeked out of them which revealed Jade in her same spot. Sprawled out on her pink and blue flowered towel. Magazine in her face. I smiled at the sight of her. Even though I haven't been talking to her, the thought of her consumed most of the space in my brain.

It was a mistake for me to tell her that I liked her. Don't get me wrong, I do. I just shouldn't have let it out like that.
I watched her a little more as she kept twisting and turning with her magazine in her hand. How could someone like her be interested in someone like me? It was still unbelievable.

I shut the blinds and went about my business. I began thinking about the argument my mother and I had earlier, and I began thinking about my father again.

I just wanna know what he did so bad that my mother doesn't want to speak of him. It isn't fair to me. I can't even picture what he was like because I have absolutely no background information.

There just has to be something around here that she has of him. A letter. A picture. Something.

I then thought about the safe I bumped into a little earlier...