Long Lost Crazy

Chapter 1

          I woke up to the smell of something burning and mom outside my door talking to dad.

         Not my real dad though, a house plant, a green fern.
         
          I jumped out of bed, flung the door open, and raced downstairs to make sure that Mom didn't burn down the house. As I ran down the ugly brown stairs, pass the empty wall that in another life would hold beautiful priceless memories, I face planted on the slippery tile at the bottom.
        
          That will bruise. I thought.

          I quickly got up feeling my aching bones protest, they hadn't really woken up yet.

          I made my way to the kitchen, which hadn't been updated since the seventies at least. It had hideous yellow cupboards with the same slippery tile where I face planted. The sink was a 'lovely' puke green color, I don't know how someone had thought that the shade of yellow and green go together but we don't have the money.

           With mom going nut balls and dad having no balls, this is all we are left with.

          I found the stove on with a pan on it. The pan contained an unrecognizable, black, smoking substance that looked like it might have been a sad attempt at pancake. I quickly turned the burner off and put the scalding pan in the sink. It fizzed and popped as the scale ding hot pan hit the cool, wet sink. Steam rose in the air forming a small cloud.

          By then mom had come downstairs, gave me the most pitiful look and asked me why I had ruined breakfast.
         
          "It was already ruined mom, it was about to go up in flames." I said gently.

           Mom looked like she was about to cry, her nose was turning red, and her lip was starting to quiver. I quickly hugged her and let her weep into my shoulder over the botched breakfast.
         
          When she had finally finished crying I wiped off her tears and tenderly lead her up the appalling stairs to help her get dressed. She muttered a quick hello to the plant that stood guard outside my bedroom as we passed. She then proceeded to argue with the plant at the end of the hall, who she had named Henry. She was very angry with Henry this morning.
         
          I eventually got her into her bedroom and into some clothes other than pajamas, a comfy sweat-shirt, sweat pants combo.

          Her room was a mess since I didn't have time to clean it this weekend and she was to loco to do it her self. I lead mom into her favorite chair next to a small flowering plant named Alice.
        
          I swiftly ran back to my room, which was also a mess. The blinds were pulled, so it was really dark and piles of clothes were scattered amongst the room, I was just too lazy to put them in my tiny dresser. The clock read 7:42.

           I'm going to be late for my shift at the diner. I pulled up my jeans and grabbed the first clean shirt, a wrinkled nirvana shirt. I pushed my hair into a bun not bothering to shower, I smelled fine, and showering would consist of standing under water for a few minutes rubbing  myself and I don't have time.

           Mom was still sitting with Alice where I left her, chatting it up.
           
         "Mom, can you do something for me? Be good today, please!" I asked her. She just nodded and continued to talk to Alice about what a great cook she was. I put on one of her favorite SpongeBob episodes to keep her entertained while I was gone. I walked out the door, the smell of stale smoke still lingering in the air.

•••

At the diner I was rushing to fill all the orders. Why do people even like breakfast? I don't.
         
          "Hello, welcome to Sal's Place can I take your order?" I asked looking up from my notepad to a table of giggling high school girls that smelled of sickly sweet flowers and makeup. I hope I there isn't any trouble this morning, the girls looked like they were straight out of the movie mean girls. Regina was sitting in the chair farthest from me. She smirked at me.
         
            "Um.. I'll have the vegetarian egg sandwich, egg on the side." She enunciated each syllable. All of her minions nodded "with a cup of earl gray tea."
         
          "OK!" I turned to the next girl, "you?"
         
           "Same" she said meekly, hiding behind her red hair. The next girl wanted the same as well.

•••

When I brought the girls their food they all smiled politely, a complete 360 from when I was here a while ago. I carefully set down the food and scurried away to another table, where I found a gracious tip, I smiled at the old couple who where now leaving for the money that they left me.

•••

By the end of my shift I had made over 70 dollars in tips, it was a good day and I had worked two shifts in a row.
It was now 4pm, I need to get back to mom and make sure nothing was broken. I'm really worried about her, I can't take care of her for the rest of my life like I have been doing, I finished high school last year but I want to start taking college classes as soon as possible, I had already missed the spring enrollment dead line. I wish we could afford a nice treatment facility for her, she really needs the help. She really is a great person, she is just sick.

          She wasn't always like this when I was little she was depressed but she wasn't crazy. She got even more depressed as the years went by, she wouldn't go to the doctor, no matter how many times I begged her to, she insisted we didn't have the money. Then one day she started buying plants and it all went down hill from there.

          As I drove home I thought about how she talked about dad all the time before, she talked about him almost nonstop and somehow I knew almost nothing about him. His name is Nick Conley and he broke her heart when he met another woman, then left before he knew I existed. I don't blame him but we really need help. I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. There's a chance it the number is disconnected, it's older than me, he could've changed his number. All these years I've been too prideful to call him and mom didn't even know I had his number. I put my phone away deciding not to call.

          When I got home mom was asleep on her chair, she probably hadn't moved all day.

           I made us both a late lunch, frozen peas and left-over ham. I brought hers to her and gently called for her to wake up, when she didn't, I set down the tray to shake her awake. When she still didn't I realized she wasn't breathing.

•••

hey! im abby. im not a great writer but with ur help I can be!! Please leave commentts to help me get better❤️