late night wishes

narrator-before the call(naomi)

"Mother! Why won't you listen to me?" Naomi yells at her mother. "I'm trying to help you!"

"You know nothing about love, that's why!" Her mother screams back.

Naomi gasps, "then I'm just using my own knowledge of it! Also, you really need to listen!"

"Naomi, you need to go to your room! Now!" Her mother scolds.

"Mother, you need to go to the police! Now!" Naomi mocks.

"Why on Earth would I go to the cops?" Her mother asks. "To report that my daughter is being rude?"

"To report that shit head boyfriend, Luke! You know, the one that's dating you for the housing and money? You know, the one that beats you!" Naomi's voice quickly filled with sudden anger and hatred. "You need to leave him! I don't care that he says he loves you when he's sober! I care that he calls you a whore when his whiskey tells him to!"

"He loves me! I love him!" Her mother replies.

"Who do love more?" Naomi's voice softens, her head drops. "Him or me?"

"Do you even need to ask that?" Her mother seems shocked.

"Well, you never listen to me. You love a man that doesn't let you go to the pool or wear short sleeves. Yes, I seem to have to." Naomi mutters, looking away from her mother. "He's gonna be home any minute now, drunk and itching to hit something, someone."

"I can't believe your telling me this, Naomi!" Her mother's voice escalates. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't like him before! Before I loved him!"

"I've been telling you this for five years. I've hated him ever since that time he got drunk before even getting to the Super Bowl party. You don't listen to me." Naomi's voice comes to just above a whisper.

"Maybe it's because you have a problem with lying! Maybe because you can't trust me to make choices for myself! Maybe because you've been the worst daughter imaginable! With your stupid music! With your stupid hair! With your stupid 'insomnia'!" Her mother screams.

Tears start streaming down Naomi's face faster than gold sinking. Her eyes go red and glossy, her breathing goes heavy. "Bye." Naomi whispers and heads towards the door, gripping her phone tightly in her right hand. She quietly opens and closes the door, not wanting to make a scene. Her mother continues to yell from the closed door, but refuses to go grab Naomi. She demands that Naomi come back, Naomi knows she can't. Naomi keeps walking, walking, walking. She walks past her best friend's home, where the light is lit in her bedroom. She walks past her old school, where there are a group of teenage girls playing Truth or Dare. She walks past her current school, where she sees her nail polish staining a pure white pole. She finally gets to a park. A park that she goes to all too often. When Luke comes to her home, drunk. When her mother yells and yells and yells...

Her tears blotch her cheeks as she takes a gentle seat below the large willow tree in the center of park. The bench where she engraved her initials in Freshman year. Her hand shakes as she pulls up Eric's contact. "Does he even care?" She asks herself. She takes a shaky breath and dials his number.

Ring.

Ring.

"Are you awake?" She asks, speaking with a shaky voice into the microphone

"I wouldn't have answered your call if I wasn't." Eric chuckles, but stops noticing how Naomi sounded.

"Can you meet me?" Her breaths were short and quick.

"Park?"

"Park."

3.14.16

Wow, I really love this book so far! Comment? Vote?

-glo