I'm More Than My Scars

You Can't Ignore It

I sat next to her on the couch and rubbed her back gently. She turned to look at me, but shook her head and stood up. I watched her walk down the hall and into her room. My mom slammed the door behind her and left me in silence. I laced my fingers together and squeezed my eyes shut. Quickly making up my mind, I jogged downstairs and into my car. After it purred to life I threw it in reverse and sped out of the driveway. Thanking God for Bluetooth, I called Chris and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" his voice sounded scruffy.

"Hey babe, I'm on my way to Ohio. My-"

"You're what? We have school tomorrow," he interrupted.

"Listen, my dad's at the Cleveland Clinic and I need to be there for him. I want to make sure he's okay," I immediately thought of my mom. I could see it now: she's lying on her bed, holding herself and sobbing to the tune of Picture by Kid Rock and Cheryl Crow. I pulled over and rested my head on the steering wheel.

"Baby?" Chris' voice comforted me.

"I'm okay. I'll just call the clinic. My mom needs me more right now." I could hear his slow, unsure breathing through the speaker.

"Okay, J. Drive safely. I'll text you later," he said assuringly.

I nodded and replied with, "Bye."

The ride home was quick, but the night was long. I lied awake in bed and waited for my mom's sobs to come to an end, but they never did. I could hear her huffing and coughing. I put a pillow over my face and hummed, in hopes it would block out the noice. I was wrong. I then played Pandora on my phone. I could still hear distant cries, but I ignored them.

The next morning I woke up to the sun glaring through my shades. I shut them, then walked to the kitchen to pour myself some cereal. After adding milk and putting a spoon in my bowl, I walked back to my room. I peeked into my mom's room before I got dressed and noticed that she wasn't there. I checked my sister Jeanie's room and saw her sitting on the edge of her bed. She was rubbing her temple and tossing her phone around in one hand before slamming on the ground. I jumped back in shock and bumped into the shelf my dad had put up on the wall.

"Ouch!" I shrieked. Jeanie quickly looked at me then rolled her eyes.

"That's what you get. Mom texted me and said she needed time alone. She's in Ohio with Uncle Ophe. He also texted me and said that she was in good shape, but not good enough shape to be getting 100 calls and texts from us every day. So, lay off. Okay? Get ready for school, J," I nodded and slid back into my room. I chewed on the inside of my lip while organizing my stuff together. I stepped into a dress, pulled on a cardigan and my black flats, and applied some of my makeup before heading out to my car. I shoved the keys into the ignition and turned them forward. I slowly backed up into the road then turned left onto a smooth, paved road. My phone buzzed twice, meaning I got a text message.

I heard what's going around. Is it true?

It was from Chris. I knew this text was coming, but I didn't know how to tell him. Of course it wasn't true. I just didn't know if he'd believe me or not. I looked back at the road and saw a green truck headed straight for me. I swerved to the right to dodge the truck speeding towards me and...

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I know it's a bit of a cliff hanger but eeeek! I'm so excited for where this story is going. What do you think will happen???
~QueenOfDispair~