Washout

Consequences

"Joey!" Theresa called. She was at the end of her patience.
"Get your shoes on and let's go!" She'd been calling for at least 5 minutes now. She knew the kid was little, only 4 years old, but still. Didn't he realize they were in a hurry?
It was around this time that she realized she didn't have her car keys. "Argh!" She cried in exasperation, throwing down her bag and searching around on the kitchen table.
"Mom?" Norman, her 7 year old son, watched her nervously from the doorway.
"Can you go get your brother?!" She screamed over the sound of the garbage truck outside.
Norman hesitated. "Well? What are you waiting for?!" Theresa yelled. The boy scampered from the room.
Theresa groaned. She hated having to be strict with her kids. She knew it wasn't their fault that the electric bill was due, or that the roof leaked, or that the land lord had passed the no pet rule for their building.
Her kids hadn't had anything to do with any of that. They were just victim to circumstance, both of them. It wasn't their fault that daddy had met that fat ass blonde waitress with the big tits and had decided that she'd suit him better than mommy.
It wasn't their fault that daddy and his sex toy had moved to the next town over after the divorce.Theresa had agreed to joint custody, as long as Bob paid his half of the support payments.
But of course her ex husband had chosen this time to get laid off, and presumably spent all his unemployment money on booze and whores, because it always seemed to end up on Theresa's shoulders when the monthly bill came.
The original slut, of course, he had married.
No, none of that was Joey or Norm's fault. How could it be?
But it's not my fault either. She thought to herself. I didn't ask for it, oh no. I got it free of charge. A little gift.
She laughed sourly. "Mommy?" Norman was back in the doorway.
"What?" Theresa hissed through gritted teeth.
Norm merely gestured down at Joey, who now stood with him. Not only did the little boy stand barefooted, a dark stain was slowly spreading across his pants.
Joey smiled happily. "Hi mommy." He beamed. Theresa felt her face turn red.
"Joey!" She screeched. "How many times have I told you to use the toilet if you need to go pee! Now look what you've done!" She grabbed him furiously by the arm and yanked him around to see the puddle forming on the floor.
"Look!" She shook him. "Look at this! It smells bad! Gross, yuck!"
"Mommy, mommy! Ow, you're hurtin' me!" Joey had tears in his eyes.
In surprise, Theresa looked down to see her fingers gripping her sons arm.
She let go in shock to see the red marks forming there.
Her sons stared at her with wide eyes, full of fear and apprehension. And Joey, Joey's eyes were filled with pain.
Theresa took a step back. Her hand hit the table, pushing a stack of unpaid bills into the floor. Underneath were her car keys.
"Mommy?" Norm asked in a quivering voice.
Lost your temper.
"Mommy?" Norman shook her arm, his voice fearful.
"Get some ice, Norman." Theresa spoke in a voice that wasn't her's.
"Get some ice, we don't want your brother to get bruises there." She repeated.
After Norman handed her the ice wrapped din a paper towel, she took a tentative step towards Joey.
"Joe?" She asked carefully. Her son held his arm. "Lemme see." She reached for him carefully, and winced when she saw the bruises already forming.
Look at what you've done now. Bruises. Then Social Services. Lost your temper, didn't you?
"There we go." She said in a shaking Voice as she pulled the ice away from his arm.
"Norman, go get Joey's shoes, they're in the upstairs closet. Get some new pants and underwear, too." She instructed, still in her monotone voice.
Lost your temper.
"Hurry!" She called fearfully.
"Is this ok, mommy?" Norman appeared holding sweatpants and 4 year old sized boxers.
"Good." Theresa pulled off Joey's dirty pants and put on the clean ones.
"Ok. Let's go, boys, daddy's waiting."
Daddy's waiting oh what will Daddy say bad mommy bad mommy lost your temper mommy full custody to daddy and the whore oh the irony isn't it bad bad mommy lost your temper lost your temper.
She grabbed her car keys and followed the boys out the door.
The world was blurred, she couldn't see. She heard the engine start and was dimly aware she had turned the key in the ignition.
"Buckle up boys." Had she said that? She couldn't be sure.
And now the car was moving, slowly off the curb and down the street and still the world was blurry, oh so blurry, and was that a stop sign? she didn't know, she couldn't see.
"Daddy will want to see you."
Oh yes daddy will oh he will oh the irony because you lost your temper didn't you didn't you yes oh yes bad bad mommy.
Was she moving fast or slow? She didn't know. Was that a car that honked? Was that Norman saying her name? Go drown? Is that what he was saying? No, he wasn't saying it now, Norman was screaming. Norman screaming at her to "go drown" and Joey crying oh his tears-

Bruises bruises oh yes you'll pay always consequences always consequences-
And then the world was moving too fast and too slow and she couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't-
Lost your temper oh yes yes consequences there's always consequences
Joey was still screaming but she couldn't hear him now couldn't see and so of course she didn't see the pickup truck speeding towards them
SLOW DOWN MOMMY, SLOW DOWN!

SLAM!

And then she did slow down. In fact, she stopped completely.