Stake You

Chapter One

Chapter One

It was close to 3am by the time I made it home from work. Only the blaring of the television overshadowed the snores coming from the sofa. The neighbours would probably complain again. I turned off the telly and gazed at my mother, waiting to see if she would wake. She didn’t, not even when I brushed her grey-speckled fringe out of her eyes. I covered her with a blanket, set the timer on the heating so I could shower early in the morning, and headed straight into my room to fall into bed, ignoring the state of the kitchen. Cleaning up her mess would have to wait. My feet ached too much to do anything but lay down.

My makeup could stay on and give me spots for all I cared; work had been crazy, and I was worn out. An unpredictably busy Thursday in the bar with a predictably sleazy bartender who slapped my arse every time the manager wasn’t looking wasn’t exactly a recipe for a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed version of me.

Despite my exhaustion, I didn’t fall asleep for an hour. Too many calculations in my head. What loan could I chip away at with my tips? What bill would be cleared for another month with my wage? Eventually, I dozed off, but three hours sleep just didn’t cut it anymore.

Back up at seven, with a fuzzy head and a mouth tasting like sour milk, I jumped into the shower before facing the mess and the prospect of another day at school.  I savoured the hot water for about thirty seconds before it went ice cold.

“Mam!” I screamed, knowing I wouldn’t get a reply. I showered as quickly as humanly possible, cursing the thickness of my hair under the icy blast of water. After my shower, I got ready quickly, deciding my mop of a hairstyle could air dry, and headed into the sitting room.

Still snoring on the sofa, Mam lay there with her mouth wide open, a particularly unladylike glob of drool glistening on her chin. I checked the kitchen taps, finding the hot one running. As freaking always.

“Unbelievable,” I muttered, deciding breakfast was a no-go when I saw what was actually in the sink. I didn’t know what the hell she had been trying to make, but the way globs of black, congealed… mess had stuck to every single pot and pan we owned, we were obviously lucky she hadn’t set the house on fire.

I threw my hair up into a messy bun, grabbed my bag, and kissed Mam on the forehead before I left, but she didn’t stir. Not that I expected her to. I had already spotted the empty bottle in the bin. She would be out until late afternoon, if I was lucky. Less time for her to try and cook.

But as I prepared to close the door behind me, a softly spoken voice made me turn back.

“Dev?”

“Need something, Mam?”

“No, I… I made a mess, Devlin.”

“It’s fine. I’ll sort it out after school.”

“You’re a great girl.”

“Go back to sleep,” I said softly, leaning over to brush her fringe out of her eyes again. She ran the back of her hand across her chin to wipe away the drool. She gave me a rare childlike smile before conking back out again, and all of the grumpy morning anger I felt toward her dissipated. I could never stay mad at her. I loved her too fiercely.

I walked to school to save the bus fare for an energy drink and a breakfast bar. If I was going to skip lunch, I needed something to keep me going throughout the day. The late shifts in the bar were worth it for the tips, but they had led to an unholy addiction to energy drinks just to keep my eyes open in class.

I was one of the first into school, but I planned it that way. I had learned the hard way that the only time I could get any homework done was in school before anyone else turned up. Sitting in front of my locker, I made the most of the peace and quiet and scrambled to get as much done as possible. All of the classrooms were still locked, and a couple of bemused teachers nodded at me as they passed me by on their way to the staffroom.