Traveling Vivian

Chapter SixtyFive - Linlee's Breakdown

Chapter SixtyFive

It was the hottest days in June when I realized Phil was never going to come back, My heart crashed when I looked at Ella. Ella was the exact copy of Phil and he left us for dead. Linlee thought it was best if I actually considered in Calvin but I didn’t want to. Calvin wasn’t the person I wanted.  That person left me. Each day passed as I stared into the window, waiting to see if Phil’s car came by. However, it never did. Every red, sleek, and sporty car drove by, my heart raced but when I peek out, it wasn’t Phil. I closed my eyes and wondered why he left us without even a good explanation. He just deserted me like a gust of wind.

I closed my eyes and held Ella as she slept. She was only two months and at this age, Ella could smile and she talked her baby conversations to me. It melted my heart every time she looked into my eyes and started to smile. Maybe if her dad wasn’t such an ass, she would have actually seen him. It breaks my heart how she will barely see him. I rocked her and then I stood up to put her in the cradle.

“Sleep well, my beautiful babe.” I whispered as I rocked her cradle.

I went back to the sofa and started looking over text books and checking out my assignment. Linlee was snoring away. She came home around eight in the morning and she would gather her stuff to the showers after. I heard her rinse her body off as Calvin got dressed.

Then Calvin would leave and Linlee and I would chat for a while. However this past week, our ritual was changing. Linlee would finish washing herself and she would say morning to both of us and then she would climb in her mini room to sleep.

Since my baby blues were passing by, I was ready to watch my own baby without her help. I guess this made Linlee sleep a bit better. She no longer had to wake up every two hours to rotate schedules. She would just sleep in. However, Linlee wasn’t herself. She slept late and sometimes skipped meals. She ran to the bathroom with her random outbursts of vomiting. I was actually concerned for her.

Today was the usual. It was around noon and Linlee slept. Linlee voluntarily dropped out of school and pursued her stripping game to make money. She slept during the day and woke up around five to get ready. It was noon and usually, I’d wake her up for lunch but she didn’t like that anymore.

I put my textbook down after finishing an essay. I went up to the kitchen and grabbed a can of tomato paste, tomatoes, canned beans, and an abundance of spices. I took out a pot and heated it on. Carefully I slide to the fridge and got out the frozen ham burg.  Placing it in the microwave, I defrosted it and then I added a teaspoon of oil to the pot.

I chopped up some garlic and dropped it inside the pot as Ella and Linlee slept. I decided on making chili because I remembered Linlee saying she was craving it. After the garlic browned, I added the ham burg and let it cook. I toasted some bread as I ate a banana.

Linlee started stirring and I saw she was rising up. She stretched through the translucent curtains and got out of her mini room. She smiled at me and I saw in her hands, she held something white and a piece of paper over it.

“Morning, sunshine.”  I said.

Linlee just smiled but she ran to the bathroom again.

I shook my head and turned back to the stove. I mixed up the beef and then added the bean and tomatoes. I mixed it again and then I heard Linlee crying in the bathroom.

I quickly lowered the heat for the soup and knocked on the bathroom. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

Linlee cried louder and screamed, “It can’t be! It can’t be!”

I raised my eyebrow and knocked on her door. “Open the door!”

“No!” Linlee yelled.

I growled and slammed my fist into the door. “What the fuck! Open it!”