It was the last week of school and the kids could not be more glad. Demi and Haley walked into class laughing their heads off over something stupid they overheard.
The two girls had become the best of friends. They were an inseparable pair.
"Haley, can't we just go to your house." Demi complained when class had ended as they were heading out the school doors.
"I don't want to walk from your place all the way to mine." Demi whined.
It was pretty much routine for them to pick MaeLynne up and go to Demi's place. The only exception was when Demi had dance but since competition season was coming close to an end Demi's schedule had opened up more.
They had only hung out at Haley's house a few times.
"There's nothing to do at my house." Haley said.
It was true, Haley's house was half the size of Demi's and it looked vacant. There were only two rooms. The kids shared one and their mom had the other room.
Haley and Mae kept their room clean. There was not much in their room except for two beds a guitar and a drawer against the door.
The mess laid in their mom's room. Nothing that was brought into her room ever left. There were bags of garbage and liquor bottles littered the floor.
MaeLynne had to spend her days in that room until Haley returned from school. Haley worried everyday for her little sister and went home for lunch duribg school days as often as she could.
Haley couldn't wait for her younger sister to be old enough to go to school. At the same time her heart shattered at the thought of her baby sister growing up.
Haley was off in her own world thinking while Demi was doing the same. She was running her jazz solo over and over again in her head for her recital the next day.
Eventually they reached Haley's home. "Are we gonna hang out here?" Haley asked.
"Actually do you want to come to the dance studio with me." Demi asked. "You can bring Mae."
"What would we do while you dance?" Haley asked.
"I don't have class tonight remember?" Demi chuckled as she reminded Haley. Demi's mom was hesitant to let her hang out with Haley on days she had dance worrying she would have enough energy.
Since Demi's aunt owned the dance studio she would spend hours on the sprung dance floor when there was an open classroom.
Haley unlocked the door with the key that was tucked in her pocket and stepped in while Demi followed behind. They walked in slowly but quickly picked their pace up when they heard crying.
Haley busted into her mom's room to see Mae laying in the bed throwing a tantrum. But where was their mom?
Demi walked over and picked Mae up from the bed. She and Mae had built a close relationship which made Haley really happy.
Haley walked deeper into the room avoiding the garbage on the floor and walked to the en suite bathroom.
She waved at Demi signaling her to leave with Mae. Haley wouldn't havw let Demi come in if she knew that Mae and her mom were yet again in another dispute. Demi had never made it past the living room the couple of times she had been Haley's to pick up Mae.
Haley sighed and closed her eyes preparing for the worst. She then opened her eyes as she gathered strength from her breath and opened the door.
There she was leaning against the wall with a cigarette in her hand blowing off smoke. She turned around at the sound of the door opening.
"Oh what do you want?" She growled at Haley. By the tone of her voice she knew that her mom was drunk. Whenever she drank her voice would drop low and sound raspy.
"Why is Mae crying?" Haley asked.
"How should I know? Ask the kid herself."
"Mom you gotta start calling her by her name." Haley said.
Haley had been the one to name her sister. Her mom couldn't care less and even though Haley was only ten at the time she knew not to give her a silly name like North or Apple. Haley had thought it all through. She found out that her mom was pregnant in May so she incorporated that into the name.
"Whatever." She snarls. Her mom then turns back around continuing to smoke in the washroom.
Haley restrains herself from snapping at her mom and it takes all of her strength to do so.
She remembered her mom's story. She told Haley that Mae was an unplanned baby. She said that Mae's father was a cruel man. Her mom had told her that the man had forced her into bed.
Haley closed the door and left the bathroom. Her emotions were a mess and she felt like they were being tossed in a blender.
The way Haley saw it was that Mae never asked to be born. She didn't deserve to be treated poorly like their mother had been treating her. It was unfair. Especially since she's only two and has no idea why she's being treated that way.
...
Yay it's Demi's birthday!
Don't go feeling bad for the mom yet..
Stay Beautiful!
