We Went Broke at Midnight | ✔

12 | not he who has much is rich

❝A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.❞
— Jonathan Swift

12 || not he who has much is rich

It was her.

Mom.

All this time she's been in Havendust.

Perhaps she's just visiting for the wedding, but she didn't care enough to see her own daughter and husband? To stop by, and let us know she's okay. Though I'm in the walk-in cooler of the kitchen, and I should be froze about now. I'm not. It's the anger surfing through my body, that prevents me from feeling anything such as the cold.

She doesn't give a damn about me and Dad. Not if she just left.

I'm hugging myself—not because I'm cold. I'm hugging myself, cuz like that thing Dad does when he's stressed (running his fingers through his hair). I'm hugging myself, cuz I need something to hold onto.

I've always felt the longing of my mother's touch and scent. That's what I've been missing for FIVE years. And now that I see her again, I ask myself, does she care? I shake my head, answering my own question. She didn't care when she left. So what makes me think she cares now?

Do I cry? Do I? Do I shed a tear for this woman who's supposed to be there for me, through everything? No, I always do that and I'm not going to do that now. I'm going to show her, that I've done fine without her. And what makes me think I need her now?

The door to the freezer opens.

"You okay?"

I slowly shake my head.

I'm falling apart at the seams, here.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Brolin asks me. He's standing in front of me.

I stare down at my feet, not in the mood to talk to anyone. "You kinda' made a break for it back there. You had me and everyone confused."

He's right. I just ran out. I must've looked ridiculous.

A moment of silence pass.

"A blond woman stopped me on the way here," he adds, and that's when I look up. He spoke to my mom?

I move away from him. It's not his fault that he doesn't know a lot about me. It's not as if we've been playing 20 questions with each other all this time.

"She said she was your Mom." I stiffen at the word "Mom". What did she say to him? Whatever she told him are lies.

"She said that you might be mad at her—"

"SHUT UP!"

It takes a minute for me to realize that was me. I've never heard my voice that loud before, and now that I have I don't know want to think. I'm feeling the anger spilling over. "You don't know me!"

I continue.

"That woman out there," I say pointing to the door, the tears spilling from my eyes. "She left a husband and daughter without a word. She didn't tell us she was leaving. She never told me or Dad she was leaving!"

"My father's gonna be broke, come Midnight," I say bitterly. "We're gonna be homeless, and she's gonna still be happy that she dodged the bullet of staying with me and Dad.

"That woman out there..." I shake my head, and laugh. "She's selfish, and she only cares about herself!"

I'm waiting for him to say something, anything. He probably thinks I'm crazy now though his face isn't portraying anything other than concern and remorse. And I'm pretty positive, my episode puts a stop to our day together. I don't care. I just want to be away from everything and everyone.

I turn around and face the wall, and when a minute pass, that's when I feel arms from behind, slowly wrap around me.

Should I move away from him? He doesn't know, he doesn't understand. He can't possibly know how it feels to miss someone who just left and never said goodbye.

If I wasn't in the state I'm in now, I think I'd hate that he was touching me; trying to comfort me, to say the least.

I'm surprised that the tears on my face haven't froze to my cheeks, like ice crystals. Now the temperature in here is getting to me.

"What kind of house has a walk-in freezer?" I ask Brolin, who chuckles. I'm glad he hasn't said anything, him hugging me is just enough. No words. Just a hug.

I then turn around and hug him back.

"You know," Brolin says after a couple minutes of us standing in silence, hearing each other breathe, and hugging. "What was the kiss for?"

He's talking about the kiss in the street.

I pull away from him. "Let's get out of here."

It's not that he asked about the kiss that's making me want to leave this freezer. It's talking about the kiss in the freezer that seems odd. Not to mention, I'm really starting to feel the temperature in here. I wouldn't be surprised if I got a cold after this.

"Can you open the door?" I ask Brolin. I smile sheepishly. "Me and doors don't click." What I mean, is whenever it comes to opening doors my anxiety acts up cuz I don't know wether to push or pull.

Brolin smiles. "Yeah."

Before he grabs the handle the door opens revealing...

Mom.

"We need to talk," she says.

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