Sleep Walking

Chapter 2

My eyes flutter open and its dark and cold in my room. I hear glass break down below and hear a man scream, "GEORGIA DIXIE!" My mother's name. My dad missed her so much, although he was the cause of her leaving.

I look over to my night stand see that it is 4. I don't normally wake up till 6 on school mornings but I knew I wouldnt be able to fall back asleep with my dad crying downstairs.

I get up and get dressed for school. An old pair of blue jeans, a T-shirt from my basket of unfolded laundry, and my boots. I sneak downstairs to try and find some breakfast, instead I see my dad crying, sitting on the bottom step of the stairs. There was no lights on, just a small glow of the setting moon.

I sit down next to him and lay my head on his shoulder, "I miss her too daddy."

"Its all my fault... All mine. I'm sorry Dix," he continues sobbing.

I dont say anything, just get up and walk across the creaky floor to the kitchen. I fry some bacon and make some eggs and slap them on some English muffins. I give my dad one sandwich and I take the other.

I look around the little house. You couldn't walk across the floor without shoes with out risking a beer bottle cut. It reaked of alcohol, in desperate need of cleaning. But dad and I would never get it cleaned... This dump was home. And there was a sort of unspoken idea between my dad and I, that it always would be, no matter what.

I hear my alarm very faintly up stairs, was it 6 already? I hop up and turn off. I look around my room, the attic. The old nursery. I have flashbacks of us 3 sitting on the floor playing board games as a family. I shake my head and try to distract myself from the memories. I grab my jean book bag that my mom had made me some time before she left. I run a quick brush through my hair and head downstairs.

"Bye daddy," I kiss him on the forehead.

"You leavin' already?" He grabs my hand.

"Ill come home soon, I promise."

"K, I love you Dixie Gina."

"I love you too."

I walk out to my truck and start it up. It seem so loud when the only noise was the birds singing. I was going to school early because I couldn't stand to stay in that house any longer before I would start crying. So many fights. So many beatings. So many lonely Christmas's. So many early morning beers. So many goodbye kisses. So many tears. I fold my arms over the steering wheel and bury my face in my jean jacket sleeves. Don't cry Dix, she ain't comin' home. You know that. YOU KNOW THAT. Hope anchors the soul. Stop hoping. She's gone. Gone. GONE.

My mind seems to scream at me.

I sit up and pull out of the short dirt driveway. I drive down the chip seal curvy road out to the main road. I can see oranges and pinks painted on the road and trees as the sun begins to rise.

Soon I reach the school. Guess who else is early. Jason. I see him head over to my truck. I crank down the window as he approaches. He folds his arms on the door frame. A cold breeze turns my cheeks and nose red. I shiver a little.

"Hey sunshine, you ok?"

"Last night was nothing special. You'll get used to it. This town is full of drunks."

"So, your mom left?" I am confused for a minute.

"Where did you hear that?"

"You screamed somethin' like that to you dad last night... You don't gotta answer," he smiles politely.

"Oh..." I rub my neck and look at my boots and the dusty floorboard. "Yeah she uh, she left. When I was pretty young." I take a deep breath and let it out shakely.