Imogen Grey

Chapter 5

My back hurts from the uncomfortable bus seat. Audrey and Ethan are both passed out, how they're asleep, I do not know. I'm scared. I don't know what to do. I want to go and turn back home but it's to late, it's to late to turn back now. I hope my mom is alright. I hope she found the groceries I left and the money on the counter. I miss her. A lot.

My vision starts to get blurry from the tears welling up. I sniff and dab at the corner of my eyes with my sleeve. I will not cry, I won't let myself cry over this. I got myself into this and I intend to endure the consequences.

I yelp when Ethan sits down into the seat next to me. All three of us got our own seats so we could lay flat in the seat for when we tire and fall asleep.

"You okay?" Ethan asks.

"Yeah. I'm fine, just worrying about my mother." I reply and look down at my hands in my lap.

"Was she important to you?" Was. Was she important to you, he said. Was; past tense. Not is.

"Yeah." I say dryly and look out my bus window. All I can see when I close my eyes, are my mothers breakdowns and her sunken in cheeks. Her sunken in everything. From her face to her body. The bruises on the inside of her arms. I hope she uses the money on food like I told her to.

My chest starts to shudder and my vision blurry. My bottom lip starts to quiver as tears I couldn't contain fall on to my shirt and my lap. I quickly wipe them away with my sleeve and cower away from Ethan's gaze.

"Hey, shh. It's okay, everything will be okay. I'm sure she's fine. Don't worry, I'm here. I got you, your mother is going to be alright. " Ethan says and pulls me into his chest. I cry into his shirt while he just holds me and strokes my hair, occasionally whispering "it's okay" or "everything is going to be fine".

His right arm, which is hooked around my waist, pulls me closer. All I can do is just cry harder, and it's not just because of my mother. I see my mother and father screaming at each other while I'm in the corner, covering my ears trying to hide under a blanket. I see the empty bottle of gin on the floor of my mothers room. I see my father telling me he loves me one last time, then telling me he's sorry and that he's going on a vacation for a long, long time. I see my fathers travel bags next to the door. I remember putting my stuffed bear in one of them, so he would have to come back and give it to me. I see my father walking out of the door, bags packed with him along with my bear that he hasn't noticed yet. I see my mother losing her job, along with herself. I hear my mother crying on the other side of the door. I see the pills on my mother's nightstand. I see my mother stumbling through the door with a new guy, just like the night before and just like the next night to come.

Instead of crying, I'm sobbing now. I can stop myself anymore. I hate crying, and yet the tears won't stop, they can't stop. Ethan continues to hold me through all my crying. My breathing starts to even out as I calm down. I move closer into his chest. My eyelids are now 10 pounds of wanted sleep.

"Will you still be next to me in the morning?" I ask quietly.

"Only if you want me to" Ethan replies. I nod my head and let my eyes close. Colors dance on the inside of my eyelids as I fall into an abyss of colors and darkness.

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The next morning:

"Well what do we have here?" I hear Audrey say as my eyelids flutter open. Once open, I see her face plastered with a large Cheshire Cat smile and her hair tucked behind her ears. I look at her in question but then I realize what she's talking about. My eyes go wide as I practically jump away from Ethan. She laughs while shaking her head as Ethan, now awake, scowls at her. "My, my, now what on earth were you two doing last night? Falling asleep in each other's arms? Why how did this happen?" Audrey says laughing. My face is the brightest shade of pink, almost like a strawberry it feels. Ethan's is his normal skin tone, with his normal scowl that is normally aimed at me.  

"Stay out of it, Audrey." Ethan growls. She holds her hands up in surrender and turns back around in her seat.

"How long till we reach New Orleans?" I ask.

"A day, maybe two. Perhaps two and a half. Something like that, I don't remember." Audrey replies.

"Great, two or three more days of an uncomfortable bus with uncomfortable seats, with creeps that will be riding with us" I complain. Ethan's moved back to his original seat behind me. Audrey turns around and smirks, then slides back into her seat. I shake my head and look back down at my iPod. It's an old classic purple one. I put in my headphones and click shuffle on a random playlist.

The song Let's Go by Matt and Kim funnel through the mini speakers, taking place of the sound of the wheels underneath the bus and the squeaking of the seats. I look out the window as my mind boards a train of endless thoughts with no set destination. I wonder where my father, does he have a new wife? New kids? Does he still have my bear?

My father has been leaving my life as fast as he entered. Every time he sees me it's the same thing. He tells me he loves me and how sorry he is and begs for my forgiveness. I give in and he takes me to get new clothes or takes me to get ice cream or dinner. After that he promises he'll visit more and then disappears for a couple years, then comes back. He used to send me cards on holidays and such, but now? I haven't gotten a god damned card since I was eleven, or even a letter, a text, a voicemail, nothing.

My mom tries, she tries so hard for me it hurts. My mother tries so damn hard for me to be happy. Last year she had gotten me a card (with my money) and tried to say it was from my dad. I smiled when I saw it and played along. I loved that she did that for me, I loved it so much I hung it on the fridge. It made me smile. I love my mother.

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So many of you are probably wondering why I changed the name aha *nervous laugh*. Well I kinda, sorta, ya know aha had a different plot in mind and the only way to get back on track to the original story line would be in a really cheesy way so that idea is out. Terminated. Destroyed. Done. So yes, say goodbye to Pyromancer and hello to the world of Imogen Grey's life.