Jamie

Child Support

Over the course of a few days, Jamie was recovering surely but slowly. Her mother refused to take her to the doctor's office to check for broken ribs or various other broken limbs, and Jamie was almost afraid to move, for she was not sure how badly it would damage her body if she moved the wrong body part. She didn't know what was going on inside her body or if anything was fractured.

After two days of laying in bed doing nothing, Jamie attempted to get on her feet and take what seemed like her first steps. It was not much of a challenge, and she wished she had tried walking yesterday since it was so easy.

"You're finally up," Jamie's mother pointed out. Jamie glanced at her, and looked away as she continued to concentrate on walking. Her legs were wobbly and very unreliable. "Are you feeling okay? Are you going to talk to me?" Her mother was questioning her, aiming for some sort of response. 

"No, I'm not feeling okay," Jamie snapped at her mother. Her mother rolled her eyes. "You know, not everything is my fault," Jamie argued. She felt the need to just go off on her mother, for this was the first time in days that she had spoken a word. "It's not my fault that those brats at the bus stop like to pumble me with rocks, so would you quit acting like it is?"

"Jamie, I am not saying it's your fault! But you can help it."

"I can help it? Is that what you say? That's what you think, huh?" Jamie's body was flushing with anger.

"Well maybe if you would stop egging them on by wearing those goddamn Green Day t-shirts, they wouldn't bully you! You have to be respectful towards other people's music taste. Lately, you have been VERY disrespectful towards mine as well. I don't blame the 'brats' for making fun of you! I don't like your music yet you go against my wishes by wearing shitty band t-shirts anyway. You see?" her mother shouted. Jamie couldn't comprehend her mother's reasoning. 

"Well, if you think I am disrespectful, then you certainly are too. You aren't allowing me to express myself, is what is is," Jamie replied, trying to maintain her temper. 

"I do everything for you!" Jamie's mother persisted. "I give you everything you could ask for! Do you know how short we are on cash? I give you everything, yet you choose to disobey me!"

"I can't help it that father died and you are too damn lazy to get a decent job," Jamie retorted. Jamie's mother walked out on her, and drove the car away. Jamie wasn't sure where she was going, but she was happy she was gone.

Jamie turned on Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day, and tried to settle down. She had been laying in her bed for quite some time, that the sheets were naturally warm from her body heat. Jamie got back up again and turned on all the fans in the house to try to cool herself off, for she was near to sweating. 

As she turned on the ceiling fan in her mother's room and walked out, she noticed a little slip of paper blew out of the bedroom from the high-powered fan. She picked it up, reading it. It was a check. It was a child support check.