Fiction of Myself

Chapter Four.

Parker's P.O.V.

I woke up to a heating pad on my stomach, my ice cold hands lie on top of it. My head ached tremendously, beside me on the coffee table of my living room lie a sandwich and a glass of fruit juice. My mother sat in a chair across the room with her eyes closed as her hands pressed against her temples. Tears streamed down her face silently.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked getting up too quickly and fell to the floor again.

She rushed over to me and made me lie down again on our sofa. She pulled out blankets from a storage closet across the hall wrapping them around me. The look she gave me was like nothing I have ever seen before. A mix of almost depression and anger. 

"Parker, you need to stay home from school tomorrow. You're sick, cold, and very weak." She said making me sit up so I could eat the food she brought me.

"I don't think I need to stay home, I'm feeling fine I'm probably just tired. Besides I have plans after school tomorrow." I said trying to look okay.

"I'll let you go to hang out if you feel better after school, you seem really tired or strained if you passed out, and I also want you here during the day." She said.

"Why do you want me here?" I asked pushing the sandwich and juice away from me.

"In case your father comes back to hurt me, or goes to your school to hurt you. I want both of us safe." My mom sat down on the couch beside me. "Parker?" 

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you eat anymore?" She trembled as she asked me this.

"I do eat, I ate with Ramon today at the food trucks like I told you-"

"No you didn't." She responded making my heart jump.

"What makes you say that?" I asked getting very worried now.

"I called Ramon after you called me to ask if he got home safely since our neighbourhood can be pretty shady. He said he was confused why I was asking that because he hadn't gone anywhere besides home right after school. He told me you lied." 

I swallowed in worry and couldn't look at her. She knew too much about my private life. 

"I just had a big lunch, I wanted to get out of dinner." I lied again.

"Ramon also told me you were in the nurses office during lunch, so you didn't have lunch either Parker." She was getting upset now. "Parker, I need you to eat this okay? I'm going to go clean the kitchen and you better be done eating by the time I come back." She left the room and I saw this as my chance to trick her.

I took the crust off my bread like I always do, took a couple crumbs of the sandwich and put them on my lips. I took the sandwich and hid it in my pocket. I had no idea how to get rid of the juice until I accidentally kicked an empty water bottle under my couch. I picked up the empty water bottle and filled it with juice then placed it under the mountain of blankets that was wrapped around me. 

I finished hiding the proof that I ate and pretended to act like everything was normal. I clicked on the TV. While waiting for my mom to come back I decided to text Ramon.

"Something really bad is happened with my family, I'm staying home tomorrow, but I can hang out after school. I don't think you should come over tomorrow morning, my mom isn't happy tonight." 

Sitting in the murmuring silence of the TV and my hunger pains kept me busy, distracting me from everything that has happened today. Some man yelled about a robbery on the television, but all I could think about is how screwed I was for the future of tomorrow. My phone rang and I jolted at the sound.