Don't Call Me Babe |:| Little Monsters Maurice

Chapter Fourteen: Heartache Stays

"You look like hell." I heard and chuckled darkly.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" I asked, not looking at my mom, who I knew was behind me, as I sipped on my drink (which she didn't know was alcoholic. I'm good at slipping things in drinks).

"Nice joke." I felt someone hit my head, knocking it into my cup as I groaned, "Last I saw, you're life is cupcakes and rainbows since your father left." she said and I laughed, making it very obviously fake.

"Sure, I'm going to my room." I said, downing the rest of my drink before walking downstairs. It had been weeks since I'd seen Maurice and I couldn't get him off of my mind. I'd moved in with my mom, started drinking, I'd steal cigs off my mom and smoke them when she wasn't looking (and she just thought she'd started going crazy, and every time I'd just say she's always been that way). Everything at school became so unbearable that I just quit it as a whole. 

Basically, I was a mess. 

And so here I sat, playing with my lighter and burning myself with a straight face. The pain was practically nonexistent anymore.

"I like you, Amour. Like, I really do. Not just as a friend. Every time I see you my heart goes thump thump thump," he made the action over his chest as if his hands were his heart and it was beating out of his chest. I looked down.

"Maurice, I don't like you like that."

I hadn't meant to hurt him, but the look on his face when I said that told me everything. I didn't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself. I lied. I lied to him and I've been lying to myself ever since, maybe even before. I'd been telling myself that I told him that to protect him. Protect him from me, from us not working, but that wasn't the case.

I was protecting myself.

I was so broken. I'd been through more shit than anyone else I'd ever met and I've gone through that road multiple times. It would begin with us helping each other, fixing our broken pieces and taping them back together, one by one, but it would end with both of us more broken than before. I couldn't bear to feel that pain anymore. 

I hadn't noticed my hand begin to drop until I felt the pain of the flame and let out a scream, throwing the lighter to the other side of the room before looking at my hand. The skin was blood red and black, a third degree burn. I winced and stood up, walking to the bathroom that was connected to my new room. I turned on the light and started running cold water, running my hand under the water and biting my lip so I wouldn't scream again.

I remembered Maurice snatching the lighter from me and throwing it behind him and I wished he would've been here to do the same this time, but he was gone. I had screwed everything up once again.

"Maybe you should go out or something tomorrow." my mom suggested in a bored tone as I stared at the flame. She hadn't noticed the gauze around my hand yet and I wanted it to stay that way so I kept the burnt hand in my hoodie pocket.

"What for?" I asked, not looking at her.

"You could go buy groceries or something." She said and I sighed.

"I'd rather not." I muttered.

"Then look for a job, I don't know. If you aren't going to go to school then you need to find some kind of work." She said and I finally looked up at her, letting the flame die.

"Or what? You'll kick me out?" I asked and she nodded.

"I work all day while you sit on your ass. I pay for the food and the bills and you do nothing but talk shit. No wonder your father left." She said and I sighed. Nothing I hadn't heard or thought before.

"Fine then I'll find a damn job." I said, standing up and turning off the TV, "Tomorrow." I said, walking down to my room.

As I closed the door to my room, I found tears stinging my eyes as they threatened to fall and I let out a sigh, wiping them away.

"Maurice, I'm so sorry." I whispered, resting my head on my door. When I turned around, I found that my room had been trashed, more so than how I left it. I raised an eyebrow and heard movement come from one side of the room. I tried turning on a light, to no avail, "No, damn it." I muttered, pulling out the phone Maurice had got me and checking the time.

1:56 AM.

"Shit." I groaned and stuffed my phone back in my pocket, "Okay, whichever monster you are, come out all right. I-I won't hurt you I've just had a really bad couple of weeks and I'd rather not have to deal with this kind of shit." I said, walking to my bed in case the monster tried to escape. My breath hitched as I thought about it, "M-Maurice?" I asked, "O-Or someone else?"

I was growing more worried by the second as I looked around. I heard something slide as the bed lifted and I squeaked, falling off of my bed. When it went back down I lifted my side, touching the wooden floor. My hand didn't go through.

I sighed and backed up, pulling my legs to my chest as I stared under the bed, like I was waiting for a certain special monster to pop up.

But he didn't.

I groaned as I sat up, my back was aching. I hadn't even noticed that I'd fallen asleep on the floor, but now I was waking up to pain. I let out a dramatic noise of pain before standing up and sighing.

"Today's the day."