Maddox was quietly waiting outside of her door. The soft gasps and whimpers that escaped her quivering lips were barely audible, but he could hear them all too well.
Maddox could feel the guilt clenching at his dry throat with a heavy grip making it seemingly harder to breathe as the moments passed by.
He kept his gaze focused on the beige carpet beneath him. He was keeping busy by pulling out the fibers and keeping count of them.
It had been like that as of lately, he would see and hear everything but say nothing. He felt like a child.
For example, Nina had begun to drink more and talk less. Getting lost in the darkness of her bedroom all alone with the door shut behind her, tears running down her hollow cheeks until they dried out leaving her eyes swollen and her face ruddy.
Maddox wasn't oblivious to the fact that Nina hid herself from him, just so he wouldn't see her in any state of vulnerability. It was certainly clear his mother was holding down something painful inside of her and all he wanted to do was make her feel better or at least try.
He also noticed that his father didn't seem to pay attention either. He'd carry on in his study as if nothing were wrong and instead focus all his attention on work.
"97." Maddox whispered through his parted lips.
He stopped counting at 97 fibers because it was at 97 fibers that he heard the crying stop.
Maddox let the pieces of carpet go before shoving both hands into his hair. He slapped both hands back into his lap and stared up at the ceiling where he squinted at the sight of the light.
It didn't take much longer for Maddox to finally enter his parent's bedroom where he found his mother peacefully passed out against the footboard of the bed.
The bedroom itself was drowning in darkness, there was only one source of light and that was the one coming in from the hallway. The light came into the room painting itself onto the off-white carpet.
He stared at his mother for a few moments. The soft light made her look even more tire, the bags underneath her eyes were deeply accentuated and they seemed to darken as the seconds passed. The jowls around her lips were sunken and the wrinkles by her eyes looked dry. Still, the woman radiated beauty and charisma without effort. These small details didn't take away from his mother's natural beauty and he recognized it, anyone with eyes could see it.
This had been her routine as of lately, drink wine, take two ambiens, listen to Fleetwood Mac, cry, and then finally, fall asleep.
Maddox then dropped himself onto one knee, he carefully slid his arm behind his mother's neck and the other arm behind the back of her knees. It wasn't anything to him to pick her up, the woman weighed no more than 130 pounds.
He carried her to her bed like she used to carry him to his when he was a kid falling asleep everywhere.
Gingerly, he laid her down on her side of the bed right before he used a fleece throw that was on the floor to put over her.
Maddox stared at her for a moment again, he wanted his mother to talk to him and tell him what was going on not just smile and lie to him telling him that she was fine.
Turning around to leave, Maddox suddenly felt his mother's hand grasp his to stop him from going any further.
"You have a nightmare X?" She mumbled with the sound of concern in her voice.
He smiled a little, she was definitely drunk.
"No mom," He quietly muttered, "Just came to say goodnight."
YOU ARE READING
STARGIRL
General Fiction"Her lips are like the galaxy's edge, and her kiss the colour of a constellation falling into place" (AM). - Every time he looked at her, he could feel his heart breaking. She was the girl with the gleam in her eyes plucked from the stars themselve...
