Addicted- {Don't You Remember?}

Moving In

We pulled into her mom's driveway. The first thing I noticed was how dead and tall the grass was. The house was long but small and had a cozy kind of feel to it. I think I'm going to like it here. Zella parked the car in the driveway. I turned and looked at her anxiously, but her gaze was transfixed on the broken garage door in front of us. I don't think there was a particular reason why she was staring at it.

"My mom is one of the best people I know," She began suddenly, catching my attention, "But there's this one thing about her that I had to grow up with,"

"What is it?"

She let go of the stirring wheel, "Well... she's scared,"

I tilted my head, "Of...?"

"Everything, Nicolas. She never goes out of the house, she buys everything online: her groceries, her clothes, she even got married to a guy she only met online a few years ago. They never even met, he actually mailed her the wedding ring and proposed on a Skype call. I have tried getting her help but she refused,"

I knew some of this, especially the parts about her mom being a complete nut-case at times. We had known each other since high school after all. I never actually been inside her house before though so I never was officially introduced to her mom. But Ghost pretty much summed her up like, 'She's crazy, man. She has a fake husband and like shouts every word that comes out of her mouth.'

Then again, apparently, she did catch them having sex a few years earlier and she's hated him ever since.

"Oh uh... will... will she be scared of me or something?" I asked.

"Probably. But she did say yes to you staying here so that's a good sign,"

Zella had told me about her isolated childhood before. She was strictly homeschooled and was only allowed in her backyard that was, or still is, protected by a electric wired fence. During high school, Ghost and I would sneak her out to go drink or do what stupid city kids like us did back then. I mean, it wasn't all that bad because we did learn things from it. In the process, the three of us learned how to pick locks, shut down electrical fences, and take apart windows without making a peep so Zella's mom doesn't find out.

We got out of the car and approached the front door. Zella knocked, placing a hand on her hip and tapping her fingers impatiently. I looked around and eventually saw little tiny, grey boxes above us. Surveillance cameras? The setting sun's light reflected off the lens, nearly blinding me.

The door crept open and my attention fully centered on the person behind it. A small woman with pale skin. Her eyes dug venomously into mine. However, once she saw Zella, her eyes softened and she opened the door all the way open. She glimpsed back at me and paused. Her mouth was open as if she was going to say something.

"Hey mom," Zella leaned in and hugged her. But the older woman stared at me once again. It was unsettling and I suddenly didn't feel very welcomed anymore. Once Zella let go, she turned to me with a slight gesture, "Nicolas, this is my mother. You can just call her Jeanette though. Or mom,"

"Please just call me Jeanette," Jeanette hissed quickly. She seemed angry, but frightened all the same.

I nodded, shuffling my feet, and sticking my hands in my pockets.

"Mom, this is Nicolas. The guy I talked to you about earlier?"

"I know who he is, sweetie." She muttered, "I wasn't born yesterday."

God, this is so weird. I waved to break the awkwardness, "Thanks for uh... allowin' me to stay here, Jeanette." I cleared my throat and looked back at my feet.