Toxic (H.S.)

4

Marlene

My mom's house was a very cliché white house, red door, picket fence, the kind you see in films. It was a home my parents bought when I was 16, so I didn't really grow up in it. I was the oldest, and my two younger siblings still lived here, unlike me who left at 19. It wasn't the fact that my mother was a bad mom, quite the opposite actually. She was very smothering growing up, had to know everything and was involved in everyone's business.

I walked up to the path to the house and the door was open, a strong smell of turkey, ham, apple, and pecan pie roamed in the air. I walked through the house and my mother was standing in the kitchen with her friends from church. We had no close family in the state, so most thanksgivings we had people from her church here. "Mom?" She turned and gasped.

"Marlene!" All the women said coming over to me. It was like an episode of cheers every time I showed up. I got hugs and cheek pinches by random women.

"Hi." I smiled.

My mom looked at me and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. "Oh sweetie you look amazing, let me introduce you to Lori's son Malcolm-"

"Mom actually I need to talk to you really quick." She looked at me and I pulled her towards the sitting room. My mom was in her mid-forties and had fake blonde hair, too hide her white hair.

She looked at me and sighed. "Oh sweetie, you're a lesbian aren't you, oh gosh we told you last year if you wanted to come out you could-"

"Mom no, I'm not gay I'm seeing someone. It's sort of new so that's why I didn't invite him." She gasped and then made almost a squeal.

"How long? Is he nice? What does he look like?" I took my phone out and showed her the picture Harry took of us. "Oh he's handsome, well I guess I'll have to break the news to Malcolm. What's his name?"

"Harry." She put a hand on her chest and smiled. Harry just saved my thanksgiving without even knowing it. She patted my thigh as I sat there, I could hear music playing upstairs and my mom sighed.

"Can you tell your brother to keep it down, he's going through some crisis about a girl and I can't handle it." I nodded getting up to go upstairs.

My sister Victoria was about 8 and very loud-mouthed. She was sitting in her room playing with her dolls with two other girls when I walked past her room. "Vicky." She looked up.

"Marlene!" She ran over to hug me. "Mom's right, you do need to get your eyebrows done." I rolled my eyes turning around to go see my brother.

Jeff was 17 and clearly my favorite sibling. I knocked on his door and it quickly opened. "Marlene!" He hugged me.

"Did you know it was me?" He nodded before pulling away.

"You're the only person that knocks." I walked into his bedroom and the smell of boy was very much in the air. I sat down on his bed and he turned the sad music down. "I'm glad someone I tolerate is here." I smiled.

"Well, your mother says you're having girl troubles." He rolled his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Mom wants me to take Mary Beth from church to the prom, but I already asked this girl name Keke and mom says I have to either tell Mary or Keke that I already have a date." I shook my head. "I don't want to be mean."

"She's annoying, do you like Keke?" He nodded. "Photo?" He pulled a picture up on his phone and I smiled. The girl was beautiful, brown skin, big brown eyes and curly locks framing her face. "Um yeah dump Mary Beth and take her." He chuckled.

"So what's up with you?" I sighed.

"Just lied to mom that I'm seeing a guy, but I'm not he's just my co-worker. But he's hot, but he's dating someone." He took a sip of his juice.