Vice and Acceptance | Completed |

Scooby

Jadyn and Riley's mother was never the most reliable woman.

When Jadyn was only 6 years old, her mother forgot her at the gas station and when nobody could reach her for hours, the kind cashier followed the 6 year old's directions to her house and walked her to the door. Her mother had thought she was napping with Riley the entire time.

One night, when Jadyn was 9 and Riley was 7, Riley woke up screaming due to his night terrors and their mother was nowhere to be found. Jadyn checked her mother's bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, she even checked the shed out back though it always reminded her of something from the horror movies her mom used to have marathons of.

Their mother had disappeared, leaving Jadyn to soothe Riley on her own.

"Riley, Riley, calm down. They're just dreams. You're okay." She whispered as she hugged her little brother's head to her chest tightly, his tears soaking through her oversized night shirt.

"Where's mama? Can she come lay with us? Can we put on Scooby?"

He hadn't stopped trembling, and Jadyn had no idea what to tell him about their mother. How do you tell a 7 year old that his mother left him in the care of his 9 year old sister without even a word?

"Here, I'll turn on Scooby for you, but mama's still asleep okay? How about I just push our beds together and I can hold you if you have any more bad dreams. Does that sound okay?" Riley wiped the rest of his tears, and solemnly gave Jadyn a nod.

Moving her twin sized bed was no easy feat, but once they were together, Jadyn could feel her little brother relax in her arms and it wasn't long before he began lightly snoring.

Their mother was back the next morning before they awoke, and Jadyn never asked her where she was that night.

If only she'd known then how much of a regular occurrence this would become.