“Anabeth, I’m home. If you’re drunk again, don’t bother coming out.”
I announced as I made my way into the house she calls a home. Dropping my bags and books to the floor. In the kitchen, I prepared myself a cup of tea and wiped the steel table that stood just outside of my kitchen. Where there was a garden.
Mother’s made a mess again this morning. I took a few extra napkins from the dispenser and wiped off the junkfood and what I know is alcohol.
“Oh, Anabeth. What a mess you are.” I scoffed to myself.
I carried my cup of tea with me and made my way to the table by the garden.
The garden.
In our previous home before this one, we had a garden.
When dad died, Mom thought gardening would help her move on. As soon as she started, everything was okay. Things weren’t as happy as they were before, but it was a start. She’d get up in the morning just to rearrange them and water them. In the afternoon, she got rid of weeds. At night, she’d stare at them.
For a while, we were okay. Until, she finally broke. She destroyed all her work. All in one night, her efforts were ruined. All the flowers, everything. She threw the pots to the walls. Dug out the dirt and threw it to the ground. She crushed every flower. She stomped on every shrub.
It was a tiring night. It was enough for me, so I stopped her before she could break our fences. Or throw pots to passing by cars. She cried in my arms, all night.
“We’re fine, We’re okay.” I told her.
Ever since then, she’d given up gardening. Actually, she’d given up everything. Shes even given up another chance at happiness when she married Tony. My step-father. Mom didn’t have to remarry. We were fine by ourselves. We were fine.
When she married Tony I guess she thought she just didn’t want to be alone. The thing was, she was never alone from the start. She had me. And I had her.
But not anymore. Tony drove her to start drinking. Every single day. Every morning, day and night. Even now, I still find empty whiskey bottles and broken glasses.
I could see from this new garden we have that she’d started to garden again. At least she’ll stop drinking. For now, maybe even for a longer time span.
I could hear footsteps coming from atop the staircase. Being me, I went to the staircase.
“Anabeth.” I said, as I stared at her and my stepfather as they spoke to each other. Whispering.
She look startled. She then smiled.
“Sweetheart.”
I despised my stepfather. Apart from the fact that he’s trying to replace my father, He talks to me daily. As if trying to get close to me. Almost like he wanted me to trust him, like I did my father. By now, Tony Blunt should know that he’d never get what he wants from me. Trust.
