Kids In The Dark | Aarmau AU Fanfiction

1/27 - The Kids In The Dark

"Aphmau Green!" My mother Sylvanna shouted from upstairs. "Get your butt here now!" Her tone was anything accept happy. Not that I was surprised nor weirded out by it, it was a pretty regular thing to hear. If I didn't know her any better I'd think it was her regular voice.
   "Coming!" I shouted back, closing my book. I wasn't allowed to use their internet, so books were my life. I had a phone, although I had to get a job to buy it. I still have the job and my own internet hub, however it was a cheap one that only powers my old laptop. I’m paid $100 a week, 11am-7pm on weekdays and I get Saturday and Sunday off.
   Here's why: I can't spend money on clothes often. Food here is expensive as it's taxed like hell, the governments doing because we're in the middle of a political deal 'thing'. I have to buy my own food since my mom and dad buy none because they waste it all on drugs, alcohol and takeaway crap for themselves, still only giving me an allowance of $10 a week. If it sounds like a lot, it isn't, not to a 17 year-old teenager at least who isn't given the usual necessities.
   I don't even remember the last time I bought real clothes. I live in thrift store clothes from the sale rack as I spend $105 on groceries (all knockoffs) and $5 for 'treating’ myself. Not to sound like a basic bitch who calls their dad daddy or anything, but I don't get why I only am given $10. Both of my parents are strippers/prostitutes and earn $100-$600 per day.
   Anyway, I set the book back on my shelves and took a look around my room for any trash. Everything was still from a thrift store, paid for by work bonuses and tips. It all looked quite nice since I painted everything over in purple, black and white because it was all brown and looked weird. Honestly you wouldn't guess it was from a thrift store. I even had my own big couch for $10. I figured I might as well make it look nice since I spent any time not in work or sleeping there.
   I ran up to where the voice came from, the living room, and smiled. I tried my best to not look odd since the smell of marijuana and beer reeked in there. "This is why I spend all of my time in my room..." I thought in my head, while forcing a smile to my mom who was laying on the couch alone, watching porn on the TV. "You called?"
   "Ah, yes, Apppphhhmau..." She drunkenly looked over, wearing a goofy smile. She was always terrible at pronouncing my name while drunk. "C'mere darling." She said, dropping her cigarette full of marijuana on the tile floor and held her arms open for me. Mood swings. Typical.
   Knowing it was a bad idea to refuse her, I walked over and laid on the couch with her, hugging affectionately. I had to try and block out the moaning and grunting from the TV. She giggled and hugged back, nuzzling my hair. "So!" She said, and then sighed happily. "So~ Honey I need you to listen to me." She let go after a couple of seconds and sat up.
   I sat next to her with a five year olds pure grin. They both preferred to think I was younger then I was and that they had a little 10 year-old girl, not someone close to double that age. "Yes?" The amount of effort to not sound older was indescribable.
   "Your father and I are going to Tu’la on a business trip tomorrow." She said.
   "Oh! Again?" I asked, tilting my head, trying my absolute best to smile. 
   "Yeah! But, this time we're not coming back." She sounded melancholy yet looked excited. It was very irritating.
   Something was really off so I didn't get excited or sad. "Oh... Am I going with you?" 
   "Not this time sweetie." She said. 'Sweetie' was pronounced with a long slur, from all of the beer. There was at least 12 glasses on the coffee table in front of us so it made sense.
   "Oh." I had to stare at here. It was either at her, at the TV which I really didn't want to do, or the wall and be yelled at for being so-called ignorant. "Am I staying with somebody else?"
   She snorted in laughter, shaking her head. "No. Oh, and we're selling the house."
   My eyes widened. "Wait, so where am I going?!" I stood up, still looking at her.
   "That's your choice, darling. No need to get so het up." She said with a weird mocking and mad voice.
   I stared at her, tears in my eyes. I'd never cry around her, but this time I couldn't help it. I let those tears flow when I realized that I couldn't stop it. "So I'll be living on the streets?!"
   "Not if you hire out a flat or something. But I'm not paying for it, don't even think about that."
   My eyes widened. "LESS THAN A DAY'S SALARY FOR YOU WOULD PAY A MONTHS RENT FOR A TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT, MOM! WHY THE FUCK CAN'T YOU JU-?!" I'd never dare to yell at her, but this time I didn't hold back. This is my safety we were talking about.
   She stood up too and slapped me to shut up. It wasn't playful. It wasn't accidental. It wasn't soft. It was so powerful that it lifted me off my feet and forced me to the ground. She kicked my side, and then leaned over me. "Don't you DARE YELL AT ME! My decision is final and you're not changing my mind! You're old enough to look after yourself!" She said, then spat at me, grabbed her jar of marijuana, a bottle of beer, cigarette supplies, then left. 
   I laid there in unbelief and shock, my cheek throbbing in pain and my jaw stiff. I wanted to yell at her back and shout, but I also didn't want to make things worse. I stared at the ceiling, my head spinning. The TV had turned off by itself by then from no activity so the room was almost quiet, the only sound being my dad with somebody else in the next room over.
   I pulled myself to together as fast as I could and forced myself up, and then up to my room. I grabbed my phone and looked through my contacts while locking my door. I called my work the second I found its contact, stroking my fingers through my hair in worry with my other hand.
   "Grape Yard, how may I help you?"
   "Can I speak to the manager of the Phoenix Drop Grape Yard please?"
   "Sure. Can I know who it is please?"
   I sat on my couch while I talked, leg twittering from nerves. "Aphmau Green. I work for you guys."
   "Ah, okay. Transferring you." She said, then the call started ringing again. I leaned backwards while waiting.
   They picked up after two minutes. "Yes?"
   "It's Aphmau." I said, trying not to sound sad or tense.
   "Oh! Okay. What do you need then? I'm quite busy at the moment. Vacation day?"
   "Maybe tomorrow, but no, not right now. But I was wondering, and I'm sorry to ask this and I wouldn't if I wasn't desperate, but I wanted to ask if I could possibly have a raise..."
   He went quiet for a while, writing something in the background. "Are you okay?" He asked, sounding concerned. He was quite nice and really cared about his employees, and would help them as best he could. "I know you Aphmau, you'd never ask for such thing."
   "My parents are leaving to go to Tu’la without me, my mom just said. Tomorrow, to be exact. I-I only have $10 and that's not enough to rent out a flat. It doesn't look like my parents are giving me anything and I can't go anywhere else."
   He went silent again for about five minutes. "Okay, I'll put you on hold quickly and talk to my boss. It'll only be for 5 minutes, maybe 10. Okay? I'll try my best to see if I can give you one."
   I instantly sigh in relief. "Thank you!"
   "No problem. I can't guarantee anything, and if I can't give you one, I'll personally give you $100 of my own money either way. But I expect you to work harder, ok? "
   "Alright. Thank you!"
   He put me on hold, so I put my phone speaker, ready for when he put me off hold. I held it tighter and set it on my desk, turning the volume all the way up.