Rags to Leather

Chapter Two

She had woken up thirsty and wanted a glass of water, but she didn't know if her mother still had her "special guest" over. Slowly and quietly, she threw the covers off her and made her way out of the room. She slowly walked down the darkened hallway, trying not to make any noise in case her mother was still with her "friend" or already in bed.

She knew that if her mother caught her out of her room while she had a "guest" over, the consequences wouldn't be pretty, especially if her mother was high on something.

As she neared the end of the hallway, she saw the light coming from the kitchen. She could hear them talking in hushed tones as if they did not want to make loud noises and wake her up.

She kept walking until she could see what was happening in the kitchen, but she was still hidden from the view, so they wouldn't know she was there.

Her mother was sitting on the kitchen counter with her boyfriend of the week standing between her parted legs.

Lennox could see the syringe on the counter. She knew they were either high or about to get high.

Her mother laughed at something her boyfriend had whispered in her ear before pulling him in for a kiss.

Lennox saw her mother start to unbutton his shirt before unbuckling his belt. He pulled away from her and wrapped the tourniquet around her mother's arm before injecting her with the syringe.

She saw her mother lean her head back against the cabinets with her eyes closed.

Her mother's boyfriend took the syringe out and started kissing his way up her mother's neck before roughly pulling her into a kiss and towards the edge of the counter.

Lennox could tell that her mother was far gone at that point and would most likely end up having sex with that guy right then and there.

Instead of getting her glass of water, she decided to make her way back to her bedroom, so she wouldn't see her mother whore herself out. Even though she couldn't have been more than eight, she knew that her mother slept with strange men to get her fix of drugs.

She slowly stepped back and tried not to step on any loose floorboards. Just as she was halfway back to the hallway, she accidentally stepped on a loose floorboard, which squeaked when she applied pressure.

She felt her heartbeat start to quicken as the noise from the kitchen stopped. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her mother appear in the hallway entry just as she was going to run for her bedroom.

"What did I tell you about staying in your room while I have guests over you little shit?" her mother questioned as her voice started to rise in volume.

She could see her mother's boyfriend standing by the kitchen doorway with his jeans half undone.

Lennox saw her mother take a step forward. She ran for her bedroom and almost closed the door behind her, but her mother threw the door open and burst into the room.

"How many times have I told you to stay in here, or you weren't going to like the consequences?" her mother asked as she grabbed her arm and dragged her out of her room and into the hallway.

She knew what would happen, as she begged her mother to let her go and promised not to do it again.

Her mother shook her head as she tightened the grip on her arm.

Her mother stopped outside the hallway closet before turning to look at her. "I'm tired of hearing you promise the same thing repeatedly," she said as she opened the closet. "It's time that you learned your lesson, you little bitch."