Complicated

Life

Maya's POV

I held the phone to my ear, tracing the cracks in the wall with my finger as I waited for her to answer.

"You've reached Katy, leave a message after the beep."

"Hey, mom," I spoke into the phone. "I haven't seen you in a while and I miss you. Do you think I could spend the weekend with you? Call me back when you get this." 

I hung up the phone and slid down with my back against my bedroom door. When I got home from school, my dad was in the midst of a drunken rage. He slammed me into the coffee table for walking in front of the TV and now I have huge bruises on my left elbow and leg.

I went into my room and called my mom to see if I could go stay with her. I definitely didn't want to spend the weekend here with my dad. But as always, my mom was too busy and it went straight to voicemail. 

When I was really young, my parents split. My mom worked too much to care for me full-time so my dad had primary custody. My mom was the one that would take me on weekends which I know is a little unusual but I didn't mind cause I still got to see her. But as I grew older she came around less and less. 

Now, I stay with my dad and see my mom every now and then for lunch or an overnight, but only if I reach out to her and if she's not working or with Shawn, this guy she's dating.

As expected, my mom didn't reply until Monday morning.

"Hi, mom," I greeted.

"Hi, sweetie," she said perkily into the phone. "I'm sorry, I didn't see your message until this morning."

"It's fine," I sighed, this wasn't an unusual situation.

"How was your weekend, honey?" She asked.

"It was good," I told her.

I spent the weekend in my room sketching. I needed a distraction from my father's yelling at the tv and the women he had brought into his bedroom.

It wasn't the worst, I've had to deal with parties and my father's friends stumbling into my room drunk, so this weekend was comparatively pretty good.

"That's nice. Hey, listen. To make up for it, maybe you can come over to have dinner with me and Shawn tonight," she suggested.

Dinner with mom and Shawn? There's not really anything wrong with the guy, but there's an awkward tension whenever I go over there. I'd rather not spend my Monday night sitting across from them at a table while we share awkward glances.

"I don't know, mom," I sighed. "I'm probably gonna have a lot of homework and—"

"Please, Maya. It's important," she pleaded.

"Fine," I sucked it up. "What time?"

"Around six if that works for you."

I don't really have a choice, do I?

"That works," I tell her.

"Okay, I have to get to work now," she says

"See you tonight," I say. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, baby girl. Can't wait," she then hung up the phone.

Tonight, six o'clock I leave myself a mental reminder. Now to deal with going to school. I was about to head out the door when I was stopped by my father. He harshly grabbed my left wrist.

"Dad, you're hurting me," I said trying to pull away from him.

He responded by tightening his grip and pulling me closer to him. He was so close I could smell the alcohol on his breath. He leaned into my ear and whispered, "Don't tell."

"I, I won't," I stuttered. "I promise."

"Good," he growled and let go. "Now get to school."

I ran out the door and through the streets, clutching my wrist that I was sure would bruise due to his rough grasping of it. Great, another bruise to be hidden under sleeves.

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I hope you liked the first chapter! More chapters are coming soon, and don't forget to vote and comment!