Always With Me

Part 9- Dahlia Parker

 The desk beneath me was shaking, or it seemed to be, while I was taking our first government test. It wasn't nerves or agitation that created the abnormal shake. The whole room appeared to be shaking. I was having a very difficult time paying attention to the paper in front of me because of the nausea that seemed to have taken over my body. I attempted to answer a few of the questions when I felt my breakfast rising from the inside of my body.

I asked Coach Dallas if I could go to the restroom and he let me with little objection. I barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up. I got sick a few times before I pulled my phone from my purse and called my mom. She sounded like she had been drinking this morning, but she promised to call and check me out from school. I sat against the wall of the bathroom until Ellie walked into the bathroom. She stood a few feet away from me and backed up a few more feet.

         "How are you, Dahl?" She asked. Her look on her face was overwhelmed and curious as she watched me sit on the ground. I just rolled my eyes and looked in the mirror, taking in the image of my pale, sweaty reflection.

         "I feel like crap." I complained, pulling my hair into a ponytail.

         "I'll get your stuff for you and tell Coach Dallas that you are leaving. You are leaving, right?" Ellie asked, heading toward the door.

         "Yes. I called my mom."

         Ellie left the bathroom for a minute before she came back with my backpack and book and grabbed my purse from the floor beside me. "You are checking out. The office buzzed Coach Dallas."

        "You don't have to carry my things for me. I promise I've got it," I objected, but ended up allowing her to carry it anyways. She took me to the office and signed me out, and then handed me my things so I could drive home.

         I got sick when I got home, but went to sleep in an attempt to sleep it off. I slept for a few hours before waking up with a major headache. Although I felt better around lunch time, after only being sick a few times, I laid in bed for the rest of the day and watched movies and studied more for the test that I just missed.

I hadn't spoken to my mom since our fight a few weeks ago. Although we'd been under the same roof the entire time, I avoided her and forgot about me. It didn't bother me, though. She was too consumed with Marcus to really think about me. When I got out of bed to make myself some lunch, neither of them were home. My mom came in to check on me when she got off of work, but I hadn't seen her since. I heard Marcus' truck pull into the driveway around five o'clock, so I tried to go back to sleep to ignore them.

        My phone began to ring around six o'clock, and Brent called to check on me.

        "Hey, Dahl. You okay?" He asked. He was on his way home from football practice.

         "Yeah I'm fine. I'm just very tired. I got sick this morning but I am okay now. I will probably be at school tomorrow," I sighed as I fluffed my pillow beneath my neck. My room was dark and the movie in front of me was on the previews.

         "Well I'm glad. It's been a long day without you."

         "I'm sure," I laughed as I sat up in my bed.

        Brent told me about the rest of his day and then told me that he had to go to eat dinner. We hung up and I stood up to stretch my legs. I felt that my throat was dry and walked through the house into the kitchen to get some water. My mom was sitting in her pajamas at the counter, crying.

         "Mom, are you okay?" I asked, walking over to her. She had on her pajama pants, but still wore her name tag from her job.

         "Marcus..." She stopped as she hit the counter with her fists. She began pounding them fiercely against the tile counter-tops. I grabbed her hands and held them in mine as her tears streamed down her face. Soon her face was covered in black mascara and tears. She smelled strongly of alcohol.