My Messed Up Past

Hello mum

My eyes fluttered open.
My head hurts.
My throat feels sore.
I have a headache.
I do not want to be awake right now.

But I could see dad in the corner of my cloudy vision so I force myself to sit up.

"Hi dad," I croak groggily.

'Dad' stood up and walks forward, a sly grin on his face. That's when I realise it isn't dad.

"Tripp? Is that you?" I wasn't rusting my dodgy vision.

"Aye." Tripp tipps his imaginary hat to me, but I bet in his mind he could see the hat.

That's right, when mum escaped she pulled a couple fellow crazy people out aswell. Tripp was one of them. Infact, he was the first one of mum's 'friends' who had shown up at our doorstep all those years ago.

"And you thought I was the old daddio. Ha!" He perches on the arm of the chair I'm sat at.

I inch away from him. "What are you doing here, Tripp?"

He leant forward, staring at me squarely and whispered, " I'm on a mission!"

"What type of mission?"

"Now you mention it," he twiddles with his thumbs,"it involves you. Infact, you are the plan."

I gulp. "I'm the plan? Does this somehow involve my mum?"

"Ahh, mama bear." He sighs dreamily. "Yes, of course it involves her." He hits my head lightly. " And here I thought you were clever."

"Where's dad?"

Tripp picked his finger nail.

"Fine. Where are we?"

Tripp chews his cheek.

"Fine. Where's mum?"

Tripp looks away.

"Tripp."

"Miss Lola, I'm gonna have to ask you to shut up." With that, he stomped his foot like a child.

For Tripp, his mental illness turned him into a little child, and he imagined he was about 8. When asked what he looks like, he gives a different description every time, but it's always a silly little boy. He just goes along with whatever the 'adults' say, not really thinking for himself.

"I'll give you a sweet." This always works on my little cousin so why shouldn't it work on Tripp?

Like I thought, Tripp's eyes perks up. "Hello Lola." He wiggles his eyebrows.

"Tell me where we are."

"Eh, near the coffee shop I was stalking you at on Saturday."

"That was you?" I gasp. Of all the friends mum could have sent, she sent Tripp. He was the one I was least afraid of. Trust her to know how to really get under my skin.

"Yeah: you got scared of me." Tripp snickered.

I roll my eyes. "K, where's dad?"

"Oh he's probably at the police station. We just want you."

Ohh. That makes sense-- mum forgot about dad within five minutes of her illness, but I stayed, constantly on her mind. If only the roles were reversed!

"Right. And where is mum?"

Tripp checked his watch and sighed. "She's late."

"She's coming here?"

"Of course. You two are to live together."

Of course we are. Another one of mum's genius plans to let us sail off into the sunset togethor.