Caught in Between

-14-

I had a tray in my hands with breakfast prepared for my mother that I cooked with a little help from Debby. She cooked the pancakes while I cooked the omelette and bacon. I also made her a glass of orange juice, which I placed a bottle of painkillers beside it. When I got upstairs to my mother's room, her door was cracked open so I let myself in.

She wasn't in her bed, and I quickly found out where she was by the sound of her vomiting in her bathroom. I set the tray down carefully on her bed and I went over to the bathroom door and gently knocked on it. "Are you okay Mom?" I asked and she let out a grunt in response before vomiting again. "I made you breakfast. I left it on the bed, but I don't think orange juice will help since it's acidic. Do you want me to get you some milk or a cold glass of water?"

"Water, please.." she groaned before letting out a sigh. I nodded my head as I turned myself around and I made my way back downstairs, grabbing the glass of orange juice on the way. Debby was eating a plate of pancakes and bacon at the kitchen table while I set the glass down on the counter and got a new one, and I put some ice cubes in it and filled it with cold water.

"So it was a 'no' on the orange juice?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled by the food in her mouth.

"It's going to burn her throat, since she just puked."

"Oh, that's gross. How drunk did she get?"

"Drunk enough, apparently." I exhaled a deep breath as I took the glass of water back upstairs to my mother's room. She was sitting in bed this time, and she had the bottle of painkillers in her hand.

"Thank you for the pills," my mother told me with a weak smile as she held them up. I smiled back at her as I handed her the glass of water.

"You're welcome. I figured you'd have a headache this morning."

"No kidding. But I can't take pills without swallowing some sort of liquid," she responded as she set the glass down on her nightstand, opened the bottle and dumped out three pills in her other hand. She popped them into her mouth, closed the bottle and then chugged down the cold water. She let out a refreshed sigh.

"Yeah, that's why I gave you a glass of orange juice, but it wasn't a good idea. But water works perfectly."

"And thank you for the breakfast. I'll get around to eating it, I just need to let my stomach settle for a bit. Why don't you take my credit card and go to the mall with Debby or something."

"Really?" I was excited yet guilty for using my mother's card. But I did like the idea of spending some girl time with my best friend.

"Of course, you girls have fun. Just don't go crazy with my card, understood?"

"Yes, Mom. Thank you and I love you!"

"Love you too. My card is in my purse downstairs. You know which one."

And that was my cue to exit the room. I closed her door behind me and excitedly rushed downstairs. Debby already knew something was going on because she saw the huge smile on my face.

"What's going on, Beck?" She asked before she took the last bite of her food and got up to put her plate in the sink.

"How does shopping sound?" I asked her with a smirk while I wiggled my eyebrows. She let out a laugh.

"You look ridiculous when you do that," she snickered as she walked over to me. "But shopping sounds really fun."

"My mom is letting me borrow her card, so we can buy a few things but not too much."

"Oh that's so nice of her," Debby spoke with appreciation. "I wouldn't want to use her money though. I have my own card, but I can help you pick out a few things if you help me too?"