Trust me

Hug Me

I'm 15 years old, I'm just finishing my shift, the manager comes out and gives me a handfull of my payment, I earn $12 a hour, 4:pm to 10:pm, Monday to Friday, I work, we've just finished closing up.

$360, I thank him, and then I grab my shoulder bag, which is also my school bag, I have to hide my money from my mother, she tends to snoop through my things, I have to hide everything, my mother is now a drug addict, I can't believe that I am still in her care.

I go through the back door, in case she came back, I his my money on the inside my jeans, I close the door, slowly going for the stairs, I can hear the tv, she's pigging out on corn chips, I get to the stairs, that creak, the tv clicks off, uh oh.

I rush up to my room, close it, grab my desk chair and jamming it under the door on, my mother stumbles up the stairs, and trying for my door, I open my closet up, I pull the floor boards up, I only have a few jumpers hanging in here, I have to hide my jewelry, though it's mostly just childish jewellery, but I know she'd find a way to sell it, she mother recently started in a porn video, she got $200 out of it, bought herself some stash of drugs all gone now, but she wants more of it.

I pull out 2 duffle bags of clothing and has about $6,000 took a while to save that up, but after working for the diner that long, I was pretty excited to have that much, I'm trying to set up a agreement, for me to live on my own, but my mother needs the gold support, I do have amazing grades, I want a scholarship, I want to get away from here.

I put the floorboards back in, grab my hoodies and then close my wardrobe, my mother knows I got paid tonight, I don't know what she hit the door with, but it put a crack in it!, I open my window, 'get back here' my mother demands, I grab my two bags, 'don't you dare' my mother says, and reaches through, oh, she used the end of a lamp, she tries moving the chair, I climb out, carrying my two bags, I am forbidden from ever visiting Max's place, we still talk all the time, still my one and only friend, who literally knows me better than anyone.

I am welcome to stay at the chef's place anytime I like, but she isn't my legal guardian, she's helping me get my own place, I don't have enough for furniture, but the chef has offered to rent out her second bedroom with a attached bathroom to me, she's going to let me stay here for just a couple of days, my mother needs rehab, I have no idea why she hasn't been sent there already.

She lets me use her computer to chat with Max online, my mum sold my flip phone that I got for my 14th birthday, Sookie, the diner chef totally gave her a bruised face after that, but I also got humiliated at school as my mother made a complaint to the teacher and the entire class walked in on her having sex with our teacher, he got fired, his wife left him, took their 5 embarrassed kids with her.

I am daily bullied by that, Max is kind of a badass at the school, he has already started drinking, though his father is a nice guy, his father works as a mechanic, and goes to a pub every Friday and they have a neighbourhood barbeque every month, his mother stays home, cleans and cooks, she is really amazing, she and him had 7 children together, in 9 years, Max is the 3rd eldest, we met in Preschool, he's only 5 months older than me, he's super protective of me, he's gotten into plenty fist fights, most aren't from me, he's a complete hot head, he's on the lacrosse team, he'll make captain for sure, he's got a 6 pack, and he's made out with several girls, we talk during class, online before bed, when I'm staying at Sookie's of course, and we sometimes go out for like little adventures, some guys kind of hit on me, but Max kind of scared them away, I wouldn't be such a attraction if my mother was normal enough.

Sookie makes yet another complaint to child protection services, they'll investigate, and if she has really gotten into drugs, I may actually get to live here!, which is great, me and Sookie run over some things, she has a room set up for me, a bed, some blankets, even some of my clothes are here, and my school books, mum has a way of setting those on fire, I hug her, she orders pizza!, she knows I love food, mainly cause I don't get as much, I'm really skinny, I do have amazing health and I'm smart, cause I enjoy reading, helps distract me from the world I live in, I got banned from the public library where use to be my escape route from ages of 7 to 12, til my mother stole my pass and got arrested for almost burning the library down!, she was drunk on tequila, someone put her behind bars already!.

I help clean up, she lets me have a quick shower, then I brush my teeth, and I change into some pyjama pants and a shirt, Sookie is really supportive of me, encourages me to do well in school, and helps me with my homework on my breaks, she has taught me how to cook, I want to be a chef when I'm older, me and her sometimes spend our weekend, working our way through her cookbook, and on holidays volunteer at the homeless shelter, I wish she could have been my mother, when I was younger, and my mother would literally leave me at home screaming for hours, Sookie literally got arrested for trying to get me out of there, she taught me how to walk, talk, my mother once put alcohol in my baby bottle, cause she didn't have milk, I had the worst case of throw up, so I've had alcohol before, almost ruined my livers, but my mother got away with it, she got large pension, from how much support she needed, and since I was doing good in school and I needed supply's she got extra, so if Sookie wins, all of those payments will go to her, Sookie really is like a mother to me.

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Sorry for it being so short, Roxanne is really lucky to have Sookie and Max in her life, it's good to have people close to you, keeping you safe.