Frame It And Pin It

Chapter 3: Answer It

"Where have you been?" Laura asked as I walked into the house. She followed behind me as I lazily dragged my feet in the direction of my room. I was exhausted and all I wanted was to fall asleep and get a couple hours of rest but my mom wasn't going to let that happen.

"Out." I said simply and she turned me around to face her.

"What do you mean 'out'? Is that how you answer your mother?" She yelled and I clenched my jaw, already feeling very irritated. Why couldn't she just leave me alone like she had done for the past twenty years?

"I went out, mother."

"Where did you go? Did you spend the night with that boy? I told you that he's bad news. He will ruin your life. Why don't you listen?"

"I'm tired. Can I please be excused?" I said instead, trying to refrain from saying something I shouldn't have. I didn't necessarily like her but she was still my mother. Plus, nothing good could come out of arguing with her.

"Not until you answer my questions." She insisted, placing her hands on her hips. Her face held a frown which I had become very accustomed to.

"I'm an adult now. I can do whatever I want and I can go wherever I want." I pointed out and she shook her head in disagreement.

"Not when you live under my roof."

"No! This is not your house!" I yelled before I could catch myself. I could tolerate anything else from her but not this. She couldn't claim this house as her own. I wasn't going to let her. "This is my father's house, not yours! You are only a guest here!"

"How dare you raise your voice at me? Am I your mate?" She yelled back at me and I pursed my lips to stop from saying anything further. I had crossed the line. I shouldn't have disrespected her like that, even if she deserved it. She was still my mother. I had to remind myself of that multiple times.

I wasn't one to keep silent when I felt wronged. I wasn't one to shy away from confrontations. I always acted on my emotions, most especially my anger. I learned to have control over them as the years passed but since my dad passed, I felt like I was just a step away from exploding.

"I'm sorry." I apologized with a sigh and her expression eased a little.

"I know I have a lot to make up for and I'm trying so hard but you're not making it any easier for me, Jolene." She took a step closer to me. Her expression morphed into a sad one and for a moment, I felt bad for giving her such a hard time but the memories of the birthdays that she missed and the other mother-daughter things I had never gotten to experience growing up came flooding back and I suddenly felt nothing but anger and pain.

"It's not supposed to be easy." I said before walking away. The moment I was inside of my room, the tears came pouring down. I slid down the door to the floor and sobbed loudly. I covered my mouth with my palms to muffle the sound of my sobs. I didn't want Laura to know just how much she had hurt me.

A few moments later, I felt a buzz in my pocket but I ignored it. I wasn't in the right state of mind to talk to anyone.

"Jo?" I heard Ericsson call from outside my door and I immediately scrambled up to my feet, wiping away my tears. I didn't want him to see me cry. I didn't want him to worry about me. "Jo? Can I come in?"

I rushed over to my bed and jumped in, then, I grabbed my pink heart shaped pillow and hugged it to my chest. I felt warmth embrace me and I felt like my dad was here with me. The pillow smelt like him, thanks to his expensive cologne I had sprayed on it just to annoy him. It was something I did when I was trying to grab his attention. I would spray on his colognes and perfumes and walk right by where he was deliberately. It always pissed him off but he couldn't stay mad at his little girl. I missed him so much.