Let the Crimson Fly

Chapter 2

I woke up in the middle of the night to a knock on my door. Actually, it was more of a frantic pounding. But I was so out of it, that I probably wouldn't have even noticed the noise if it weren't for that voice. That unmistakable, lying, cheating, maddening voice.

"Olivia! Please let me in! You can be mad if you want, but you have to let me in!" Yelled Brian.

Now I definitely wasn't opening the door.

"I would let you in, but here's the thing: I don't like you. So, go crawl back into your car Brian, and drive far away, like, maybe to Canada or something. Have a nice life," I said before rethinking my thoughts.

"Actually, I hope you have a terrible life. Go to North Korea and die," I said with sass. I heard a few comments along the lines of 'bitch,' and 'fuck you,' but eventually his profanity faded and I could safely assume he was gone.

I reached over to the side table for my phone and felt my body slide. "Shit," I mumbled before gravity made my hip collide with the floor.

"Ow," I said quite loudly, rubbing my now bruised hip and attempting to stand up.

I reached for my phone much more gracefully this time. It was 5AM. So it was less of the middle of the night, but hey, jet lag. Anyway, it was good a time as ever to call my mom. I mean, she was 3 hours ahead of me, and she was always a morning person. I scrolled through my contacts until I found her name. The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Hello darling! Long time no call?" Way too perky to hear this early. Yeah, she had definitely stopped maturing at 18.

"Hi mom," I said, lacking her enthusiasm.

"I thought you would call after you ate out with Brian? Or was the romance too much? I'm hinting something, darling!" My mother laughed, or more of giggled. Yeah, a high school girl giggle. I shuddered.

"Um... No, we kind of broke up. I caught him in the bathroom with a skank," I said without even shedding a tear. I guess I was cried out or something.

"Wow, that's so sad!" My mom said in an attempt to sound benevolent, but only sounded normal at most. Oh, how hard she tried.

"Well, orientation starts at 2, so I'll have something to take my mind off it," I sighed. Lies. I had a one track mind that could double task. I'm always that girl who looks too stressed and too tired.

"Sweetie. You have to suck it up, stick tissues in your bra, and go for it! That's what I did with your father!" My mother said. I had heard this so many times, and I always said the same thing in reply.

"Mom. Dad died." God. Sometimes I didn't know what was up with her. I broke up last night, and she was pestering me to get a new boyfriend. She really wanted those grandchildren.

"Eh, I knew he was going to die first when I married him. Never ate enough oranges. Vitamin C is important, Olivia."

"Yes mom."

"And milk. Drink milk," she was going to be at this for a while.

"Yes mom."

"And don't forget--" She was cut off by a man's voice in the background, calling her name. "Oh . . . Carl woke up. I have to go, good luck!" She said, and hung up.

Well. I wasn't really sure how to respond to that one. Did she have a boyfriend?

Did my mom have a boyfriend and I didn't? I pushed away the thought because today I couldn't deal with those thoughts. My mother was too unpredictable, and I had to focus on... Not fucking everything up?