When The World Fails You

When The World Fails You Part 16

“So how have you really been primo?” He asks me as we watch our other cousins skateboard around our block.

I shrug. “Trying to keep everything together…”

“I hope so.”

I light another cigarette after the last one burns out. I’ve been a chain smoker recently. It makes my chest feel heavy but its giving me some kind of sanity.

“I wanna go to a show…” I grunted, feeling tense. “I’m sick of keeping all this frustration pent up inside of me.”

George looks at me. “Then go.”

I shook my head. “No money, no ride, no go.”

We start talking music until I notice a car coming down the street. I know who it is almost immediately. It parks across from us and I see Madison sitting inside with a weird grin on her face. I get up and walk over to her. She lays her head against the steering wheel and I knock on the window. She looks up at me and smiles.

She’s drunk.

“Unlock the car.” I tell her.

She obeys, unlocking it and taking off her seatbelt.

“Are you fuckin crazy?” I start to yell at her. “Driving drunk? I’m a fuckin JD and even I know better Madison.”

She groans as she tries to get out. “You don’t understand.”

I look at her feet and notice she’s barefoot. “Where are your shoes?”

“I forgot to put them on.” She laughs and rubs her face. “I’m hungry, are you hungry? Lets go get food!”

When she tries to get back in the car I grab her from around her waist and pick her up. I kick her door to close it, take her keys and jam them in my pocket, then walk over to my garage where everyone is staring.

“Looks like she started early!” I hear one of my uncles say.

“WOOOOOT!” Madison throws up her fists and cheers. “Hell yeah!”

They laugh but I don’t find it funny. I put her down and she leans against me for support. I turn her around and walk her into the house without tripping. When we make it in the house I set her on a couch near the door and look at her feet.

“You needs socks.” I mumbled, looking around for Miranda. George walks in and grins at her. “Hey, watch her for a second I gotta get her socks.”

He nods and sits next to her while I go to Miranda’s room. By the time I get her socks and walk back over to Madison, my mom is helping her up.

“Mom, leave her.” I told her. “I need to put these on her real quick.”

Madison looks at me and grins. “Like Cinderella!” She throws herself back on the couch and raises her foot. “NOW Prince Charming, NOW!”

When I try to grab her foot she drops it and leans into the couch laughing.

“Did she drive here?” Mom asked me.

I nodded. “It’s not like her Mom, something probably happened.”

When I say that, Madison sits up and looks straight at me. “Wanna know what happened?”

“You can tell me when your sober…” I reach for her foot and put on a sock. By now most of my family is staring.

Mom sits next to Madison and moves her hair out of her face. “Mija, driving drunk isn’t smart.”

“I wish I had a mom like you.” I hear Madison say. I stop doing what I’m doing and look up at her. She starts choking up. “Maria was like my mom. She was almost everything.”