Skin

Chapter 1

Skin, skin, skin, why the hell would he want to call the story skin? It was short, easy to remember but what meaning did it have. During the car ride to the hospital I was trying to think about how I was to come up with this new story.

Real passion, real emotion, and real sorrow.

With my large, black, handbag from H&M in my hand I walked up the main desk on the third floor. My mother has been the hospital due to illness and her bad heart. For the last five years. About ten years ago we lost dad in a car accident and ever since then it was hard on mom. She was a house wife raising two kids and when dad died she had to find work. I had secretly started working for Mr. Heller to get more money. On the side I was babysitting, doing newspaper routes, cleaning buses, and did about everything. Just so we had more money. But five years ago mom collapsed and we found out about her heart and her illness. The doctors needed to watch her 24/7 if not she may not make it.

My brother and I had then moved to a smaller place that didn't ask for much rant. With him still in school he has done some of the things I had did just to get money in our pockets. As for I my full job was just to write. But the thing is, my mom doesn't know about it. And she's one of my biggest fans, without even knowing it.

When I signed myself in I had headed to her room where her nurse had just walked out. "Hi, Barbara. You coming to see her again?" She said in her hard New York accent almost surprised. I always see my mother every day for at least an hour.

"How is she?" I asked.

"She has her good days and bad. But today's her good day," she said giving me a long answer.

"Thank you," she smiled, nodded her head, walked around me, and had gone down the hall. Taking a deep breath I opened the door to see mom sitting in bed reading "Doctor, Please" one of the many books I wrote that were an a erotica. "Mom!"

"What!" she yelled back closing her book like she was a child who got caught in the cookie jar.

"What are you doing!" I whispered walking towards her. "You can't read this. You're in a hospital for god sakes."

"No one cares," she smiled. "Beside this is the only thing keeping me in bed and not attacking some of these male nurses."

"Mom!" she shrugged her shoulder as she handed me the book. With a disappointed sigh she folded her arms and pouted. Taking a set next to the bed I placed my bag on the bedside table and pulled out a bag of M&M's, her favorite. "You can't read erotica, they are bad for you."

"That's what your grandmother said about your father. The old bat." She said taking the M&M's out of my hand.

"I know, I know. But you don't have to worry about her anymore." My grandmother was not always very kind to my mom. My grandmother didn't like my dad and wanted mom to marry a rich man named Douglas Cooper. Mom ended up eloping with my dad and had us shortly after. The first time I ever meet that woman was when she showed up to dad's funeral and actually spit on his face in his casket.

"How's Logan," Logan was my sixteen year old brother.

"He's okay. Straight A's, found work at the local pizza place."

"Really," she smiled. I nodded my head, "That's good," she said.

"How are you?"

"Good, good." I said getting up to turn on the TV from across the room.

"Shepard?" mom whispered. The moment I heard the name my eye lit up. Oh god she knows. "Barbara, are you-"

I spun around and raced to the bed taking it from her. "Mom, I can-"

"Shepard's Editor?" she finished as I sighed in relief. "You should have told me!" she laught, "I could have read his books before they even get in stores. You bad girl you should have told me," she said slapping my arm.

"I'm sorry," I said out of breath from shock.

"Don't be, honey. I know you're working hard. So is he handsome?" she winked.

"He's a girl," I said taking a seat. Oh god she almost found out. If she knew, what would she say?

"What a shame," she said taking her attention to the TV. We were quiet for a moment before she said, "I'm sorry."

"Why?" I had asked.

"You had to take on mine and your father's role. Paying my bills... Barbara. You're a good girl. I don't know what your father and I did right but I'm glad." She said staring the TV. She pointed at the TV as I glanced up to be it was on the new showing the forecast. "You should head home. A big rain storm is coming."