Spearmint and Cigarettes

Chapter 2 ~ Briar

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

¨Hide it all¨ I quickly say, and afterwards sarcastically laugh at how stupid I sounded. Hide it all.  I hastily run around the bathroom picking up the lighters we kept on the floor and counter. From the corner of my eye I can see that Chloe is still just staring at me.

"What the fuck are you doing? Help me." I whisper-scream at her noticing how high my anxiety is building up. I just can't let my mother see this side of us, at all. My heart starts pounding in my chest and soon after it starts to hurt.  

"Oh." Chloe lets out a laugh unconcerned, I mean it isn't her mom. Even so she wouldn't care then, maybe the tiniest bit but who knows. She grumbles as she finally walks out of the bathroom to pick up the bottle of vodka we left on the floor next to the bed in our room. 

"Yes." I yell back at my mother because I hadn't responded to her calls and she was no longer calling for us. For a moment my anxiety died a little only to be picked up once I heard foot steps going up the stairs. I zone out all I can hear is Chloe shuffling around for her clothes to put on. I couldn't move and I didn't want to move, so I just stayed there with a clouded brain.

"Hey hurry and spray febreeze in the bathroom, also use this." Chloe waves her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my daze and handing me eye drops. I see that she's changed now and it looks like she's put the eye drops to clear her eyes. Although they still look a cloudy gray, but that's an everyday thing. She slams the bathroom door in my face and rushes to the room door in order to open for my mother. 

I do as Chloe tells me to and spray febreeze around the bathroom. Quickly dropping the liquid into my eyes. My anxiety dying a whole lot, that's one thing I loved about Chloe. She was a quick thinker, not that I wasn't. It's just different with my mother. Through the wooden white door I can hear Chloe's fake ass voice greeting my mother with a "Good Morning Mrs. Jones" 

"I told you not to call me that Chloe, we're practically family." My mother responds chuckling at how formal Chloe sounded. "Oh where's Briar?"

"She's just using the bathroom. You know the usual thing most people have to do in the morning." Chloe says sounding dumb as fuck-- to me anyway. I proceed to flush the toilet to make it seem realistic.

"Mornin' Mom I'm almost out." I intervene in their conversation while 'washing' my hands, so that Chloe doesn't have to do all the work of convincing my mom. 

"Okay I was just going to tell you the details for a welcoming party for our new neighbors. You know how long that house has been empty, it's good to finally see some new faces around here." my mom states ecstatically. 

I walk out of the bathroom and look at Chloe who's glaring at the floor. Something that she usually does when shes taken aback. I see her curse under her breath and wonder if my expression is as bad as hers. I recover from my shock and wonder what Chloe is thinking while I put a smile upon my face.

"What? I didn't know that there were new neighbors. When did they move in?" I ask, trying to figure out if we got caught by our new neighbors yesterday. 

"I'm sure it was the day before yesterday. I don't know it was when you guys went to the convenience store." 

I see Chloe thinking deeply, "hmm" I think to myself what ever could she be thinking about?

"Oh well" I decide to shrug it off.