Forgetting Terra Matthews

Chapter 5

When I woke up in the morning I decided to go check on my mom. She was still out cold lying face down in her bed. There was a glass of water and Tylenol sitting on her side table that Terra had gotten her last night so she should be fine when she wakes up.

I glanced over at the clock. 8:49 am. She won't be awake for a while, that gives me time to search for anything she could be hiding.

I searched through her drawers and found a couple things. Some weed, a pipe, a belt and some needles. I know there is more.

While taking a moment to think of any other possible hiding spots, I realized I should probably check her closet.

I shoved everything around, looking behind things and in corners, then I looked up on the shelf above all of her clothes. All that was up there was a suitcase.

What the hell, maybe she hid something in a suitcase. I pulled it down carefully considering it was a pretty big suit case. For how much noise I was making, my mom did not even make one movement.

I set the suitcase on the floor and opened it. Jack pot.

There were 3 bottles of alcohol, all of which were less than halfway gone. Then there was a shoe box. I crinkled my eyebrows before opening the shoe box and a deep feeling of anger settled into my stomach.

That fucking liar.

There was empty plastic bags, burnt spoons, more needles, a water pipe and one little bag of heroine.

How long has she been doing this? When did she start again?

I don't even care, I just need to get rid of it.

I grabbed everything I found and threw it in the suitcase before picking it up and carrying it down stairs.

My anger kept getting worse as I thought of all the times she's probably been lying to me lately.

"I'm doing better honey."

Liar.

"I don't have any spare cash, I spent it all on groceries."

Bull shit we have no food. You spent it on drugs.

"I'm just going out to a movie with a coworker."

Oh really mom?! Tell me all about the movie you saw last week!

"I'm just really tired, I'm fine."

You weren't tired! You were dozing off from the heroine! You liar!

Suddenly I was standing in the backyard throwing the bottles at the driveway. It made me feel better watching them shatter to pieces.

I don't understand how people can let drugs and alcohol control their lives. My mom is always a better person when she's sober. Why does she have to do this?

Because she's an addict.

I chucked another bottle as hard as I could at the cement and watched it smash to bits.

No more alcohol for you bitch.

I gritted my teeth before grabbing the last bottle and throwing it as hard as I could at the driveway with a grunt.

I heard the back door swing open but I didn't even care to look. I grabbed the suitcase and dumped everything into our fire pit.

"Kieran?" It was Terra. She was walking toward me.

I grabbed the water pipe and the small pipe and turned around, ignoring Terra.

"What are you doing?" She asked as I brushed past her and threw each pipe at the cement, watching them shatter to pieces.