The night was cold and rainy. Air from outside that smelled of petrichor, blown in from my bedroom window. Noises from down the hallway filled my ear, waking me up from my sleep. I got out of my bed and followed the noises that led to my Mother's room.
"What are you doing?" I said while leaning against her door frame.
She stopped in her tracks when she noticed me. I cocked a brow at her as I crossed my arms.
"Well, I have to go on my business trip, so I'm packing," She said, continuing to stuff more clothes into her suitcases. "You should too."
That's when I got confused. "Why?" She turned around and grabbed me by my shoulders, making me sit down on the bed.
"You can't stay here by yourself. I'm going to be gone for a long time on this trip. Maybe a few months?" She slid her hair behind her ear when I looked at her big, two suitcases.
"Why can't I stay here? I can take care of myself." I said, slightly touching her still muddled at what she said.
"What if he comes?" She asked in a worried voice. "Who?" I responded as she got up and started to pace the room.
"Your father," She yelled in a upset, but weak tone. "What if he comes?!" She quized, scratching her head.
"I've never met him before, so it's fine." I tried to calm her down, but it was no use. She looked like she was going to have a panic attack.
"I've heard that your father is back in town," She let out a small sigh, "He's not a good guy, I'll tell you that, but he wasn't like that when I met him."
She sat down on the bed again and continued to pack her things in a swift pace. I sat beside her wanting to know more like the curious girl I am.
"Ma." I whined, hoping she would at least give me a little information.
The way she breathing showed me how serious she was. She stopped packing and stared at me deeply.
"He's trying to take you away from me. Before you were born he would hook up with other women. I was pregnant with you when we had a divorce. But he wanted you, so after the divorce, I moved far away from him. End of story." She let out a sad sigh as if she was about to cry.
"So does he know where we live or something?" I questioned as my breath hitched for a moment.
"I don't know how, but he does..." She weakly replied, "I don't want him to take you from me." My eyes widened as she quickly held my hands.
"If I can't stay here then do I have to go with you?" She chuckled nervously before continuing to pack again.
"Of course you can't come. It's for business, not vacation. Plus, you have school." I looked at her still addled as ever.
"Then where am I going to stay?"
"Well, at my friend's house."
"Mom... "
"Go on, pack your things. Use two cases, you're gonna be staying there for awhile..." She demanded, but in a calm voice.
Unsure, I nodded before going back to my room, trying to take my suitcases off the high shelf in my closet. The case wobbled a little. It soon fell, making me fall back. I whimpered in pain when it was on top of my left leg.
"Dammit..." I whined as I lifted it off my leg. It left a medium sized, bluish-brown bruise on my knee. But I quickly shook off the pain before continuing to pack my things.
–Time skip–
I was downstairs in the living room waiting for my Mom to come down. She was taking so long that I could fall asleep where I was standing. She finally came down, dragging her suitcases down the stairs lazily. I walked up to her, grabbing one of her cases, helping her bring it down.
"You ready to go?" She asked as she opened the door.
"I guess."
We both exited the house. I put my suitcases, including hers, in the trunk while she locked the front door. As soon as we both got in the car, she started the engine and began to drive off. I've noticed that we drove by unfamiliar buildings and shops. That's how I knew we were in a different part of town.
"Ma, where the hell are we going?" I ask tiredly. "It's midnight and I'm exhausted."
"Y/n-ah, watch your mouth." She demanded, gazing at me then back at the road. "I told you, you are going to stay at my friend's house."
"What about school?"
"Her house is close, so you can just walk."
I fakely smiled then turned my focus to the window.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?"
"Well, you said you're gonna be gone for a few months." I frowned, turning my focus back to her.
"Okay, yeah..?" She insecurely sighed out.
"Ma, you're going to miss my birthday. I'mma turn eighteen in two more months." I sadly pouted, continuing to look outside the window.
She peeked at me then scrunched her lips to the side. I felt her hand rubbing against my arm.
"I know how you feel. Don't worry. I'll call you."
"Only on my birthday?"
She chuckled and rolled down the window. Moist air hit my face briskly which made eyes become watery. She pinched my cheek playfully. I couldn't help but quickly remove her from me.
"No, babe, I'll also call you when I have breaks."
"When is that?" I questioned which caused her to bite her lip and grip at the steering wheel tightly. Her veins looked like they were going to pop any second now.
"I don't know. But for now, enjoy being seventeen. I promise, I'll call you."
💐💐💐💐💐
Suddenly, the car began to slow down which made me pop up from my short nap I had on the way here. We stopped at this big house that had bright lights at the front. On the side of the house, there looked like there was a gardening area which happened to be surrounded by different flowers and other random plants. It was a big house. Bigger than ours. More decorative too.
On the porch, it had potted flowers on each side of the door. Followed on the far right, there was a dark brown, swinging bench which there was a woman sitting on. There were a few suitcases in front of her.
"Come on, Y/n, get out the car and get your stuff." Mom caught my attention, banging on my window from the outside which made realize how deeply I was observing this house.
I snapped out of my thoughts and finally decided to exit the car. Once I was out, I headed to the trunk to get my suitcases like she told me to. By the time I was able to make it to the porch, the woman and my mom already had each other in a bear hug.
Once they detached, I was welcomed by the smiling woman. "Hi," She greeted cheerfully, stretching her arm out so I could shake her hand. "You must be the one I've heard so much about. Y/n, right?"
"Yeah..." I accepted her hand shake, smiling politely, but nervously as I shot my Mom a perplex glare.
She shot back a joyful look as she once again, hugged her friend, but more excitedly. They both were squealing and jumping as if they were teens. I just stood there, awkward and stuff. I really just wanted this to be over so I can go to sleep. Tonight seemed longer than usual.
"Y/n, this is my friend. You can address her as Ms. Lee. She will be joining me on my business trip."
"Joining you?!" I let out, confused and irked. "Then I'm gonna to stay here by myself?"
"Of course not, honey," Ms. Lee replied in a cheerful and calming manner, placing her hand on my shoulder; a smile never leaving her face. "You'll stay here with my little boy, Mark."
"You have a son?"
"Yep. Take good care of him for me. He's over at a friend's house right now. Hopefully, he'll be back tomorrow." She took my hand and dropped her spare house key in the palm of it.
"Okay... Don't worry, I will. Y'all have to go, now. Don't want you missing your flight." I calmed myself down as I helped Ms. Lee put her bags in the back of the trunk.
Mom gave me a tight hug as if she didn't want to let go which I hope she would cause she was squeezing me to the point that I couldn't breathe. "Take care of yourself, got it? I'll call you when we land."
"Okay, okay, love you, bye!" I pushed her to the car in a rush as I slid the keys in my pocket.
Both Ms. Lee and my mom were finally in the car. I waved goodbye to them as they pulled out of the drive way.
I picked up my suitcases and went inside. Even the inside looks nice. I went upstairs and looked for a suitable room I could stay in. One room I past was dark blue and grey colors which I thought must be her son's room. There was a lot of rooms in this house which made it hard to decide. Most of the rooms were either too dark or too bright for me, but after what seemed like forever I finally find a room.
This house is a fucking maze...
As soon as I walked into the room, I dropped my cases on the floor and admired the room's scenery. It was pretty nice. It wasn't to dark or bright. It was decorative, I could say that. But it really wasn't that bad.
The room had a weird vanilla and lavender scent. It filled my scenes the more I walked around. It was strong. As much as I didn't really care, I took the keys out my pockets and threw them on a chair that was in the corner of the room.
I couldn't help but dive into the bed. My body gave up on me. I let my body soak into the warm, soft mattress and sheets. "Sleep..." I mumbled jadedly into the pillows.
Let me get this straight; I stay here for a few months and I have to take care of a little boy. I wonder how old he is. Maybe somewhere between the age of four and twelve. He might be a little angel or a troublemaker. Please, God, no. I can't handle anymore stress. Tonight was enough.
I hope these months past fast.