Untitled by Brittany Demery (ebook reader below 3000 .TXT) 📕

It was a typical Thursday night, boring like all the others. I came home from school around 3:20, ate, showered, and started to do my hair for work but thought better of it and threw it in a high ponytail. Then I went into my closet in search of my work uniform consisting of black pants and a blue shirt that said Betty’s Diner. Once I got dresses I applied some lip gloss and eyeliner and looked in the mirror and sighed. I’m not anything special my long brown hair was a little bland, my best features were my hazel eyes and my lips. Other than that I thought I looked kinda frumpy with my wide hips.

“Can’t get any better than this.” I said to myself.

When I came downstairs Stacy (what my mom told me to call her after my brother Tyler moved out) was sitting in the kitchen with a bottle of wine, not even bothering to get a glass from what I could tell. The lights were off so I turned them on and was about to ask what was wrong when I noticed she had been crying. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do because Stacy and I didn’t have the lovey dovey relationship that most daughters had with their mother, well not since my brother moved out when he was 18 and I was 16 two years ago.

So I did what only I could do, I removed the empty wine bottle from her hands and threw it in the trash.

“Mom let me--“ I started to say but she interrupted me and said…

“I’m Stacy remember, not mommy” she explained with a hiccup.

“Well come on Stacy let me get you to your room, you need to sleep this off.”

So I grabbed her arm and threw it over my shoulders so I could walk her to her room. Which wasn’t an easy task by the way, when I finally got her to her room I laid her on the bed and removed her shoes, then rolled her to her side in case she got sick. Then I brought in a towel and a trashcan and sat it beside her then grabbed my keys and left for work.

As I’m driving I wonder what could have made her cry and drink so much, but it couldn’t be too bad right? When my brother Tyler was still home she would do this a lot over our dad. But we have never met him. It was like she would crawl inside her own mind for a while. Crying about why he left her, and why didn’t he want to raise her children like a normal family.

Finally I pull up to the diner ‘Betty’s’, that I’ve been working at since I was sixteen. By this time it’s 4:10, ten minutes late, oh well that’s not too bad. When I go in I notice that it’s a packed house, which isn’t too unusual for a Friday night but it seems a lot more than usual. So I head into the back to clock in and look for Betty. When I put on my apron, Brittney, one of my co-workers rushes through the revolving kitchen door and plops down on the floor.

When she looks up and sees me her face breaks into a smile. Brittney and I have been best friends since I started working here two years ago. She’s so much shorter than me, with blonde hair and baby blue eyes. You’d think she was shy by her looks but she’s got enough attitude for the both of us.

“Boy am I glad to see you, some family reunion is in town and they all decided that a diner the size of my pinky finger was the place to go.” She says holding up her finger.

I burst out laughing and say “Well looks like we better get to work then, who even has family reunions at diners, isn’t that what backyards are for.”

“ That is exactly what I’m saying Bliss, but somebody got their wires crossed so we’re swamped, and looks like it’s just me you and Betty serving tonight, because Lena has the flu, Aaron has to watch his nephew, and Tanya hasn’t come back from her honeymoon yet.” “Like I know she tryna get her groove on being a newlywed and all but come on, a 2 month honeymoon?” she says with a sneer of disgust.

“Suck it up Brittney at least Steve and Mike is here to cook and wash dishes, now let’s go serve the masses.” I say with determination.

Six long and terrible hours later the family reunion finally decides to go home and thank god for small blessings because they left a big tip. When they pile out of the diner I lock the doors and go to the back to find Betty and Brittney sprawled on the floor with Steven and Mike in folding chairs drinking beer.

“Seriously guys? Get your butts up so we can clean up.” I say laughing at how exhausted they look.

“Awww, come on Bliss give us like ten minutes.” Says Mike

“Yea, just ten then we’ll get up, do you have any idea how many times I got burned tonight rushing to get those orders filled and I swear Mike broke like five plates getting them into the drying rack” Steven says pointing at Mike and laughing. I swear for a guy in his mid-20’s he still acts like a total teenager, and dresses like one too. With his baggy pants and oversized shirts, and messy brown bed hair, I’m not sure has ever seen a comb. But with those blue eyes he still works with the ladies even with his messy appearance.

“You did what to my plate’s son?” Betty says with a frown. She’s basically the mother of the bunch, she filled in where we all lacked with our mothers. At 38 she doesn’t look a day over 25 with her golden blonde hair and her warm hazel eyes. I swear I wish she really was my mom sometimes.

“It was an accident Mrs. Betty, honest, we were rushing, I’ll buy you new ones I promise” Mike says’ shamefully, he’s the youngest of us all at barely 16. He’s a scrawny little thing with oily black hair almost to his chin and coke bottle glasses, he seems to be going through a gothic phase.

Betty sighs and gets up off the floor tugging a worn out Brittney with her she says “It’s fine hun, just a couple plates, be more careful next time.” Then she looks around the room “Well let’s get to work and maybe we’ll be out of here before midnight.

Everyone got off the floor and went to their stations to clean up and I turned on the radio to break the silence. As soon as I turned it on the song Misery Business by Paramore started playing and everybody started singing and dances with whatever they were cleaning with.

When the song went off everyone looked to be finished cleaning so I gave Betty a kiss on the chick and told her I was heading home. I waved by to the guys and yelled for Brittney to come on so I could take her home.

When she gets to my car she flops down in exhaustion and I pull out onto the road. “Damn Bliss, I’m tired that crowd was crazy tonight.”

“They really were, I’m crashing when I get home” I say as I pull into her drive.

“Me too Bliss, maybe my car will be fixed by Monday and you won’t have to take me home.”

I scoff at that she always thinks she’s a burden on me. “Brittney its fine you know I don’t mind.”

“Thanks Bliss, see you at school tomorrow” she says before she walks in the house.

When I get home it’s almost midnight, all the lights are off so I figure Stacey is asleep, when I got inside it had an empty feeling. Like no one was home, but I chalked it up to it being so late and went into the kitchen and fixed me a glass of water that’s when I noticed the note sitting on the counter. It was from Stacy obviously, it read

Dear Bliss,

I just want to start off by saying I love you so much

and that you’ve been an amazing daughter. But I have

to leave, I can’t stay here anymore trapped in a life

that I really don’t want to live. After Tyler moved out

I’ve been feeling suffocated like if I don’t get out I might

explode. I’m not doing this to hurt you but you’re old enough

now to make your own decisions and take care of yourself.

You don’t need me anymore so its time for me to go out

and live my life.

P.S

I know you haven’t heard from Tyler in a while

But here is his number and address. Call him and he’ll

take you in, I’ve already sold the house so you have a week

to get out before the new family moves in.

I Love You

After reading the letter I sunk to the floor, not believing that my own mother would just up and leave me like it was nothing. I’m not sure how long I sat there but eventually I got up and walked to her bedroom, thinking there’s no way she’s just gone that this has to be some sort of joke. Maybe I’ll walk in and she would be sitting on her bed laughing saying got you! But when I opened the door everything was gone. Her four poster bed that I would climb into when I was scared, her vanity dresser that she would sit at for hours brushing her long black hair. Everything was just gone, like she was never there to begin with.

I slammed the door and ran upstairs to my room and grabbed my suitcases and started packing. I stuffed everything I could into my four suitcases and ran downstairs and threw them in my car. “How could she just leave me.” I screamed.

“What am I gonna do, what if Tyler doesn’t want me? What am I gonna do?” I said in desperation.

I don’t know how many trips it took me to take all of my things to my car but I was determined to get everything that I could to fit, so I wouldn’t have to come back.

When I was satisfied with what I had I grabbed my keys and the note off the counter and jumped in the car, not caring that it was nearly 3 in the morning I just needed to get out. So I put Tyler’s address into my GPS and pulled out of the drive. About an hour later my GPS said I had reached my destination.

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