Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

"No way! This is absurd!" Those were my first thoughts when I saw those trucks. I could not believe it! What was Mum thinking? 

"Seriously Mum? What are those U-Hauls doing out there with all our stuff?" I burst out after almost breaking open the front door of our practically empty house. I could feel the heat in my face.

"Honey, you've got to calm down," was all Mum could muster. Mum knew I had a temper. That was something that I got from her.

"Calm down? Calm down?! You have got to be kidding me!"  I knew I was losing it. My chest was heaving.

"Honey, we can't stay here anymore. I can't afford to pay for this house. I have no choice. Please try to understand our situation."

"Well yeah? Maybe you gotta understand my situation. That 'our' you're talking about, does not include me! Or Tamra!" Tamra was just standing there, next to Mum, speechless, holding on to her precious teddy bear, Mr.Brown. And if you're wondering, yes, Brown as in our family's last name.   Tamra thinks that Mr.Brown is a living, breathing member of our family. Kids.

"Honey, you're an adult now. You have to try to under...."

" Yeah I'm an adult alright! And I don't see the point of us moving! Have you tried understanding my situation Mum? Huh? Have you forgotten that I've been held back in high school for 2 years because of my poor performances? Now that I've finally been improving, you wanna move away? So that what, I could restart my junior year at 19 mind you, at another high school? I would have to start from scratch! New teachers, new friends! I'm only finally getting used to this one and now you're gonna force me to start from square one?!" I was pissed, but I had a point.

"Honey, please. Let me talk. We need to make this move. You know that I can barely make rent every month. And don't forget our bills. They're piling up. I just can't do this anymore. I need to sell this house. We need the money. Honey please." Mum was on the verge of tears.

"What about the money Dad got from the National Guard? He was in the military. Surely they gave us a lot of money for what happened to him."

"You know as well as I do that your Dad's greedy siblings got a hold of all that money! Those jerks! They never even gave us a cent!" Mum's chest was starting to heave now.

"Well. They.. You... I.." Now I was about to cry. This was too much. Dad's siblings really were greedy. Even when he was alive. They were always asking Dad for money, even when they were not in need of it. I have no clue how they got a hold of Dad's money from the Guard. Must be some adult nonsense that I don't understand. I felt bad for Mum. I knew she was doing everything she could. She was the sole breadwinner of the family. Even with all my anger, deep down, I get where she was coming from. I tried one last time to stop the move, even though I understood our situation. I loved this place too much.

"But this was where Dad was with us. Every piece of this house. Mum please. The whole house just screams Dad. He bought this house for you. It was your wedding gift. And you raised Tamra and me here. We grew up here. And spent time with Dad here. And..." I could not continue. My throat was choking up.

Mum came over and hugged me tight. "Honey, I know. I get it. But my hands are tied here sweetheart. I don't wanna leave too. But..."

Mum stopped as I put my hands up, signalling for her to stop. Tamra ran over and it became a group hug. The three of us crying in embrace. For a 7 year old, Tamra sure have been through a lot. She was so mature for her age.

I broke the embrace to ask the question that I'm sure is on your mind too. " Where are we moving to?"

Mum broke away from Tamra. " Do you remember your Uncle Ulysses?"

"Of course. He died 3 years ago in that freak accident. What about him?" I replied.

"Well, he left me his house in his will. He told me that I could do whatever I wanted with it. I didn't sell it because I knew, with our struggling finances, that perhaps one day we may need to sell this house and move there. And that time is now."

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Copyright 2016 Sufi J. All rights reserved.

Reviews

[5hade5layer]

This is very strong dialogue with great character buildup. I would keep everything here, but if I could suggest one change, I think it would be to add more to the chapter since you do title it as a chapter; it just seems a little short to be titles chapter, but of course, it's entirely your judgement.

[Bleak_Darkness]

Thank you 5hade! Just fyi, I wrote this quite a while back when I first started getting into writing seriously. However, my sentiment now remains the same now as it was back then; to keep chapters short so that they don't lose the attention of the reader. I want my works to be as simple and easy to read as possible, with nothing being too dragged out or long winded. But I understand where you are coming from. I had the same thoughts when I was writing this chapter! Once again, I appreciate your reviews and look forward to more of them in the future!

[5hade5layer]

Oh okay! Yeah, I get that, too, since I sometimes write really short chapters for simplicity reasons. Keep up the good work!!

[Bleak_Darkness]

Thank you! And please don't be mad with my response! I'm afraid that it might come across as too strong or unfriendly. I do appreciate all your reviews and feedbacks!

[5hade5layer]

No, not at all! It's hard to communicate via typing because there is literally no emotion and a lot of things sound so passive aggressive. So I completely understand! :)

[Bleak_Darkness]

Thanks for understanding!

[The Exiled Wolf]

You are very good at conveying the emotions of characters through dialogues. Sometimes I could just skip the subsequent descriptions and still picture what is going on. Keep up with the good work!