Chapter 1 - Simply Bound

“Mom?” I whisper as I knock on the bathroom door. No response. “Mom?” I whisper a bit louder this time. Still no response. Why is she still in the bathroom at 3:30 in the morning? The light is on but I can hear nothing. Maybe she just left the lights on accidentally before she hit the sack. Twisting at the knob I realize it is locked. Weird. Glancing down at the light flooding over my toes I notice how cold it is. Rubbing my hands together I knock again at the locked bathroom door and wait for a sound, any sound. Nothing. Fingering the lock I try to decide if I could pick it, if I wanted to pick it. I guess it would make sense to just get the door open so I can get back to bed. Trudging downstairs into the kitchen is a task considering the lights are off and I am still half asleep. I yank the drawer holding our silverware open I reach out for the first knife I see, I butter knife. I close the drawer and scramble back up to the hall in which the bathroom door is located.

 

“Mom?” I give one final try. Nothing but silence follows. Squatting I take a look at the knob, it is one of the locks where you stick something flat in, turn it and bang, your in. Wedging the knife into the crack, I twist and push the door open. Inside, my mom is fully clothed, draped over the edge of the too full bathtub and I can’t help but notice how her body is not moving what so ever. Immediately tears fill my eyes as I rush to her side.

Clutching her shoulder I pull my mother away from the tub. Her eyes are closed, and she still isn’t moving. I lay her down on the cold linoleum and race to my room. Snatching up my cell phone I am dialing 911 before I can make it to the hall.

 

“911 emergency, how may I help you?” a nasally voice asks me.

 

“Help! My mom is dead or dieing, I really don’t know! Please come, hurry!” I choke out, stuttering worse than I ever have.

 

“Ma’m I need you to calm down. Where are you located?” She asks, completely calm. Her serenity pisses me off, how could someone be okay when my mom is dieing?

 

“1476 North Cardwell street.” I bite off the end off the sentence because I’m back at my moms side. Soft sobs burst from my chest. “Mom… Hurry up! God damn it! I swear to god if she dies I will hunt you down and slit your throat!” I scream at the woman without realizing what I’m saying.

 

“We are dispatching now. Calm down, it will be okay.” She only says in reply, still sounding bored. I hate her. With all of my heart. Slamming the small silver phone shut, I lift my moms body off of the white floor and cradle what I can into my arms. She is getting colder, I need to get her a blanket. It will all be okay. I rip the towel off of the golden towel rack by the toilet and drape it over my mom. Kissing her forehead I feel a tear slide off of my nose and into her hairline.

 

“Mom. Don’t leave me. What happened to you? Oh god. Please, please hurry.” I cry. Sirens sound outside of my house, I squeeze my mom even tighter. “It will be okay, I promise.” I whisper. Footsteps on the stairs. I close my eyes and lie my head on hers.

 

“Help!” I scream, as yet another tear falls. Someone is pulling me away, away from my mother. I allow them to lift my into their arms and carry me down to the living room keeping my eyes closed the whole time. When I feel the couch underneath of me I look up to see a man in uniform.

 

“Is my mom going to be okay? She has got to be okay!” I scream as my vision blurs once again. Why can’t the tears wait?

 

“I can’t promise anything, just stay down here. We will handle everything.” The officer sits down. How assuring, can’t promise anything my a*s.

 

“What do you mean, you don’t know? If she isn’t okay I’m screwed to hell because I have no family! She has to be alright! She is my mom!” I blow up, rising off of my position on the couches middle cushion. I hit the first stair before my officer can get off of his fat a*s. The hallway is surprisingly quiet. Maybe this is all a dream. I slow to a walk, and start to hear faint whispering. Mom? Peering into the bathroom door I can see that my mom is stretched out on the floor, the towel has been thrown to the side.

 

What I notice most is the small circles placed on my moms bare chest. The way everyone is just kind of standing there looking down. No one notices me, so I don’t move.

 

“3:42 is the official time of death.” Someone says. No. She isn’t dead, they’re wrong. These people are sick. They need help. My moms just as alive as she was when she went into this room. I push into the small room and start to scream a noise that doesn’t even sound human. They are all wrong. I will show them.

 

“Mom! Wake up! Mom!” I holler so loud it hurts even my ears. Not one of the surrounding people move in to help us. Just like my father. He didn’t help us either. It has always been mom and I against the world. So, why do I feel so very, very alone?