Stoneface

"I hate this," I said.

My mom looked at me and sighed. She picked up a box and went in the house.

"Mom, why can't we just--"

"No," she said icily. "Stop complainin' about it. It's not happenin'."

Rylee and Wyatt, my brother and sister, chased each other, screaming. I picked up a box and went to the kitchen. I shoved it on the counter and caught my breath.

"I hate this," I repeated.

"Cassandra Desirae," she started.

"I wanna live with Shanna."

She turned on her heel quickly. "Your cousin is nothin' but trouble. She drinks and smokes and has sex. She doesn't care about her grades. You are most definitely not endin' up like that, honey, I'll tell you that right now. Go get some more boxes and unpack. I'm not hearin' anymore of your nonsense." She went outside to have a cigarette.

I stood there and she looked through the window and saw me still there.

"Cassie! Get your a*s outside and get some more boxes! Quit bein' stubborn! You're livin' here whether you like it or not. It's either here or Grandma's -- not Shanna's!"

I sighed, went back to the truck, and brought some more inside while Rylee and Wyatt got to play and destroy our f****n' brand new house.

***

"Hey, baby. How was your first day?" my mom said with a smile.

I stared at the floor of the van. "S****y."

She rubbed my shoulder. "Hey, watch it. It'll be okay, Cas. You'll make friends."

I shrugged. "I guess."

I fidgeted with the radio and turned the knobs until finally I got to a song I liked. We drove for five minutes until she turned it down.

"Mom!"

She gave me that look. I shut up.

"Me and Gary were talking..."

I looked up hopefully.

"We agreed you aren't livin' with her. That's a definite no. But..." she paused, sighed, and gripped the steering wheel. "She can come sometimes, to visit. And you can go sometimes too. But not that much."

There was a long silence. "Really?"

"Yes, really. But we're gonna be on your butt about them grades, Cas. You're graduatin' high school and you're goin' to college. Don't let Shanna's crappy views get in the way of your future. You're a smart girl, Cas. Let it show..."

And she went on and on about me being a nurse or a lawyer or a doctor and how she would be so hurt to see me as a pornstar or a stripper or not doing anything with my life or save up money for beauty school and be a broke hairstylist like my Aunt Dana and a bunch of other stuff that I really didn't care about. I told her to calm down and that I was gonna be a nurse. And help little babies. She smiled and stopped talking and had a cigarette and it was all cool the rest of the way home.

We pulled up in the driveway of our new house and Rylee and Wyatt were playing with the waterhose and she was lovin' on him too much, which really pissed him off. 1633 Nevada Fields Lane, I know. It was a two-story and red-bricked and all the houses were about two inches apart from each other, all squashed together. But it was okay. The neighborhood was okay. I loved living in a real house and feeling like a real person. At least for a little while.

"Hey Bubba! Hey Peanut!" my mom said cheerfully to Wyatt and Rylee. They ran up to her and gave her a huge hug. She smiled and walked over to turn the water off when they got off of her.

"Mama, what's for dinner?" Wyatt asked a million times.

"Pizza, Bubba," she said, kissing him on the head.

He jumped up and down and screamed and laughed. I leaned on the van with my arms crossed and my eyes to the sunset, not smiling.

Rylee came over to me. I couldn't stand her. I hated how happy she was and I hated how she couldn't f****n' talk right. And she was rubbing off on Wyatt, with how she spoke and s**t. Not sayin' her "R's" right. "Cassandwuh, I missed you so much! How was youw fuhst day school?" She smiled and tried hugging me.

"Get off me, Rylee. Why do you always freakin' call me Cassandra? It's Cassie. F**k," I said. I pulled away from her and walked into the house. Annoying lil' b***h.

"Hey, Cas, can you call Domino's?" Gary shouted from the recliner.

I looked at him. My nose was crinkled. "Why do I always have to do it?"

"You know what, Cassie, me and your mama have had enough of your s**t--"

"--Gary," I heard my mom interrupt.

"No, Brenda. She needs to hear this. You got a sour lil' attitude ever since we left Deckley and you gotta start a new school and s**t. I don't know why you don't just be happy and smile and make friends. S**t, it ain't that f****n' hard. You're nice and funny, 'n friendly. Don't take it out on the people who give you f****n' clothes and food and a damn roof over your head. I love you, Cassie, but I'm tired of it. Just call Domino's, will ya?"

"Like you're my real dad. Dickface," I said under my breath as I went upstairs to look for the phone.

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[MarkGMelvin]

wow deep