Chapter 5

René! Get your a*s down here now!” Shay’s voice echoed up the stairs and into her room. Adrenaline pounding through her veins, René jumped out of bed getting ready to swing at anyone standing near.  Blinking back her tiredness, René looked at her digital clock. 6:00 a.m. Sighing, René stumbled down the stairs and found her mom in the kitchen looking pissed.

            “Yes, m’am?” She mumbled, rubbing her eyes, the adrenaline’s affect still working its way out of her system. Shay tapped her foot and pointed to the sink with dinner dishes in it. S**t. René had forgotten to do the dishes before she went to bed. “Sorry, Mum. I’ll do them now.”

            “Damn straight! You should have done them last night!” Her condescending tone bit into René’s patience but she held her tongue. She really didn’t want to start an argument that early in the morning. René put her hair up in a loose ponytail and turned on the hot water. While she waited for the water to get warm, she stacked the dishes next to the sink. All the while, Shay was bickering at her and telling her how much she did for them and that she deserved a little respect and that she couldn’t do everything. “So the least you can do in this f*****g house is wash the damn dishes!” The anger rising in her chest, René scrubbed the dishes a little too hard. “When I was your age-” René’s reserve snapped.

            “When you were my age you were too f*****g high to see straight! When you were my age, you were pregnant and out of school, and living in a rundown apartment building. So, I don’t want to hear-” Shay slapped René so hard, her head whipped to the side painfully. Tears stung her eyes as René turned her back on her mother and started washing the dishes again. When the dishes were done, René walked past Shay and said, “I hope you can take care of Kristen today, because I’m not getting back until late,” and walked out of the house not waiting for an answer. She went to her friend’s house a few blocks down and sat on her front porch, waiting for her to wake up. René knew Mel’s grandma wouldn’t care if she was there but she would be a little angry that René didn’t give her a heads up.

            The sun was just above the horizon when René heard Mel’s grandma moving around in the kitchen. Gently tapping on the screen door, René waited for her to open the door. Peering through the blinds on her kitchen window, Mel’s grandma opened the door. “What the hell are you doin’ here so early in the mornin’? Mel ain’t even up yet.” She said allowing René to step into the living room.

            “Mornin’ Gram.” René mumbled passing her.

            “Mornin’ to you too, but you still ain’t answered me.” Gram crossed her arms over her chest after shutting the door and looked René up and down. In the dim light, the bruise forming on René’s face was just barely visible. “Oh, Lordy.” René flinched a little as Gram touched her cheek. René shrugged.

            “It’s nothing. Can I hang out around here until Jim comes to pick Mel up for youth group?”

            “Yeah, of course. Are you sure everythin’s ok?” René smiled and nodded.

            “Yeah ,I’m fine.” René sat down in the wooden chair next to Gram’s plushy recliner and relaxed, laying her head back and closing her eyes. Gram asked her if she was hungry and she managed to shake her head. Her body was more concerned with sleep than it was about food.

 

            “How long’s she been ‘sleep?” René heard Mel whisper.

            “Not long enough.” Gram answered. “She talk to you lately?”

            “Nah. She’s been too busy since she got home.”

            “You know what she been doin’?” René heard the water turn on and off quickly and then a little clink as glass hit glass.

            “Fars I can tell, she jus’ been home. I haven’ seen her outta the house at all, ‘cept to take the trash out or to play with Kristen.” Another quick spurt of water and a soft clink and René guessed Gram was cleaning the kitchen. Sitting up and massaging the crick in her neck, René looked over her shoulder to see Mel standing next to Gram in the kitchen. Gram was holding a towel and drying a cup while Mel was leaning against the counter, both unaware that she was awake.

            “Hey, Mel.” René said, rubbing her eyes and standing up. “Got plans today?” Mel’s big brown eyes smiled at her.

            “Hey, girl. Been a while.” She hugged René. “Ain’t got nothin’ goin’ on today. Was just gonna lounge around.” Since René’s fifteenth birthday, Mel and René hadn’t been talking to each other much. Getting caught with marijuana had put their friendship on the line when Mel put all the blame on René, but René couldn’t be entirely mad at Mel because she had put most of the blame on Mel, too. So they were squared away. “I see you got a shiner there.” Mel pointed at René’s face and her eyes sparkled.

            “Nah. It’s nothin’.” She absentmindedly rubbed her cheek. “Mum just got a little mad at what I said.” She shrugged. “Shouldn’t’ve said it.” She took her ponytail down and hid her cheek behind her straight long blonde hair.

            For a good two to three hours, Mel and René sat down on Mel’s bed and talked about nothing in particular. Mel had just gone through another rebound boyfriend and wanted to know if she had the right to be angry at him for dumping her. René asked her if she treated her rebound like a rebound or like a real boyfriend. Mel couldn’t really answer the question so she just shrugged. René chuckled at her, wondering why she even dated, knowing she only wanted one person. Many more topics later, Gram popped her head in and told René that Jim would be picking them up around three. A little earlier than usual but René didn’t care, so long as Shay didn’t show up and force her to go back home. Feeling tired and worn out, René leaned against the wall and poked Mel out of impulse. When she jumped and yelped, René giggled.

            “Hey, what was that for?”

            René shrugged. “Because I felt like it.” She giggled again and poked her again.

            “That is not funny.” Mel said, getting annoyed.

            “Yes, it is.” René then attacked Mel and started tickling her. Mel screamed and hit René with her pillow. René stopped when Mel told her to quit. “You are so easy to piss off.” She shook her head and grinned. “No wonder Bryan loves to tickle you. You get all pink in the face.”

            “Oh, shut up. I do not.” Mel said defensively.

            “Do to and I can prove it.”

            “Don’t you dare.” René laughed at Mel’s attempt to glare.

 

            The afternoon sun assaulted René and Mel as they dashed out of the house and to the waiting van. Jumping in, the two girls wiggled their way to the back and made themselves comfortable next to the A/C unit. Arriving at their usual church, René and the rest of the kids scrambled out of the van and, some sluggish, some fast, made their way to the building. René avoided Jim as much as she could but was unsuccessful. For some odd reason René couldn’t explain, Jim knew where René was. And whether she was playing ping-pong or pool, he seemed to pair up with her. She wondered why he wasn’t playing basketball with the guys like he normally did.

            “So, how’s your week been, René?” He tossed the ping-pong ball toward her and waited for her to hit it back in his direction.

            “It’s been good. Nothing to complain about.” René was amazed at how convincing she sounded but the look she received from Jim told her he wasn’t buying it. “Really. I’m serious.” The more she tried to convince him, the more he became skeptical.

            “That’s not what your mom said.” She hit the ball a little too hard and he almost missed it but kept it in the game.

            “Do you always listen to her?” René was unable to hide the acid in her voice but she smiled quickly hoping he didn’t catch it. He did.

            “She’s worried about you.” There was silence for a few minutes and just the ping-kerplunk of the ball going back and forth was heard.

            “You’re just as bad at lying as I am, Jim. Maybe you should go help some of the other kids here. They might actually need your counseling.” René caught the ball, put it down on top of her paddle and walked away. She hurried to the bathroom so he couldn’t chase her down. The bathroom was like any other public restroom, except the stalls were cleaner. René sat on the sink counter and counted to thirty before she made her way back to the lounge. No one else was in there so she made herself comfortable on the couch and thought of nothing. Mel came in a few minutes later laughing and flirting with Bryan. They paused once they saw René.

            “There’s food in the gym if you want some. They got cookies.” René took the hint and left to join the throng of youth group members surrounding the little tables in the gym. She glimpsed Jim but he didn’t see her so she hurried and made a plate. Weaving in and out of the many teenagers, René found a group of vacant risers and sat down in the corner so she could see everyone around her. She watched as people her age laughed and joked with one another like there wasn’t a care in the world. She found herself wishing she could have that kind of friendship with someone but knew she would never find it.

 

            Walking up her porch, René noted Eric’s truck in front of the house. She didn’t know why he was there but she really didn’t care. She wanted nothing to do with him at the moment. Walking into the house felt like walking into a tomb. Everything was deathly quiet and the musky smell of stale cigarettes and dust settled in around René. Then, as clear as day, René heard her mother’s soft bright laughter. Wondering what was going on, René closed the door a little too hard and let it echo throughout the house. A few minutes later, Shay and Eric emerged from their room, smiling at each other. René’s gut twisted in disgust toward her mother.

            How could she betray her like that? Eric was a worthless piece of s**t and Shay was letting him back in? Did she not learn her lesson? Was she bound to keep lying? She went through the same thing with her second husband of seven years, so why was she doing it again? René didn’t understand.

            Taking one long look at them both, and giving them the impression she didn’t like it one bit, René stomped up to her room. No one bothered her and Eric made sure Kristen slept in her own room. Maybe Shay would finally be an adult again. Or maybe not.

Author's Note

The double quotations are supposed to be dashes. It's just this website doesn't translate them right when I copy and paste.

Reviews

[nono]

Coyotes right much much much events! And that's good keeps the reader at interest! I like it and I would buy it! Keep up the good work!

[Coyote Poetry]

A lot of events in this chapter. Emotion can lead us to dangerous places. A lot of conflicts and few answers in this chapter. Sometime we can twist up our life and leave limited directions for us to go to. A very strong chapter.
Coyote