her face. “We just
thought it would be easier packing now. There will be less work for
us to do when he finds a place, that’s all.”
Kira sensed there was much more to the story
than her mom admitted. “I don’t want to go, Mom. What about school?
It’s my senior year and I don’t want to move so close to
graduation. That would suck.”
“Now, Mouse. You’re always such a worrier. It
will all work out, you’ll see.”
When Paul reentered to get another box, the
smirk on his face brought anger riling up in Kira and she found
herself not wanting to back down like she usually did. She had
never been one for confrontation, but for some reason, she couldn’t
help herself. She propped her fists on her hips and shifted her
weight to one foot.
“I’m not going!”
Paul dropped the box he’d just lifted from
the stack and took two steps toward her. Kira was sure if there
hadn’t been a dozen or so boxes between them, she would have felt
the back of his hand across her cheek.
“How dare you speak to your mother like
that.” His hand flew up, pointing a boney finger in the direction
of her room. “Now scat— Rat! ”
Kira backed out of the room and headed down
the hall, but not before hearing her mother’s response to her
outburst.
“Whew! I guess I’ll have to stop calling her
Mouse. She’s not so weak anymore. But then, after tomorrow it won’t
matter. She won’t even be underfoot.”
Kira felt like she’d been kicked in the gut.
What was she talking about? She quietly backtracked to eavesdrop on
their conversation.
“Ya think she suspects?” Paul’s voiced
whispered.
“Nah, she’s not smart enough to figure it
out. Besides, she’s almost eighteen. She’ll be fine. I was pregnant
with her by the time I was seventeen and look how good I turned
out.”
“Still, we should be outta here before she
gets home from school. I don’t want a scene.” Paul cleared his
throat.
The sudden silence coming from the living
room made Kira uneasy. Maybe they’d stopped talking because they
knew she was there. She took a step away from the doorway, then
another, taking extra care not to make a sound.
No wonder they hadn’t asked her opinion on
the move. They had no intention of taking her with them. She slowly
made her way back to her room and closed the door behind her. She
spent the rest of the night curled in a ball, trying not to feel
the pain—but it came anyway.
By the next morning, Kira was numb. She went
through the motions of getting ready for school before finding
herself in front of her mother’s closed bedroom door. She paused
there for a moment, her fist poised a few inches from knocking.
Confronting her mother would be useless, she knew that. And now
that she knew how her mother really felt about her—that she was
weak and always underfoot—she wasn’t sure she wanted to change her
mother’s mind anyway. Kira would be eighteen in a few weeks. How
hard could it be to live on her own? She practically did it
now.
Kira let her hand drop to her side,
straightened her spine and slipped out the back door without a
word. She didn’t remember attending most of her classes and there
was still no sign of Lydia. Between what had happened on the
mountain and her mother’s plans to move, it was all she could do
not to burst into tears anytime someone looked at her. That’s all
she needed, to cry in front of everyone.
The trip home after school took longer than
normal as Kira postponed the inevitable. Somewhere in her heart,
she held a tiny grain of hope that her mom would reconsider and
stay. That all changed when she opened the door to an almost empty
house.
Everything was gone except for the tattered
couch, a rickety coffee table and a cracked mirror that hung
slightly crooked on the wall next to the kitchen.
Panic set in as Kira thought about her own
things. They wouldn’t . Kira dropped her backpack and ran
down the hall to her room. She half expected it to be stripped of
her
thought it would be easier packing now. There will be less work for
us to do when he finds a place, that’s all.”
Kira sensed there was much more to the story
than her mom admitted. “I don’t want to go, Mom. What about school?
It’s my senior year and I don’t want to move so close to
graduation. That would suck.”
“Now, Mouse. You’re always such a worrier. It
will all work out, you’ll see.”
When Paul reentered to get another box, the
smirk on his face brought anger riling up in Kira and she found
herself not wanting to back down like she usually did. She had
never been one for confrontation, but for some reason, she couldn’t
help herself. She propped her fists on her hips and shifted her
weight to one foot.
“I’m not going!”
Paul dropped the box he’d just lifted from
the stack and took two steps toward her. Kira was sure if there
hadn’t been a dozen or so boxes between them, she would have felt
the back of his hand across her cheek.
“How dare you speak to your mother like
that.” His hand flew up, pointing a boney finger in the direction
of her room. “Now scat— Rat! ”
Kira backed out of the room and headed down
the hall, but not before hearing her mother’s response to her
outburst.
“Whew! I guess I’ll have to stop calling her
Mouse. She’s not so weak anymore. But then, after tomorrow it won’t
matter. She won’t even be underfoot.”
Kira felt like she’d been kicked in the gut.
What was she talking about? She quietly backtracked to eavesdrop on
their conversation.
“Ya think she suspects?” Paul’s voiced
whispered.
“Nah, she’s not smart enough to figure it
out. Besides, she’s almost eighteen. She’ll be fine. I was pregnant
with her by the time I was seventeen and look how good I turned
out.”
“Still, we should be outta here before she
gets home from school. I don’t want a scene.” Paul cleared his
throat.
The sudden silence coming from the living
room made Kira uneasy. Maybe they’d stopped talking because they
knew she was there. She took a step away from the doorway, then
another, taking extra care not to make a sound.
No wonder they hadn’t asked her opinion on
the move. They had no intention of taking her with them. She slowly
made her way back to her room and closed the door behind her. She
spent the rest of the night curled in a ball, trying not to feel
the pain—but it came anyway.
By the next morning, Kira was numb. She went
through the motions of getting ready for school before finding
herself in front of her mother’s closed bedroom door. She paused
there for a moment, her fist poised a few inches from knocking.
Confronting her mother would be useless, she knew that. And now
that she knew how her mother really felt about her—that she was
weak and always underfoot—she wasn’t sure she wanted to change her
mother’s mind anyway. Kira would be eighteen in a few weeks. How
hard could it be to live on her own? She practically did it
now.
Kira let her hand drop to her side,
straightened her spine and slipped out the back door without a
word. She didn’t remember attending most of her classes and there
was still no sign of Lydia. Between what had happened on the
mountain and her mother’s plans to move, it was all she could do
not to burst into tears anytime someone looked at her. That’s all
she needed, to cry in front of everyone.
The trip home after school took longer than
normal as Kira postponed the inevitable. Somewhere in her heart,
she held a tiny grain of hope that her mom would reconsider and
stay. That all changed when she opened the door to an almost empty
house.
Everything was gone except for the tattered
couch, a rickety coffee table and a cracked mirror that hung
slightly crooked on the wall next to the kitchen.
Panic set in as Kira thought about her own
things. They wouldn’t . Kira dropped her backpack and ran
down the hall to her room. She half expected it to be stripped of
her
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