1.1

Kaylee was pulled from her memories by the sound of Janet moving around in her room. Perched on top of the kitchen counter she glanced out the window hoping to see the bus coming around the corner. She heaved a sigh when she all she saw was an empty stretch of road. Hearing the bedroom door open she stilled and silently willed Janet to breeze by the kitchen as she usually did but like always whatever Kaylee wanted to happen the opposite did.
"Freaking Murphy's Law," she muttered under her breath when Janet appeared in the doorway.


There was a moment of silence as each stared at the other then Janet rolled her eyes."How many times do I have to tell you to stay off the damn counter?"
Uncrossing her legs, Kaylee let the heels of her sneakers bang loudly against the cabinets, hiding a grin as Janet tried, and failed, to hid a wince. Kaylee watched as she absently rubbed her forehead and that gesturing telling her what she already knew. Once again Janet had a hangover. She didn't know why knot of disappointment lodged in her chest. Janet without a hangover was like the kids at school not talking about her.
"I don't know mom," she said in reply to the earlier question. "It's not like this kitchen gets much use anyways." Shrugging she glanced out the window once again as she slid off the counter. These little conversations with her mother never did either one of them any good. She still didn't see the bus however, it was her turn to grimace, as she noticed a man hanging around in front of the house.
"Looks like you have company," Kaylee sneered then watched in disgust as Janet fluffed her hair and sauntered outside and down the sidewalk. Turning away from the window when the man yanked Janet toward him, Kaylee suddenly remembered the book that she had borrowed from her teacher and had finished last night. Rushing back to her room she grabbed it from her nightstand and headed back out front.

"Good Lord," she muttered as she picked up her pace and rushed outside. It was just getting worse and worse. At one point in time she hadn't known what Janet had done for a living. There were the rumors of course but Kaylee had thought they were just that, rumors, until she had stumbled on a scene that no child should ever have to see. Janet hadn't seemed to care, as a matter of fact, she had snapped at her to get lost and Kaylee had done just that. She hadn't returned home for hours and when she did she had went straight to bed. She had been twelve at the time.

With a small sigh she stood outside as she waited for the bus to come and idely thought on how Janet and her relationship had changed. They had had so much fun together. She still didn't know what had changed it. For as long as she could remember it had always just been the two of them. Janet never talked about her parents and the one time Kaylee had asked about her own father she had been lectured on minding her own business and staying out of business that didn't concern her.
Hearing the sounds coming from the house she wished two things. One, that she had her MP3 player and two, that the freaking bus would hurry up! Flicking her gaze down the road again she sucked her teeth as she saw another man loitering by the mailbox. She was just about to tell him to get lost when she heard the sound of her mother's heels as she sashayed by her. She greeted the new man with a tinkling laugh.

Glancing down at her watch Kaylee frowned then hit her forehead in frustration. Of course! She had forgotten about stupid daylight savings time. She could have saved herself the embarrassment of seeing Janet's early morning sexcapes if she would have remembered to set her clock back an hour! "Oh brother," she said as she plopped down in the grass and leaned back. There was no way she was going back into the house. She would just wait right here for another thirty minutes. A small smile pulled at her lips as she started to find shapes in the clouds. She and Janet had spent hours doing this when she was little. Blinking rapidly she cleared her throat. Never look back, she reminded herself sharply. Looking back was for fools and the priviledged.


She didn't know how long she laid there before getting bored and deciding to go sneak back into her room through the window to avoid seeing anything that she didn't want to. Getting up she dusted off her pants and started to walk around the side of the house.
Kaylee couldn't help but flinch as she watched the man hand her mother some cash then, after a brief passionate kiss, walked away without a backward glance.

"What in hell do you think you're doing?" Janet snapped as she shoved the money down the front of her dress. "I thought you had school today."
Kaylee couldn't stop staring at the money that was peeking out the front of Janet's dress. It was almost as if it was taunting her. Reminding her of who her mother had been and who she was now. "I do. The bus hasn't come yet," she replied tonelessly.
"What are you staring at?" Janet asked then following her gaze snorted. A sneer pulled at her mouth as she shoved the money out of sight. "Don't act like you didn't know where the money came from that puts food in your ungrateful mouth. Hell, I...we could make twice as much if you would dress up a little bit. I told you that I would..."
Kaylee couldn't hear whatever else her mother had to say through the buzzing in her ears. She can't mean what I think she means, she told herself but deep inside she knew. And the fragile hope that she had kept locked away, the one where she hoped her and her mother...Janet, might someday have a normal relationship was shattered. And she couldn't stop the tears from leaking out of her eyes.
Burying her face in her hands she heard Janet's snort of derision then felt a sharp poke on her shoulder. "Your bus is here. You'd better hussle your ass."