Page 70 of Run Away Home: Tempered

“Uhm...Yeah. Yes.”

“So the answer is no?”

“I said yes!”

“You said ‘uhm’ first.” He stands up and stretches.

“No one is perfect.”

“Oh, yeah? Great. Thank you.”

“You’re close to it, though.”

“Stop lying. I know I’m not. I know what type of guys you like. I’ve seen them. I’m nothing like them. They’re tall, and rugged...and very intimidating, quite frankly. I’m small, I have different looking facial features than a lot of people I’ve met here, I talk funny, I—”

I stand up and kiss him. To shut him up, maybe? Maybe because I honestly can’t disagree with any of those things?

“Stop. Just stop.” I pull away from the kiss. “You’re spiraling out of control again.”

“Yeah, and thinking never leads to anything good.” He gathers his clothes once more. “I’m going to go shower now, clear my mind.”

I appreciate him, and I care about him, but do I love him? It’s not just because he’s a typical Virgo...but, yeah, that’s definitely a part of it.

Hayley Bayley

MY HEAD IS LEANINGonto the back of my hand. My eyelids feel super heavy. They start to close, but the flashing light of the TV keeps me awake. Where is Mom?

I look behind the couch at the clock on the microwave. Eleven thirty already? She said she’d be home by ten o’clock. I can’t sleep. What if a man at the restaurant tried to hurt her again, but this time...

I go to the phone hanging on the wall and dial her cell number. It rings and rings, but she doesn’t pick up. Now her voicemail box is full. I guess I’d left her too many messages.

I sniffle and look at the little square table in the kitchen. There it is...the bottle of Mom’s pills. She told me not to touch them, but I take a few every night, and somehow she doesn’t notice.

I should try to clean up. I grab my bowl of cereal from the table. It’s gone soggy. I carry it to the sink and pour the milk down the drain. I make sure the cereal doesn’t fall too by using my spoon as kind of like a wall. I imagine the milk crying, asking the cereal for help as it falls, falls, falls.

I sigh and throw the cereal into the garbage can. I beat the bowl against its sides to get every last piece out. I rinse the bowl and put it in the dishwasher.

I wonder what Melissa’s doing right now? I miss her and the other kids. I always wanted to live with Mom again, but now that I’m here, I’m lonely and scared all the time.

A key scrapes into the door. My ears perk up. I grab the bottle of pills off the table and dump a couple into my hand. I stuff them into my pocket quickly. Mom’s home.

Two figures stand in the doorway. Mom turns on the light switch. A man in a suit is leaning his head on her shoulder. He looks like he’s about to fall. His tie hangs limply around his neck, and his shoes are untied.

“Hey, Hayley Bayley,” she says, throwing her purse onto the chair by the door.

“Hi...” I approach them slowly. I can’t take my eyes off of the drunk man. “What’s wrong?”

“Him? He’s just sleepy. He had a long night,” she says.

Okay...I know he’s way more than tired. She treats me like I’m still a baby. We’re picking up right where we left off, I guess. I look them both up and down.

“Does he work at the restaurant too?”

Mom laughs. I don’t understand what’s funny about that question.

“No, baby. I’m gonna go put him in bed.”

“No...”

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