CHAPTER ELEVEN: TREADWAY

Spending time with Elicia became something I could not do without. She made me want to stand up to Ron, my stepdad, if possible beat him to death but unfortunately I could not. I loved my mom and I didn't want Val to grow up without a mother, she already had no father.

Since the café closed, I managed to get a job for the festive break that paid very well so l had nothing to worry about when it came to getting money for Ron.

The next day on Saturday I was supposed to meet Ron at the house and give him the money I had earned.

I got home and knocked to be welcomed by a wasted Ron. The whole house was full of smoke. He had two of his friends in the house smoking pot. The whole house reeked of alcohol and this got me sick to my stomach. I knew very well the money I gave him enabled him to buy all these drugs and beer but I could not protest. I hated that I was weak when it came to this; why couldn't I be strong and stand my ground?

"Good thing you came I was beginning to be impatient." Ron says and his friends laughs and one of them who had dark blonde hair even offered me whisky and I declined.

"You don't drink boy?" the man asks and I shake my head not wanting to speak because I wasn't sure if I was able to control myself.

"No, he drinks. Take the whisky and drink boy." Ron says eyeing me and I shake my head still.

"I can't be drinking I will be going to work later." I say in a very calmed manner so that he won't think I was rebelling against him.

"Bullshit, take it. You wouldn't want to find out the consequences of not obeying your dad now would'ya?" he asks smirking and it takes all my willpower not to break the whisky bottle in his face.

"Leave it Ron." One of the friends says but he doesn't listen instead he waits for me to drink.

I take a swig and the liquid burns my throat. The burning sensation continues until I feel it in my stomach. Two more gulps and I return the bottle.

"Can I see mom?" I ask and he nods. I was taken aback because he usually makes it a big deal, alcohol is good to some extent I guess.

I get in mom's room and see her sleeping.

My heart breaks as I look at her. She used to be beautiful, lively and ever-smiling when dad was still alive. She used to be joyous, energetic and enthusiastic of life itself but as l said, used to be, it's all in the past.

Now all the shine, colour, and energy is gone. Sometimes I wonder if I should keep on fighting. It's difficult to fight for someone who doesn't care. Doesn't she see that I am hurting, doesn't she see that I am no longer the joyful kid I was when dad was still here.

But then I remember what dad said before he passed away.

*****'Mom needs you so please don't let her go, it's going to be difficult once I am gone but she loves you just as much as l love you, so be patient. People deal with loss in different ways*****

Tears start falling down and I start sobbing a bit loud. What exactly have I done wrong, I ask myself wiping my tears.

Life is not fair but its fairer than death.

Mom stirs and looks in my direction.

"Way." She calls me and I move close to her and sit on the space she created for me on the bed.

Dad used to call me the same and now the only other person that calls my name like that is Elicia.

Sometimes I wonder what she sees in me, why she wants to spend time with me, why she likes me.

I know she likes me and I like her back. Hell, l even feel like l don't just like her but l have fallen for her hard. The way she looks at me like I am the only person in the world for her, the way she laughs even when what I said wasn't even that funny, the way she is quick to defend me at work when my co-workers badmouth me, the way she wants to know more about me.

I love how unapologetic she is when she asks something of me, I wish l was as courageous as she is.

But I can't do this with her.

I can't manage to drag her into this mess I call life.

It won't be fair to her, she has a perfect, happy family so I can't be shuttering all that for her. If we were to date she would obviously want to meet my mom and dad.

What will I tell her, what will l show her?

A drunkard, addicted stepdad and a mom who is now doing drugs.

Will she even want to be with me then?

Why am l even thinking of the possibility of me being with her?

"You no longer visit often?" my mom asks bringing me back to reality and I lose it.

How can she be asking me this as if this house doesn't belong to me and her?

"I am surprised you are asking me that. Am I not supposed to be living here with you?" I snap and she flinches but I was on a roll so I stood up from the bed; I didn't even feel the need to calm down, she is allowing this to happen and now l can't even be with someone I want to be with.

"I can't even stay in my father's house because you allowed your drunkard of a boyfriend to move in now I can't even step in this house without asking for permission from him, a total stranger. Can't you see he has his claws deep inside you, mom?" I ask and go on to add more.

"Don't you love me; why do you choose him over me? Why can't you just tell him to leave? Vee misses you and I am now out of lies to tell her. Do you even care about us? You don't even know where I am living." I say and tears uncontrollably falls and I start hyperventilating and fall to the ground.

I let the tears fall and let the pain consume me, I start shaking and mom gets out of her bed and wraps her arms around me.

"He is all we have got baby; we can't survive without him. He cares for me; you are just misunderstanding everything Way. If you didn't shout or rebel every time he asked for something maybe you would have been in better books with Ron. He is a good man." She says and all my sobbing ceases and I feel numb.

She is even worse than I left her.

I thought she would soon realize that Ron was a monster but she is not even seeing it.

He is an angel in her eyes, is this what love makes people do?

Choose a stranger over their children?

I wipe my tears and shake her hands off of me.

"Where are you going Way, you barely got here?" she asks and all l do is hug her.

"I love you mom." I whisper into the embrace and decide to leave.

This was all too much for me.

As soon as I leave the room I bump into Ron who looked really pissed and l knew I was going to walk out of this house with multiple bruises.

"You think you are smart, right? Trying to turn her against me huh? You little traitor. You are pathetic." He says and slaps me a couple of times and l wince every time his hand meets my cheek.

By the time he had landed a few punches I was on the floor groaning in pain, once he was done beating the shit out of me, I stand up wiping the blood from my mouth and nose.

"I see you have been going out with a girl, what's her name again?" Ron asks one of his friends.

"Elicia Rae, her mother works at that hospital Cedars something." Ron's friend the one who had dark blonde hair says and I freeze on spot.

"You are wasting money on her, shouldn't you be adding that money on the money you give me?" Ron says and I keep my cool so he won't take this whole thing seriously

"You seem to be wasting a lot of time with that Elicia girl, I hope we won't have this talk again. Right, Treadway?" He asks and I nod.

I couldn't live with myself if Ron as much as touched a hair on Elicia.

How am l going to cut off ties with her when she had just began to light up my dark world?

I walked out of the house drained of all energy and I no longer had the energy to go see Vee after what had happened.

Instead I went to the park and cried myself till my heart was content.

I had to meet up with El and tell her to stay away from me, just thinking about it got me sick to my stomach.

I had to at least cherish my last day talking to her, get to know as much about her as possible.

Did life have to give me someone to cherish just to take them away?