“Where you been?” I hear when I come into the door. I stop and look at my mother who's sitting in a darken living room on a plastic covered sofa, with a red bath robe on. She’s holding a cigarette in the between her index and middle finger of her right hand. The only light that’s in the room is the moon coming in from the slits in the old bed sheets that have been made into curtains. I let the book bag that’s already sliding off of my right arm, drop to the floor.
“Mick, what you doin’ sittin’ in the dark?” I ask coming to the couch to sit next to her. She looks me up and down and in a split second leans over and starts to smell me. I know what she was doing, trying to find evidence that I had had sex. It wasn't the first time that she has done it. Michelle Leake don’t trust anybody, especially not her daughter. After a few more sniffs she removes herself from my space and continues to look at me suspiciously.
“I can’t smell it on you, but I can look at you and tell.” She says and takes another puff of her kool mild. I smack my lips and turn my head away from her. Of course she wouldn’t smell it on me. After I had done what I done, I opt to take a shower. I scrubbed myself good, leaving no part of me untouched. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed what had happened, very much so, but there was no way that I was gonna walk into my mother’s house smelling like straight sin. Michelle Leake was a lot of thing and stone cold christian and private investigator was at the top of that list when it came to me.
“What you cook, Mick?” I asked jumping up and started to walk towards the kitchen. I didn’t get far before she grabbed my wrist with a death grip. I looked down at her still in her same position, looking at me with those eyes.
“Your father, God, rest his soul is probably turning in his grave to know that you out there sinnin’, like ain’t no bodies business. “ She says in a scowl while letting go of my arm. I turned from her and continue towards the small kitchen. I walk to the pots that I see sitting on the stove and begin to open the tops of them. “Were you protected?” I hear from behind me. I turn to see that she has followed me in the kitchen. I look to the ground, before I allow for my eyes to her. My mouth begins to open, but it stops ajar as I look into her topaz colored eyes. I take a deep breath and then turn back to the stove. “Jesus.” She whispers. I hear her swiftly storm out the kitchen.
“It was the first time.” I say to her so low that I don’t think that she hears it, but she does because she comes back in the kitchen in stands in her previous spot, which is the doorless doorway. I feel her eyes bare into me. “I never did it before, I promise, ma.” I say to her in a sob tone and step closer to her. She holds up her hand that is still holding the lit cigarette, stopping me from coming any closer.
“Now, I know that you 20 years old, Olivia. And you think that you a woman now, and I don’t ask much of you. All that I ever asked was that you never disrespect me or the rules that I laid out for this house. The same rules that you have been living with all of your life.” This is how she normally starts her speeches. “and one of those rules is that you follow what God says. I can’t have you running in and out of my house fornicating and what not. If you wanna start being that type of woman then you gone have to have leave this house.” I just look at her. Michelle Leake is one of a kind, the only that I know who would demand her children to act like adults and treat them like children.
Truth be told the only reason why I haven’t moved out yet was because that would damn near kill her. Every since my dad died eight years ago, she has been terrified about being alone. My brother, Will, left at the age of seventeen and he has been back since. I know that I’m all she has and the same goes for me. It’s sounding as if she is giving me an ultimatum, and she is. Mick loves her God more than she loves anything else in this world and don’t get me wrong she should, but it has driven her to do some things that would leave any person in awe. That includes throw her family to the wind. Michelle Leake, the pastor’s pet.
“What do you expect me to do? Live my life by the bible like you?” I say as she begins to drop her hand. “I can’t live like that, Mick. I really care about this guy. It’s the first time that I’ve ever felt this way. I can’t spend the rest of my life alone or…” I stop before something else slips out. We just stare at each other. She reaches her arm to the nearest ashtray and stubs out her half smoke cigarette.
She clears her throat and then turns to leave the doorway. Then she stops. “If you find that you’re pregnant, don’t come back to this house.” She says and then continues on her to the back of the house to her bedroom. I just start to clean the kitchen. Michelle Leake, one of a kind.
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