Chapter 4:

The rest of the night Aadam sat in the house alone, something he did often. He sat down stairs, waiting for him mom to come, he wanted to tell his mom what a big disappointment she was but he was side tracked by a voice. This voice was a familiar voice. A voice he's heard since childhood. It always came to him when he least expected it, but it was a quiet voice, sometimes as soft as a whisper.

“The curse...” The voice whispered.

Aadam shook it off, maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, it wouldn’t be the first time. He shook his head as he began to walk to the kitchen. In the drawer he grabbed a pill bottle labeled Aadam Foster. Take twice a day. Dr. Lang prescribed them to him a few months ago when she realized the voices were getting worse. The pills always made him tired but they stopped the voices in his mind. They worked for a while and Aadam thought he was getting better but today proved otherwise. They were stronger tonight, louder, angrier and it made his body quiver.

“It’s beginning...” The voice shouted.

“Shut up!” He yelled.

There was a rattling at the door. No doubt in his mind it was his mother.

“Are you alright?” His mom asked bursting in equally horrified and confused.

This can’t be happening. If mom finds out the pills aren’t working, she’ll throw me into a psych ward. Aadam had to improvise and he had to do it fast . Think… Think… He thought to him self. No I’m not alright. You didn’t get me what I asked for and on top of everything else I’m going crazy, hearing voices. “Your not crazy” another voice spoke back to him.

“Mhm hm.” He said, shaking his head fast and unconvincing. “Why’d you ask that?”

“I heard you yelling. I thought you were having one of your episodes.”

"I haven't had one of those in years." He said giving her a kiss on the cheek, "How was your day? Mine was great.” He rambled on unaware he was doing so. He was trying to keep his self-distracted from the voices he was hearing.

"That's good honey. At least yours went better than mine. I'm wiped" She said as she put the car keys in the top cabinet of the closet. She was a nurse so her days were always restless.

Your wiped He thought to himself, but he knew his thoughts were not needed. So, he told himself hell keep it respectful for as long as he could.

“Why you don’t request for less hours?” He asked.

“The bills can’t get paid on less hours Aadam. How many times do I have to explain that to you?” She said annoyed.

Aadam already knew the answers to these questions, he had asked her plenty times before. He just couldn’t understand the way she needed him to understand and believe me he tried.

“It’s only the two of us. Dad left years ago; we don’t need this much space. We didn’t need it then and we definitely don’t need it now. We can move to a smaller place, just the two of us, and that way you can work less hours.”

“Not possible.” His mother said nonchalantly, “I put too much time into this place, our life is here I don’t want to just give it all up like that.”

Whose life? Yours? Mine? Because if were being honest, we both know I don’t have a life, and the only life your concerned about is yours. But instead he breathed slowly, in and out, calming his self, for the wrath building inside him. “A woman came by the house today.” He said, just so regular, that you wouldn’t believe the rage behind his smile.

"Yeah." She said, not really interested. "What did she want?"

"To introduce herself. They actually moved across the street. How interesting is that?” It wasn’t really interesting, Aadam was just trying to change the conversation. If it was one thing his mom loved more than anything, she loved gossip and wanted to know all about what was going on in town. He felt guilty using her weakness against her, but he just couldn’t take the bickering back and forth any longer.

"They?” His mother asked.

"Yess mom,” he said, “theres a daughter."

“That crazy old fool finally got somebody to move into that house.” His mother blurted out. She was very blunt and Aadam hated that about her.

Mr. Allen had been trying to get somebody to move into that house since Aadam and his mother moved into town four years ago. It wasn’t that he couldn’t find anyone, because there were many qualified applicants. He said he was saving it for the right family. As if you can tell the right family from a showing. Everyone thought he just didn’t want to rent the house and was using that for an excuse but I guess he proved them wrong. He finally found the right family, even if it took all of eight years to do so.

Aadam shrugged his shoulders “I guess he did.” He didn’t really care who moved in or when. It would be just one more family he’d grow to despise because of their picture-perfect life. Aadam was very bitter on the matter, he couldn’t understand how he got stuck with a workaholic mother and a father who abandoned him for whatever reason. Even his best friends' parents were still together. It seemed like everybody around him got lucky except him. He despised GOD for that and he knew he shouldn’t be thinking like that but he couldn’t help but wonder what he did in the life before him that GOD would give him such a crappy life.

"Anyway.” His mother says, “That was sweet of her, what does she look like?"

"Like a mom" he said sarcastically. " A tired mom.” He knew that his mother wanted all the details on her but he wasn’t in the mood to describe anyone, he just couldn’t shake this weird feeling he was getting.

"A Decent one I hope." she muttered.

His mother always had a way of figuring out if she was going to like somebody by the way they dressed. She was high maintenance, and wanted her son to be the same way, part of why she had him in therapy every day. She hopes he’ll get better if he has somebody professional to talk to often, even if that someone is everyone other than her. Aadam thinks therapy is a way to make him into something he’s not, to make herself feel better, and he hasn’t made it easy for her either.

"I really didn't notice anything.” He said, trying not to give into the conversation.

“Was she at-least likable?” She said as she examined the freezer for food. Aadam never understood why she always came home and looked in the freezer. There wasn’t any food when she left, how could there possibly be food when she got off.

“From whose standards?” Aadam said annoyed from the conversation.

His mother sucked her teeth. “Forget it Aadam,” she said as she slammed the freezer door shut. She was a little erratic when she didn’t get her way, like a child having a fit in a candy store because their mother said no.

“She had a tattoo.” He said feeling bad for causing her to lower to those standards. She always had a way to suck him in, and those little tantrums was one of the many and believe it or not she had many.

"A tattoo?" His mother said in disgust. She always thought low of people who had tattoos. She thought they were I’ll fit, a bad role model for the young ones. If it was possible, she’d have thought she was better than everyone.

"Yes,”

“Those people and their tattoos.” His mother said.

“What people?” Aadam asked confused.

“You know those people who were once young and dumb and decided that one day they look to plain and are going to dismantle their body, only to get old and realize it was the biggest mistake of their life.”

“Oh, those people, how could I have forgot.” Aadam said sarcastic.

“What did the tattoo look like?” His mother asked in fascination, ignoring his sarcastic behavior. He didn’t get all the hype about tattoos but he still didn’t hate them like his mother.

Aadam shrugged it off, “I don’t know,” he said, “it’s kind of hard to describe.”

His mom looked at him with a smug face, more irritated at his lack of trying.

“It was more like a skull holding a knife, but it’s eyes were crossed out. A little creepy I thought.”

"It’s eyes were crossed out?” His mother asked.

“Yes. Weird isn’t it?”

After he confirmed what he saw his mother didn’t say two words to him. She just turned to her back toward him. He figured she wouldn’t approve of the tattoo, but he thought her response was a little uncalled for, even extra.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

His mother putting on a brave face said, "Everything’s okay darling. Just going to make a phone call.”

That was awkward because she never called him darling. Aadam was naïve, he didn’t see that she was pretending, he had no reason too, it was just a dumb tattoo.

"Okay." he said shrugging his shoulders. Something he always did when he was confused, and didn’t know what else to say.

Aadam just looked as she walked outside on the porch and pulled her phone out. That made him suspicious, she never walked outside to make any calls ever, they didn’t keep secrets between the two of them, atleast he thought they didn’t. Aadam began to peak threw the blinds in the living room, he could see everything his mom was doing. She was pasting back and forth. He could hear her breathing from inside the house. Her foot steps rhythmically moving back and forth. This worried him because she was scared, but of what? She began to dial an unfamiliar number. He couldn't see what she was dialing but he knew it was strange because his mother never could remember anyone's phone number. Ever.

"Pick up, dang it!" She began yelling at the telephone as if it had a mind of its own.

She finally reached who she was calling because he heard her say, "Is she here?"

He couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, but he knew it was unwelcoming news to his mother.

("Why... He's not ready... No... I said NO!... I don't care... We will leave... I know what's best for my child... How could you say something like that to me...)

“What wasn’t he ready for?” He thought.

When the conversation was over she pasted back and forth some more as if she was thinking of what to do. As she was walking back in, Aadam pretended to be making something to eat.

His mother flopped down on the couch and said "That was your grandad on the phone. I know you must have tons of questions." He thought to himself maybe his mother was finally warming up. Maybe she was ready to finally give answers after all these years. "whew," he said making the sound of relief, "where do i begin. "My father... The one ca..."

"That was your granddad and he's really worried about grandmom. Says she hasn't been herself and I think it's best we go visit her tonight.” She said.

"Visit her?" He chimed in totally forgetting the fact that she ignored his first question." They live eight hours away. What about school? Work? This life we so called have?”

"This is important. School will understand, they always do. I'll just tell them your having an episode." She said.

“There she was, back to her original self. Always using me for excuses.” He thought.

"Do it for me." She said.

“Do it for me.” He mumbled under his breathe. “When will I be able to do something for me.” He thought to him self.

"Don't forget your pills" she yelled.

"How can i?" He said equally mad and sarcastic. “They don’t even work” he thought to himself. But he knew not to say it.

He couldn't believe she had him packing eleven o'clock at night to go see his grandmom. He wanted to make sure she was okay, but school was tomorrow and he was already failing.

His mother waited for him in the car. The neighbors must of heard them because the lights turned on. "Come on Aadam" she yelled, trying not be noticed. Aadam continued to take his time, he figured if he had to be out in the middle of the night on a road trip with her, he was going to take his time.

Wandas porch light came on as she rushed to open the door to see what all the commotion was about.

"Great, now they know where leaving." His mother said annoyed.

Wanda and his mother locked eyes, he heard his mother whisper, "I'm sorry" as she drove off. “What was she sorry for?” He seen that look in his mother's eyes before, the one when she knew she was about to do something wrong, but she did it for the benefit of her own selfish feelings. This look was a look he seen often.

"Sorry for what mom?"

"Just sorry,” She said.