by Keya Jay
Chapter four: Skylar Royce
“I think we should organize it by size what do you think? Skylar, are you even listening to me? Customer’s will be here any second.”
“Oh I’m sorry, yea, yea go with your idea,” Skylar agreed not entirely sure what she was even agreeing to.
“What exactly was my idea?” Brooke asked knowing all too well that she wasn’t listening to her.
“I’m sorry Brooke I’ve just been a bit distracted.”
“You don’t say,” she said as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at me. “Did something happen last night?”
“No,” Skylar said which wasn’t a total lie because technically something happened 4 nights ago.
“So then what is it?”
“Nothing,” Skylar said quickly walking over to a box of shoes and checking the sizes. “So you want me to organize these all by size?” she said changing the subject.
“Yea,” Brooke said clearly not happy.
After Brooke left with a promise that she’d be here the second customers arrive to help Skylar out, Skylar immediately got out of the sun and pored her a glass of lemonade.
She’s been nothing but stressed all week, between rallying up all of the shoes she wanted to sell and taking care of her mother—which reminds her she should probably check in on her again.
Skylar sat her glass of lemonade down and walked down the hall toward her mother’s bed room. She pulled the key from around her neck and unlocked her door.
“Ewww mama, it smells worse and worse in here every time I come in to check on you,” Skylar said walking over toward the window to crack it and let some of the stinky air out. She picked up the Febreze® bottle she kept on her mother’s night stand for these purposes and gave the air a few sprays.
“I see you haven’t drunk any of the milk I gave you,” she said walking over toward where she sat the glass of milk a couple days ago, which was now chunky and obviously bad. She walked out of the room and threw the whole glass away before returning to her mother’s side.
“I see your eyes are still close, can’t stand the sight of me can you?” she said grapping her mothers’ cold fingers in her own.
“Mama I think you should eat, your stomach’s starting to concave. Are you hungry?” Skylar waited a beat or two and got no answer.
“Well that’s just great the silent treatment huh? Come on mom at least let me get you some food, I’ll sit it right here beside you and you can eat it when you’re ready, but I wouldn’t wait too long you look like you desperately need some food, I can see the outlines of your ribs threw your gown.”
Skylar let go of her mothers’ cold and brittle fingers and laid it back down at her mothers’ side. She grabbed the brush from the coffee table on the side of her mothers’ bed and began to brush her mothers’ hair.
“I’m finally doing it mama, you wanted me to spring clean 3 springs ago and I’m finally doing it aren’t you proud?” Skylar said as locks of her mothers’ hair fell out as she continued to brush it.
“Mama, you’re missing more teeth,” she said as she took the one that sat on her mothers’ gown and added it to the other ones she stuck behind her mothers’ pillow.
“I guess the tooth fairy hasn’t come yet to collect any of these, its ok she never came when my teeth fell out either. She doesn’t do her job very well so try not to take it to heart,” Skylar said as tears threatened to spill.
“I have to go mom I hate it when you ignore me it makes me sad and I’d hate for you to see me cry. I know I’m a monster but I’m still your daughter I’d hoped you’d still love me, but I guess not,” she said as she sat her mothers’ brush down.
Holding the tears back was starting to become a challenge.
“I have to go mama, I’ll make you some soup when all the people leave,” Skylar promised before closing her mothers’ door and locking it behind her.
