"Where've you been?" Ma demanded when I stumbled inside at six in the morning, Spade at my heels. Her voice was thick from sleep, scratchy from too many fags, and spitting venom while she pretended to care.
"Out" I responded vaguely, waving a hand in the air while I swayed. At about three in the morning, I ended up sitting in a booth with Danny, begging him to let me get drunk.
"It's my last night in New York. I'll probably never see you again!" I whined, sounding very much like the kid he thought I was. Finally, after a minute or two, Danny's stony face cracked into a smile and he obligingly brought me two or three bottles of beer. It all went downhill from there, and ended with the threat of, "You better not tell anybody I let you do this".
"Were you drinking?" Ma continued. Her sandpaper voice hurt my ears and grated on my nerves, along with giving me the idea to start a fight.
"So? You do it all the time!" I answered scathingly. Ma tensed, and it wasn't a moment later that she was yelling.
"Goddamnit!" she screamed, her face turning a satisfying shade of red. All at once, her hand, retired wedding band and all, came up and I was sent reeling towards the floor. It wasn't the first time she's hit me, and a wild part of me wished she'd do it again if only to fuel my hatred.
"I changed my mind. You're leaving!". I hid my stunned expression well, hard as it was, and replied with a snide comment of my own.
"Oh, yeah? And what'll you do? Go back to Rob and all your other lousy boyfriends?"
"Get out" Ma ordered, her tone surprisingly even. I rose to my feet, grabbing Spade's leash from the kitchen counter.
"Where the fuck do you want me to go?" I questioned, letting all my pent up anger escape into my words.
"Go live with your Goddamn father. I don't care how you fucking get there". I grabbed two things before I slammed the door on my way out - Spade and my beloved copy of The Catcher in the Rye.