Chapter 23 Smothering

Around midnight Raven got up and went into the kitchen to make her self something to drink. Her throat drier than the desert.

"Hey what are you doing up?" She asked spotting James watching some late tv, he had earnt the right to go to bed whenever he wanted, Raven called it time management because James knew he was going to have to be up six the same morning.

"Couldn't sleep" James shrugged, "Why are you up?"

Raven took a seat beside him "I never sleep, I'm a robot"

James laughed, now that he had given this place a chance he actually kinda liked it, and Raven wasn't bad if you were on her good side she even went as far as to help you when you needed it. He could see it now, she was trying to help and James needed all the help he could get.

"Raven I hardly doubt that your a robot"

"I could be" She poked her tongue out "Seriously you gotta be up at six, you should be asleep"

James didn't comment, he seemed to be thinking about something "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"What happened to your mother?"

Raven let out a deep sigh "She died when I was fourteen, cancer"

"I'm sorry" James patted her hand gently, he had seen alot of movies where that sufficed as comfort. He couldn't explain it but in the time he had been here, he had become attached to Raven, he liked her and a part of him hated that she was sad. "My mother died too"

"Looks like we have a lot in common"

"When your mother died, did your father smother you?"

Raven gave a slight chuckle "Oh yeah. If you looked smothering up in the dictionary you'd see a pic of my father"

"And mine" James said somewhat bitterly.

"Is that why your so angry at him?"

"Yeah I guess so"

"Have you looked at this from his point of view?"

James looked at her oddly for a moment, "What do you mean?"

"I mean look at it like this, your father only had to worry about being a father and now suddenly he has to be a mother and a father. There are motherly things that you need for healthy development and now suddenly your father has to figure out what that is. He's only human James"

"I know, but hes so controlling. I'm not even allowed a girlfriend"

"Parents worry about strange things, your only son becoming a father at sixteen and having no job, no money and no means of survival"

He laughed a little, "Yeah I got it, hes just being cautious"

"James let me tell you something about parents, they want the best for their children, they want the world for them even if they have no idea how to give it too them"

"I just want him to stop smothering me"

"Sadly that won't ever happen, but maybe if you can man up and proove to him that you ain't gonna make mistakes then maybe just maybe he'll back off a bit" Raven patted his shoulder before heading back to her room with her hot drink. "Now I would get to bed and get some sleep, tomorrow we're starting some good old fashoined sports and you're gonna need the energy"