Lily Rose

Lily Rose crept toward the bedroom door. She pressed her ear as close
as she dared, straining to hear any sound from within. Nothing.
Pushing her long black hair out of her face, she slid into the
kitchen. She opened the refrigerator, digging around the beer
bottles. Darn it, she thought, out of milk again. Why couldn't she
have a normal life, with things like milk and bread around when she
wanted them? Disgusted, she poured the bowl of cereal in the trash.
No sense keeping it, there wouldn't be milk tomorrow either.

Throwing her book sack over her shoulder, she slammed out of the
house. Shoulders hunched for warmth, she headed down the street to
the bus stop. "Lily Rose!" She walked on, hoping her mom would go
back inside. "Lily Rose, come back here. Stop acting like you can't
hear me. It's cold and you don't have your jacket. Come get it." The
last time she'd worn that old jacket, the kids at school had pointed
and laughed. The sleeves came halfway to her elbows, the zipper
wouldn't work, and someone had cut off the hood. It was so tight, she
felt as though the back would rip out if she breathed too hard. She'd
freeze before she put it on again. "It's ok, I'm not cold. I'll miss
the bus if I come back."

"I said come back here young lady."

Turning,she walked back to her mom. The bus passed by at the end of
the road. Ms. Melanie waited for no one. Great, she thought, now I
have to deal with mom and dad all day long.

"Now you've done it, girl. Get in that house. I've a good mind to
lock you in your room all day for missing the bus." Her mom dragged
Lily Rose into the house. "All you had to do was walk a little
faster, what's wrong with you? You don't appreciate anything we do
for you, you ungrateful brat."

Throwing her arm in front of her face, Lily Rose begged, "Please
don't hit me, mom. I promise I won't miss the bus again. And I won't
forget the jacket tomorrow. I'll stay in my room, if you want me to,
but please, don't hit me." The rage burning in her mom's eyes warned
her that no words would help her now.

Thrown into her bedroom, the slamming door and click of the key in
the lock echoed through the room. A twin bed covered with a chenille
so faded she couldn't remember the original color lined the far wall.
The dresser in the corner and a small desk which sat under the window
had come from a throw-away pile her dad had raided in the middle of
the night. She'd painted the desk and dresser yellow, hoping to
brighten the dreariness of the dark, paneled walls. It didn't help.
The room wasn't much, but it was hers. She knew she'd probably get
hungry before she got out of there, but she had her own bathroom, so
she wouldn't have to worry about that.

Blaring her radio so no one would hear, Lily Rose sobbed. She cried
for all she had lost. She couldn't make sense of the chaos that had
become her world, or the strangers that her own parents had become.
She no longer had friends, they'd all abandoned her. Ashley, her best
friend, had lasted the longest. But in the end, even she had stopped
calling.