Melted Rainbows – Gen.6 – Ch. 57

“Mom?” I called as I slowly creaked open her door and poked my head into her room. She was in the same position she always was, facing the wall as she laid in bed. She didn’t answer me, meaning she was asleep. She was almost always asleep.

“I’m going to work. I’ll see you when I get home,” I mumbled as I did every morning. I never received a response from her, but I still told her where I was, just because I liked to say goodbye to her.

I closed the door and walked slowly out of the empty house. I hated the place, the only reason I stayed was because how worried I was for my mother. I knew very little about her, except that she was all sorts of crazy. Growing up with her was bizarre. Her mood swings changed non-stop, sometimes she was telling me I should have never been born and other times she couldn’t stop telling me how much she loved me. Without my uncle moving in around when I was seven who knows what would have happened.

I don’t know why I cared so much for her. It’s not like she ever gave a damn about me, but something told me I should watch over her, so I did. Compared to how she was when I was a kid, she had gotten a little bit better. She began to see a psychiatrist which helped her a good amount, but she was still batshit crazy in my book.

I started up my car and pulled out of the driveway. There was one upside of being in my family; we were filthy rich. Something about my ancestors all being very succesful, which I hoped to be soon as well. I was a tattoo artist and worked at a small shop in town. It wasn’t the best place, in fact it was pretty run down. I was just waiting for a place to rent in the city and I could open up my own tattoo parlor.

“Hey, Honey,” I said dismissively as I walked by our receptionist who was busy looking through some files.

“Hi, Mist,” she purred, getting up from her seat and walking towards me. I sighed as she pulled me into a hug and as she pulled back, took my hand in one of her own. “Why don’t we go out tonight?” she asked.

“Sounds like a fine idea,” I replied, putting on a happy front. Truth was I really didn’t like Honey. I dealt with plenty of girls like her before. Easy, wanting to be used, so I did use them. It didn’t matter if I knew them or not, they gave me what I needed and I made them feel wanted. Good deal? I’d say so.

“I got this new dress I think you’ll love,” she said seductively, bringing her lips up to meet my own. I began to turn my head and her kiss landed on the corner of my mouth.

“Great,” I mumbled while rolling my eyes and pushing her away from me. “I have work to do.” She stumbled back and gave me a pouty face.

“But Mist..,” she cried. I didn’t answer her as I walked away. She was already used to how I treated her, so I don’t know why she complained so much. She should have felt special that I’d even slept with her more than once. She was the only girl I’d kept around as a ‘regular’ simply because she was convenient.

I retreated to the back room. We didn’t open for another twenty minutes so I took a seat in a chair and relaxed.

—

We weren’t very busy that day as I hadn’t had a customer since we opened two hours ago. I was wandering around the building when my phone began to ring. I took it from my pocket, noting the caller i.d reading “Uncle Stratus”, and answered.

“Hello?” I said, sounding bored.

“Mist, you’d better get home. We’ve got a bit of an emergency with your mother..,” he spoke swiftly and as if his mind was other places.

“Uh, okay, be right there.” I clicked my phone off and ran to tell Honey I’d be leaving. I didn’t really get off of work for another six hours.

“I’ve got an emergency back home, I’ll see you later,” I told her before running for the exit.

“I hope everything is all right, and don’t forget our date tonight!” she called after me.

—

It definitely was an emergency. My uncle came every couple of hours while I was at work to check on my mother. This time what he found was not expected. My mother had slit her wrists in an attempt to kill herself. Although Stratus found her on time, she didn’t die. She just lost a lot of blood.

“What will we do with her?” I asked my uncle as we walked around the house.

“Well, she can’t be left alone now. We’ll have to have her stay somewhere. The hospital, most likely.”

“And what about the house?”

“You get it all to yourself now. Unless you want my family and I to move back in with you?” he suggested. His offer was tempting; I had missed living with my uncle. He was the one person who actually acted like a parent towards me.

I thought his offer over before replying, “No, but how about you take the house? I’ll go find an apartment or something.” I wanted desperately to say that yes, I would like him to move in, but I didn’t want him to have to deal with living with me. Living with my mother was like living alone. It didn’t matter what I did in the house, because she didn’t care. Having to adjust my own life style for my uncle wouldn’t be fun for either of us.

“If you aren’t going to be there too, then what’s the point? I guess we’ll just leave it empty until you decide you need a bigger house. You know, when you start a family.” He smiled at me. The idea of starting a family made my stomach churn.

“Yeah,” I breathed. Stratus mumbled a goodbye and began to walk away, leaving me to my thoughts as I watched the waterfall behind my house.

It didn’t take long before the shrill cry of my cellphone’s ringtone went off. I fumbled around in my pocket trying to grab it and managed to answer the call. The caller i.d read ‘Honey’.

“Hello?” I said, already annoyed by her.

“Mist! I’ll be ready at eight. Don’t forget!”

“Yeah, whatever, bye,” I mumbled before clicking the call off.

That meant I still had a couple of hours to myself, and I had no idea what to do with my time.