[TBS] Prompt 2.14 2 B “I swear to god Tay, everything will be different this time. "
Taylor sat in the backseat of Mary Beth’s beat up old car. He wasn’t sure how old it was, but he was pretty sure it was older than him because he’d seen his grandparents driving it as long as he could remember. The seats beside him were covered with books and yarn from Mary Beth’s knitting. Like normal, she was listening to NPR, a boring radio station where boring old people talked about boring stuff all day. It would have been like any other day, except they weren’t driving to the old bookstore in Pawtucket or the Farmers Market in South Kingston. They were driving to the hospital in North Kingston. Mary Beth called it a detox facility. Whatever it was, it was where his mom had been the last few months since getting out of jail in Cranston.
He’d been anxious all day. He couldn’t sleep the night before and couldn’t eat his cereal at breakfast. When Mary Beth told him his mom would be coming home, he was angry at first. Things had gotten to be so good without her around. But the more he thought about it, the more he missed her and wanted to see her again.
The dark sky spat misty rain. It was March and spring was almost back. It’d been six months since Taylor had seen his mom. It’d been six months since the police showed up at their apartment and arrested her. It was late and Taylor had school the next morning. It was the first week of middle school. He was hiding under the covers, trying to block out the noise of his mom and her boyfriend’s screams. They always got angry when they stayed up all night doing drugs. His mom didn’t even try to hide it anymore. There were always needles on the kitchen table and mirrors covered in powder beside the bathroom sink. Taylor was used to it. The only thing he could never get used to was when whoever his mom was dating, this time it was a Salvadorian guy named Dimas, would hit her. That’s when he’d hide in the back room.
He remembered hearing the knock on the door and the deep voice of the police officers. His mom started screaming words that didn’t make sense. Then one of the policemen had come down the back hall and opened the door. He said his name was Tom, and he let Taylor see his badge. It made him feel safe enough to crawl out from under the blankets. He brought him out to the main room, after he promised Dimas was gone. His mom was standing there in handcuffs, crying. She had blood all over her face. She tried to hug him then started screaming when the other police officers took her outside. Taylor just stood there silently. He had her blood and tears on his cheek.
Since then he’d lived with his grandma. He hadn’t really thought too much about that night. His mom used to leave him with her a lot, but it was nice knowing she wouldn’t come back to pick him up. For once, things felt normal. Mary Beth woke him up in the morning for school and dropped him off. He used to have to walk, even when there was snow, because his mom was usually passed out from the night before. He never had any shoes that fit either, but that changed. Mary Beth got him new clothes that weren’t ripped or too small. He stopped getting in as many fights at recess. At night they sat down and ate dinner and then Mary Beth helped him with his homework. A few of his friends had even started hanging out at his house, he wasn’t embarrassed or afraid to have them over anymore.
But as awesome as things had been, he still kind of missed his mom. Sure when she started drinking during lunch, she’d get angry and throw things. When she ran out of money for drugs she used to sell everything they had, including their food stamps. Sometimes when her boyfriends were over and they weren’t fighting, they’d go into the bedroom and have sex really loud. Once Taylor accidentally walked in and her boyfriend had smacked him across the face. He hadn’t done that again. But the thing was, when she wasn’t like that, he really loved her. Sometimes help Taylor with his projects for school, or tell him stories about her family up in Quebec. A few times they went down to the beach in Narragansett and played in the sand and swam.
Mary Beth told him that after his mom got out of rehab, that things would be better. Taylor believed her. She explained that his mom was very sick, and that after being in jail, she was going to the treatment facility to get better.
They turned into a parking lot in front of a white wooden building surrounded by thick trees. It looked really nice, not like the huge concrete hospital near his mom’s. Taylor kicked his feet against the back of the seat in front of him in anticipation.
“Calm down Tay,” his grandmother said softly as looked at him in the review mirror with a gentle smile. They drove up to the front of the building, where a small woman sat smoking a cigarette. Her long auburn hair fell down her back and was cleaned and combed. She was wearing a yellow sweater and jeans. Her face was healed. Last time Taylor had seen her, her hair was dirty and tangled and she had a black eye and a bloody nose. She didn’t look sick anymore. She looked better… just like Mary Beth said she would be. As the car stopped, Taylor excitedly threw the door open and ran over to his mom.
“Mom!” He grinned, throwing his arms around her.
“Oh Tay, mon cher,” she squeezed him back. She pushed his moppy blonde curls from his forehead and kissed him. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.”
“I swear to god Tay, everything will be different this time. Things will be better. I’ve changed. I promise you.” She kissed his forehead again.
And at that moment, he believed her. Things had changed. They were going to be better.
Officer Taylor McCutcheon
Original Character
Law & Order
1,047 Words