A Hidden Secret

Waiting For Mom

“Mom!”... no answer. Kallie was starting to get frightened that her mother was still not back yet. It was 5pm of the day after her birthday. Kallie had found herself awakening on the floor in the morning and hoped that the night before had been a dream. Nope. She found golden yellow hairs all over her bed, claw marks in her sheets where she must have pressed a tad bit too far. 

With her eyes wide, Kallie rushed up and cleaned her room. Disposing of the tattered sheets she shivered. She didn’t want to imagine a life like this. Maybe she could hide what she was if her mother agreed to help. Kallie hopped in the shower and cleaned off her strange new smell. Opening her strongly scented berry soap made her gag. Did it always smell this sharp?! Quickly she took and small drop and cleaned her body while plugging her nose. She was going to need to find new soap for herself. 

Finishing up her shower, Kallie fumbled her way into her adjoining bedroom. She found a frilly sundress and wandered downstairs. She knew her mother wasn’t home. She could sense it. Which was totally weird because she was never able to do that before. Kallie looked out the window and squinted her eyes at the bright sunlight flooding in through them. The leaves on the trees had more detail and she felt like she could see every blade of grass. She could hear a young squirrel chattering definitely to its mama as it hurried out of its nest and down the tree to explore. Kallie could smell the air and sensed that she was completely alone in the house, other than all the animals running around outside. 

Kallie nervously walked through the house, wondering where her mother must be. 

She plopped herself in front of the TV and turned on some gossip show.

For some reason it didn’t interest her anymore. Kallie had always been lured towards the drama of it all. Her mother was a high time lawyer and they were no stranger to money. So usually Kallie got whatever she wanted, which meant high fashioned labeled clothes, purses, shoes. But now? All Kallie wanted to do was walk barefoot on the grass with a pair of tattered jeans and a tanktop and lay down and watch the clouds. It’s like she had a realization that she no longer wanted to be the pretty princess in charge of the school. That wasn’t any fun anymore anyways. 

She switched the TV off and laid her head back on the sofa. Kallie stared at the ceiling and all its imperfections. 

Kallie must have dozed off because she awoke to the front door slamming shut around 9:30pm. 

The critters had since then quieted down and the only thing that was left to make noise were a few frogs and a handful of crickets. Kallie rose from her spot on the sofa and stretched. Her back popped a few times and the relief that came through her as the pressure was relieved was intoxicating. 

She tiptoed into the kitchen where she could hear rattling. 

When she turned the corner she spied her mother rummaging through the two small kitchen cupboards above the fridge. Sara was standing on a chair to be tall enough to reach. Those were the cupboards that dad used to always get things for her. There was nothing in there now except for cobwebs, the occasional spice that we forgot about and the liquor. 

Kallie took a few steps towards her mom and sniffed the air. Something entirely new to her and she was getting the hang of it pretty well. Sara stunk of alcohol. So much so that Kallie felt she would a contact intoxication from smelling her.

“Mom…,” Kallie hesitantly said, waiting for her mom to bolt again. 

“Ohhhh… h..i… sweeetiiee... ,” kallie’s mother slurred with a huge grin on her face. “Are you gonna turn into a dog again?” Sara started off into uncontrollable laughter and Kallie didn’t have the heart to sit there and watch this unfold. 

She turned and walked to her room with her mother starting to call obscene words at her. Sara had always been a nasty drunk. Kallie went into her room and locked the door. Her life was doomed it seemed.