Fiction - Artemis

Has been removed as it has been entered into a contest.

-EEBEE

Crutch.

I was the only one that would take you. You didn't want your boyfriend to know. The morning of the trip to the hospital I sat and had a chat with your mom while you were in the shower. I couldn't believe that you weren't ready. I said I'd be there at 8. You put me in the awkward position of being alone with your mother knowing full well that she knew you were going to the hospital, but did not know for what reason. How could you? Her eyes were coloured with worry. They were red where tears come from.

She said, "I don't know what's going on with, May." It was morning, the lights where she stood, where I sat, were off. Under my socked feet the tile floor was white and cold. A clock ticked away time some where.

I told her, trying to lighten the mood, "It's okay. I don't think she does either." I smiled. She didn’t. This was her daughter I was talking about. She blew her nose into a tissue. My small smile faded. I stared into the backyard. The grass still hadn't grown.

She said, "It's your fault, you know.” I turned to look at her. “Everytime she has a problem it's Yves, Yves, Yves. She runs to you."

It wasn't a compliment. It wasn't a threat. It could’ve been taken as both, but what it was was the truth, and I was a crutch.

She stared at me over the cup of plain hot water she held with both hands. She said, "She always let the good ones go," and took a sip.

I heard the shower stop upstairs.

I wondered if you thought you could wash it away.