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“Good girl, Kaylee,” Coralie smirks. “I see it on your face. You just accepted your fate.”
It’s not my fate I just accepted; it’s the fact that my mother will always be a bitch, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. I don’t say that aloud, though, because it would get me nowhere. Instead, I merely speak in a terse voice.
“You could try getting a job.”
She laughs. “Why would I do that when you support us so well?”
I shoot her a hard look.
“Because you’re my mother.”
“Don’t talk to Coralie that way,” Humphrey interrupts. “Your mother raised you, and the least you can do is to be respectful.”
I bite my lip. Technically, Coralie raised me, but that’s only partly true. She was stoned most of the time, so really, I raised myself. We were in the same room, but I was looking out for her most of the time, and not the other way around.
But true to form, my mom gets bored of the conversation and reaches for a joint. Her eyes light up and she sits up straight. Anticipation shines in her eyes.
“Help me, Humphrey, dear.”
Sure enough, her boyfriend leans over with a lighter, and she takes a deep drag as her eyes roll up in the back of her head. Then she exhales through her nose. The sickly sweet smell makes me even more nauseous and this time, I open the door to leave.
“Doesn’t it get boring, being here all the time?” I ask. “I mean, you could do something with your life, Coralie. You don’t have to hang out at Monroe Trailer Park day after day.”
My mom laughs.
“You don’t understand because you’re always out. Being home is the best, don’t you see? Maybe you’ll get it someday. You should have a kid, and then, in sixteen years, they’ll support you. It’s the perfect arrangement.”
I turn to gawk at her, one foot already on the stoop.
“I would never force my child to support me.”
She giggles while exhaling smoke again from her nose.
“I don’t force you. You do this voluntarily to pay me back, like Humphrey said.”
It’s just like her to try and gaslight me. It never works, but I let her believe it does.
“I’m going to become something someday,” I tell them both through gritted teeth. “I don’t care what you say. I’ll go to school and follow my dreams. Nothing you say or do will stop me.”
Humphrey and my mom both start cracking up. You’d think this was a comedy club with how hard they’re laughing.
“I’ll get out of this trailer park someday,” I add again, vehemently.
This only makes them laugh harder. Mom starts to cough as she tries to take another puff of the joint while still giggling. Tears literally spill from her eyes now.
“You know how many times I’ve heard that?” Coralie smirks, after she’s recovered somewhat. “Everyone in this damn trailer park says they’ll get out someday. How many do you think actually do it?”
I try to come up with an example of someone who has, but I can’t. I’ve lived at Monroe my entire life. Most of our neighbors are the same people who were here when we moved in. The ones who have left have either died or gone to prison. It seems that there are only two ways out of this place.
“I’ll do it. I know I can,” I say fiercely.
“You’ve always had this false sense of positivity,” Mom shakes her head while making a face. “I have no idea where you get it from. You’re no better than the rest of us, don’t you see, Kaylee? The trailer park has tentacles. You try to leave, and it pulls you right back.”
I can’t take any more of this. I literally run out the door to my car, and jump in, slamming the vehicle door shut behind me. First, I hyperventilate a bit, gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled fingers. How dare they? Then, I begin to cry. They’re heavy, tearing sobs that make my lungs heave painfully.
My mom is wrong. I will get out of this place. She might think I’m stuck here for good, but it’s not true. I’ll find a way out. It won’t be easy, but I’ll make it happen. I’ll be the success story people tell their children. I’ll be the one who escaped.
With that, I start the car and pull out onto the road with determination on my face. Monroe fades in the distance, and I pray that my new life begins soon.
5
Elliot
Edwards doesn’t question why I’m pacing in the front entryway to Millbrook Manor, and I appreciate that about him. He knows his place as a member of my staff, and acts with discretion at all times.
After all, I look like a lunatic right now. Kaylee should be here any minute, and I’ve been waiting and watching for her arrival like a teen boy on his first date. It’s ridiculous, I know. I’m well into my forties, and yet I’m watching the window like a girl waiting for her white knight to arrive.
