Cabinets
twenty-two
It was the same thing almost every night. I tried to find something I could fix myself for dinner. Normally it was a peanut butter sandwich or cereal with no milk. The milk always smelled funny. Mama would lock me in the bathroom before Dad got home.
Something crashed in the other room, and my hands shot to my ears to block the sound.
I stopped pounding on the door and begging to be let out. It never worked anyway. I started crawling into the cabinet when my dad threw the door open once, and I hit my head on the wall.
“What would we do with the kid? It's not like we can just leave him,” my mom said.
“That’s your fucking problem, not mine.
When I woke up, everything was dark. It took a second to realize I had fallen asleep in the bathroom cabinet.
Listening closely, it was quiet out in the living room.
Crawling out of the cabinet, I quietly walked over to the door.
Crossing my fingers, I turned the knob. It was unlocked.
She always locked the door when she put me in here, and there were a few times that she didn’t unlock it before she let me out.
Tip-toeing to my bedroom, I shut and locked the door, then crawled into bed.
Dad’s alarm went off the next morning, and I jumped up quickly, getting ready. I had to beat him out to the kitchen.
Shuffling between my bedroom and the bathroom, I got ready as quickly as I could. I grabbed a Pop-Tart and sat down at the kitchen table. I had almost finished my breakfast when Dad walked into the kitchen, Mama right behind him.
Taking my trash, my feet carried me over to the garbage can.
I did my best to stay out of the way while Dad made coffee and Mama started making him eggs.
I watched as she cracked the egg into the pan and put cheese on top.
Then I walked right into my dad. His stained white tank top in my face when I looked up.
“Sorry.” I quickly looked down and threw my trash away. Before running out the front door to catch the bus. I heard Dade yell at Mama as the screen door slammed shut behind me. Tears started to run down my face. I knew she was going to beat me and lock me up as soon as I got home.