Ocean Luck~ Chapter 2

Instructions

I suck in a deep breath, inhaling my brother’s scent. I want to scream, and throw things and-... all the things I shouldn’t do in this situation. “Do you know which bar Mom’s at?” I ask Nate, pulling away and wiping my eyes. “You’re not going to her.” He says firmly, shaking his head. “Why not?” I ask, raising my voice. “Because, you’re only twelve! If one of us is going to get her, it’s going to be me.” Nate says. I bite back the comment on my tongue, because I know that what I want to say would be downright mean. “You were about to say something. Say it, I know that look.” Nate says, and he’s right. “Even though I take care of us?” I mutter under my breath, but he hears it. “I see why you weren’t going to say that. I know you don’t really mean it, you’re just upset. I don’t know when she’s going to be back. She also didn’t tell me what bar she’s going to. So, I don’t know where she is.” He says, looking only slightly hurt. I sigh, knowing there’s nothing we can do about it. “Why would she do this?” I ask, my voice sounding broken. He just looks down, because neither of us know. I let out a sigh, and start to walk out of the tent. “Where are you going?” Nate asks. “I need to clear my head. I’ll be back soon.” I walk out of the tent, my hands in my pockets. I start walking towards my favorite donut shop, me and the owner there are good friends. As I walk, I think over what happened. Mom has had issues for years, but I thought they’d gotten better as of late. She’s been kind of an @lc0h0lic for ages, and she did a lot of drVg$ when I was younger. I should have expected this, she’ll probably come home late tonight, drunk, and high. And she’ll get ticked at us for something dumb in the morning. As I reach the donut shop, I push open the door and wave at the person running the counter,Diego. He’s in his early 20s, latino kid, very lanky, with a baby face. Everyone loves him. “Hey! What’s up?” He calls over, waving at me. “Not much. You?” I ask. “Same here. Got a hot date tonight though!” He looks thrilled at the prospect. “Nice, man! Make sure you wear something nice.” I tell him,heading for the backroom. I head back there on a fairly regular basis, and even get to do some free labor sometimes. “Ah, mikrós, how are you?” Christos, the owner, asks me. “I’m good,Kýrios Chrístos. How are you?” I reply, smiling. “I’m good, mikrós. Did you want to work today?” He asks. “No, I just needed to clear my head. This is my favorite place to do so.” I sit down on one of the stools while he works, kneading some bread. “Problems?” He asks softly. “My mom’s at a bar.” I reply, no emotion in my voice. “Oh, mikrós. I’m so sorry.” I shrug. “It’s not new, I just thought she had gotten better. Apparently I was wrong.” He shakes his head sadly, then stops working and steps over to me. “Do you want a hug, mikrós?” I nod, and he pulls me in. I feel myself relax, wrapping my arms around him. “Why don’t you stay and work for a while? It might help.” Christos asks. I step back, and nod. “I could take the counter from Diego?” I ask, gesturing towards the front. “Sounds great. Diego!” Diego walks into the kitchen and asks, “Yes, sir?” He gives me a quick nod of his head, then looks expectantly at his boss. “She’s going to work the counter for a while. You will work back here with me, ok?” He gestures toward me, then towards Diego. “Sounds good to me. Have fun.” He nods at me, waving towards the front. I walk out to the front counter, sitting down as a young couple walks in. “Hello! What can I get for you?” ~~"First, you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you." — F. Scott Fitzgerald~~