Page 18 of A Little Christmas! Johnny
“What happened, Sweetheart?” I pull the blanket down to his shoulders so that I can rub his back. He scooches over to give me room to sit down on the bed but doesn’t give any indication that he doesn’t like what I’m doing. Instead, he pulls his phone out from under the blanket and hands it to me.
“Mommy Dearest?”
I can’t help but chuckle at the reference. My grandmother loved that movie for some reason and to this day I won’t keep wire hangers in my home. Unfortunately, my mirth ends there. I see the most recent text exchange between Johnny and his mother. I had hoped that she was a stepmother with the obvious animosity, but it’s quite clear that they are biologically mother and son.
“Has she always talked to you like this? Treated you like this?”
It’s a struggle to push the anger down so that he doesn’t think I’m upset with him. He just shrugs. Shrugs! Like this is no big deal. It’s a very big fucking deal that the one person who everyone should be able to count on to love them has no problem with treating him like a dirty secret who should be at their beck and call.
“Do you mind if I go back further? Look at other texts?”
Johnny shrugs again and yawns around his thumb. He doesn’t look upset at the thought of me reading more – just tired and sad. I hate seeing him like this, but at least I know he’s safe here with me. With my right hand, I continue to rub circles on his back and scroll through the phone with my left. Some of the shit I’m seeing has me seeing red. If I had any say, he’d never speak to any of these people again.
Erica:
i need seven hundred dollars for a dress for Jared’s boss’s dinner party
Erica:
So what if Sonia’s kid broke it. It’s just a toy. It’s not like it was worth anything
Erica:
when are u gonna grow the fuck up. My daughters don’t need a freak show in their lives
His sister is a fucking bitch. I think I counted two text messages over the last six months that weren’t berating him or asking for money. And I’m pretty sure both of those were just leading up to asking him for something in person. Her husband at least doesn’t seem to hide the fact that he’s a dick. I at least respect the honesty even if he should probably be castrated.
Okay, so I’m getting a little worked up.
Glancing down, I notice Johnny has drifted back to sleep. Instead of leaving the room, I shift my position to brace my back against the headboard, resuming the small circles on his back when the soft snores turn into a whimper. There’s a lot more reading to do for now.
Mommy Dearest:
your father needs $2000 for the deck
Me:
What deck?
Mommy Dearest:
the deck for the pool
Me:
u need a privacy fence to put in a pool
Mommy Dearest:
then we need the money for that too
Me:
i just gave you 10k for the roof
Mommy Dearest:
my grandbabies deserve a pool
