JOSEPH'S POV
I sighed for the tenth time in a span of two minutes, I did not like this at all, I mean, I had a life here, she could not just wake up one morning and decide it was going to end, just because she gave birth to me.
"I don't think it's really necessary to move mom, we are just fine here." I say, trying to reason with her again.
She looked up from her smart phone, her eye bags glared at me furiously, while her lips curled into a sneer, like she could not believe I would continue my plight in trying to persuade her to abandon her crazy obsession with moving.
"Mother, look, look around you, we can not even afford to live in a decent house, but you want us to move?" I asked incredulously.
My feet paced along the tiny living room that we managed to get from her salary as a janitor at a fast food, when things were starting to look up, but she had to get herself fired.
The house was so tiny, all three of us could not fit in the living room at once, especially when I took the whole space.
"I know we can afford it, I always think things through.." I scoffed at that and she eyed me, but we both know it wasn't true, she never thought things through.
"I am your mother Joseph Antonio Wilson, and for that you will respect me." She said glaring at me. I gulped, when she used my full name, things went bad, really bad.
Not bad as in bad for normal people, nope, my family bad was a different bad altogether.
"I'm home!! And I got good news!!" Lucy says barging in the front door, with a huge smile on her face. I walked into the even tinier kitchen, so she could have her space.
"Wow, it is cold in here, I am freezing." She said walking to the fire place. The only thing that worked around here.
"Why didn't you work it Joey?" She asked with the nickname I hated, no, loathed. I just rubbed my hand against my forehead, arguing with my mother gave me a massive head ache.
"You said you had good news? It better be good, it's been awhile we had one of those." I tell her.
She struggles a bit with the fire place, staining her work clothes with charcoal from the wood. I looked at my elder sister, with her hair tied at the back of her head, she cut it short so it won't mess with her work. She looked really concentrated at the fire place, her brows almost touching. I smiled at how cute it was, in a way, Lucy was my mother. She was older by a lot of years, nine years to be exact. Mother had her when she was eighteen, and in mother's current state, Lucy had to grow up fast so she could take care of me, and I was more than grateful.
I felt the air get warm, that was the work of a mother, making the environment suitable enough for her children to live. Unlike my mother, that sat in the cold with me.
"Perfect!" Lucy clapped excitedly.
"So, what should I fix for you Joey? I think we have some leftover bread from last night, a sandwich?" She asked looking through her bag.
I looked over at mom, who was still scrolling through her phone, we were alone together since morning, because it was Saturday and I didn't have any school, but she never asked if I wanted to eat something. My heart hurt, even if I denied it to others, I really did want my mom to take care of me, and not glare in either of our way whenever we passed by her.
"Sandwich is fine, how was work?" I asked her.
She smiled, she worked three jobs, all part time, since she didn't graduate, but she just finished her adult school. There was hope for her to get a better job and fulfill her dreams. I never asked her for her dream, but I knew she had one, every one had, even me, I knew my dream was to get out of this ghetto, leave this tiny apartment, and most importantly, leave my mother, taking Lucy with me.
"Work? Which one?" She asked sarcastically. I chuckled. Her sense of humor was on another level.
"All of them Luce." I tell her. She shrugged,
"They were great."
"So mother, what would you like to have?" She asked, looking in her direction.
"Anything." Mom grumbled.
Lucy nodded, and headed to the kitchen, I had to slide back into the only room, the one they both shared, so she could get in.
"I would love coffee with that, but we were cut off.. the electricity." I tell her.
She laughed,
I blinked, because it was not a laughing matter. Her skilled fingers picked up the bread from the cupboard, she knew exactly where everything was, even with her eyes closed. She was overly clean, and always kept stuff in a neat manner. No one would walk into the house and know I slept in the living room, she always cleaned up, but that caused me my sleep.
"We won't have to worry about that anymore." She said smiling.
"Why?" I asked with a raised brow.
"Because we are moving of course!" She exclaimed. I face palmed.
"Are you with mother on this?" I asked.
"Not really." She said passing me a plate of sandwich I knew it was for mom. I walked to her and placed it in front of her, she just grunted. Her eyes never leaving the screen of her phone, as usual.
"You had good news?" I asked again.
"Eat first, I know you haven't had a bite since morning." She said passing my plate, I nodded, I was very hungry.
"Orange juice or?" She asked as if we had another option. I chuckle.
"Pineapple" I say just for the sake of it.
"We'll get it when we move." She says seriously.
I didn't reply to that, we ate in silence.
My mind wandered around, my eyes rested on a photo on the wall, the only photo in our house, it was one of mother, lucy, my dad and I. My dad and I looked alike, our eyes, were exactly the same. Our hair too. I wondered if Lucy had her dad's eyes, because they were contrasting to mine, hers were blue.
"Okay, so the good news." She said clapping. I noticed that while I zoned out, I finished my food already.
"Okay shoot!" I say quickly.
"I got a new job! A stable one, of course I still need one more part time job. But this is huge!" She says excitedly.
I jump out of my seat and hug her, I didn't know where, but she sounded very excited.
"Congratulations!!"
She laughed, "Thank you"
"Where?" I asked sitting back down.
"When mother said we were moving, I looked for a job there, I found one, my dream job, well not quite but it is close " she says with a huge smile.
I didn't want to move, but I could not say no anymore.
"That is so cool Luce." I tell her.
She smiles.
"So I have to start on Monday, you can go there too!" She says.
I looked at her in confusion.
"I'm working at a school, not a teacher yet, just a co ordinator at a club, but the pay is humongous!" She exclaimed.
She continued rambling, but one thing played in my head, I was changing schools. Well Fuck.