CH 28

Friday night was okay. Daisy ate the buttered spaghetti noodles her mother prepared without complaint. She would have liked some sauce or maybe a drink, but neither were offered and she wasn't going to ask, even though she knew the money her father gave her mother was supposed to help pay for food. After tidying her dish and drinking some water from the faucet, she sat quietly watching television and observing her surroundings until it was bed time. The apartment wasn't clean exactly, as housework was never Leeann's strong suit, but it wasn't completely filthy, either. Mostly it was just cluttered with packaging, papers, and wrappers.

Daisy recognized some of the furniture from their old house--the dining table and chairs, a lamp--although a bit more beaten up than when she last saw them. There were lots of take-out containers and empty bottles sitting on the sticky coffee table, and the couch had a bit of a foul odour clinging to it. The side tables each had an overflowing ashtray sitting on them, and the walls were slightly yellowed from nicotine. A small window unit air-conditioner tried to circulate cooler air into the smoky room, but wasn't being overly successful, and the heavy drapes hung limply against the rest of the windows, obscuring the view. Leeann paced, barefoot with red-jewelled manicured toe nails, and chain smoked, having heated conversations on her cellphone, most of which Daisy tried her hardest to ignore.

There wasn't any discussion really between her and her mother, no 'how have you been for the past seven months?' or 'did you have a good year at school?' and Leeann didn't even ask about her other two children. Daisy wasn't surprised, really. She always thought her mother was an out of sight out of mind kind of person, especially since there wasn't any money to be made from caring about the younger ones. And there were certainly no pictures of her or her brother and sister around, showing that Leeann even really thought about them.

Daisy knew it wasn't her father's fault she was here, but she still had a hard time stomaching the unfairness of the situation. Maybe if she'd pushed Leeann a little bit instead of avoiding confrontations, Leeann would have hit her, too. Then this never would have happened; she'd be safely at home with her dad and Phillip, where she belonged. If she could choose her parents, she'd choose Gareth and Phillip every time, even though biologically neither of them were actually related to her. Phillip had shown more love for her in the six months they'd known him than her mother ever had, even remembering way back to the few memories she had from before Gareth was around.

Although it was hot in the little room--the apartment was one bedroom plus den, and the den was where she was to sleep--Daisy scrunched herself as tight as she could into the corner of the mattress that was laying on the floor and hid under the thin blanket her mother laid out for her. It was one they had at their old house that they often used for building forts and was threadbare from multiple washings. Daisy kept her personal belongings close and her bag zipped. When she had gone to get out her pajamas, the smell from home surrounded her clothes, rather than the nasty, stale smell of old cigarettes that pervaded everything in this apartment, so she wanted to preserve the comforting odour for as long as possible. It brought tears to her eyes when she thought of how lucky Franny was, to be sleeping in a large, clean bed, in a safe house, where people cared. She tried not to wallow in these thoughts, but she was so very unhappy and the tears fell in silent lines as to not to disturb Leeann.

Aside from the twin mattress Daisy was on, rest of the room was crammed with stuff, again, some from her old house, and other things that were of unknown origin. Kyle's, she supposed. A few haphazardly stacked boxes, some winter coats, and even an old dresser, turned on it's side holding back some furniture behind it. The mattress she was on had probably been leaned against it, too, until pressed into service today. This wasn't even a real bedroom, not having a closet, but at least there was a window. It was partially covered by an old beige towel, that had been unevenly tacked to the wall in an attempt to make a curtain.

Even though Daisy went to bed at ten o'clock, a self-imposed bedtime since Leeann wasn't even paying attention, Kyle still wasn't home. She could hear Leeann's loud conversations with friends over the phone about how he was avoiding 'my oldest brat.' Not that Daisy minded. She really didn't want to meet someone who actually chose to be with Leeann. After what seemed like forever, she fell into a fitful sleep.

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Daisy awoke sweaty and disoriented to the sound of yelling. At first she thought it was a bad dream, the shrill voice from her past, but when she cracked open her eye and saw the boxes, everything came rushing back to her. Stifling a groan, Daisy got out of bed. She needed to pee and she was hungry, so as much as she didn't really want to, she had to enter the fray.

It turned out the anticipation was worse than the reality. Leeann was alone, screeching at someone on the phone, and the tv was on some sort of talk show with the volume turned up. Daisy quickly visited the toilet, washed up, then searched the kitchen cupboards for some food. There was a box of slightly stale, but perfectly edible, cornflakes and some newer milk in the fridge. Daisy washed a bowl and spoon that she found in the sink, then sat in a corner of the couch to eat. Leeann wandered out of the room and slammed the door to the master bedroom, still engaged in a high hysterics discussion. She'd forgotten how her mother had so much energy and time invested in these conversations, the phone like a conduit to everything dramatic all the time.

Not too longer after, Leeann emerged in a uniform for a local fast food chain, but Daisy kept her head down and pretended not to notice. "I have to work today," Leeann said, giving Daisy a nudge with her foot, urging her to look up. "My shift goes until six. There's a playground on the other side of the building you can use, just wait for someone to open the door to get back in the building. Okay?" Leeann's face was in full war paint mode, and Daisy was sure the form fitting polyester uniform top was meant to be zipped higher.

Daisy nodded in response, knowing that it was going to be a long day. There was no way she was going to an unfamiliar park in a strange neighbourhood by herself when she couldn't even reliably get back in the building. That just didn't seem safe. If she wanted to get some fresh air, she might sit on the balcony for a little while.

"Don't go moaning about this to your father or his fuck buddy. Legally you can watch yourself since you're over ten years old," Leeann warned, her tone stern.

"Okay, Mommy," Daisy meekly answered. Inside she fumed at her mother, her father, and the courts. But ultimately Daisy wouldn't dream of telling her father, because Leeann was right. It was legal for her to stay on her own, and it would just worry her dad when there was nothing he could do about it. She didn't want him to get in trouble with the court for refusing to send her next time, because what would happen then? Would full custody be given to her horrible mother? She'd never be able to relax if she had to worry about Franny and Gabe being here with her and her dad and Phillip off in jail or something. Did they put people in jail for that? It was making her sick just considering it.

"I'll be home probably by seven at the latest, and I think Kyle's going to be home tonight, too. He might be here before me, so you'd better behave. You could do some cleaning in here if you want to be useful. The garbage chute is down the hall next to the elevator." She swept up her leather fringed purse and slipped on a pair of greasy black flats before slamming her way out of the apartment. There wasn't a door that was safe when Leeann was around.

Daisy took in a deep, bracing breath now that she was alone. She knew her mother's suggestions weren't really suggestions at all, so an hour later, once she had finished a few more chapters of her book, Daisy started to clean. There were some spray bottles and sponges under the sink, as well as extra rolls of paper towel. If this was what she had to do to keep everyone else in her family safe, then this was what she had to do.

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Hours later, there were three bags of garbage down the chute, a whole slew of recycled items, empty ashtrays and mostly clean surfaces. There was a small pile of empty liquor and beer bottles to return to the Beer Store, as well, that Daisy had bagged and boxed in the corner of the dining room. Thankfully, aside from a few really gross takeout containers and some dust bugs, Daisy hadn't found anything else crawling around when she cleaned, but she felt dirty, grimy really. Daisy took a shower once she located a clean looking towel in the hall cupboard, since she'd gotten really sweaty, but couldn't re-braid her hair afterwards, so it hung in messy damp knots down her back, soaking through her t-shirt. Scared to ruin Leeann's brush, she eventually just made the best ponytail she could, which was really a sloppy tangled mess.

She sat, bored for a little longer but was too scared to go outside to play. Instead she was biding her time reading her book on a brown upholstered lazyboy held together mostly by duct tape just next to the air conditioner. She thought that maybe the breeze it provided might help dry out her shirt and hair.

Daisy's stomach was grumbling, but there wasn't very much to eat and she was scared to touch some of the dodgy looking things in the fridge, so instead she ate some more handfuls of the stale cornflakes and hoped that when her mother returned she'd bring food with her. When it was getting close to seven, Daisy heard a key in the lock, so she stood in anticipation.

"Who the fuck are you?" A tall, heavy-set man, who she assumed was Kyle, came lumbering into the apartment, a gym bag under one arm and a 24 of beer under the other. He had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth and baseball hat perched on his long salt and pepper hair. His goatee reached to the centre of his chest, resting on his shirt that advertised a local construction company, and he had skin the colour of toasted almonds. He wasn't at all what Daisy expected.

"D-d-daisy," she responded hesitantly.

"I thought it was the little one that was coming." He looked confused. He'd met Franny before during a few of his many visits to their house while Gareth was working. This one was definitely bigger, older.

"No." And as much as Daisy hated being here, she'd do this a hundred times over Franny being in this situation. She was nervous and had to slowly feel out this large man. "Just me."

"Alright." He shrugged his shoulders and looked around the room noticing something different. He paused for a second to light his cigarette. "You clean?" A thick puff of grey curled from his lips as he spoke. He indicated towards the coffee table with the cherry red tip, smoke dancing towards the ceiling.

Daisy nodded slowly, hoping that it didn't anger him.

"Well, it sure as shit wouldn't have been your mother's doing." He snorted. "Thanks." He paused for a second again, scratching at his beard. He had a friendly smile and kind eyes despite being really rough around the edges. "Like pizza? I'm fucking starved and I know Leeann didn't bother to get any food."

Daisy wasn't sure what to do. She didn't know this person, but obviously her mother did. Even though the situation didn't feel safe exactly, it's not like she could leave and her stomach was grumbling. Finally she just gave in but resolved to be on guard. "Yes, please," she squeaked. He did thank her for cleaning, after all.

Kyle placed the case of beer on the floor next to the couch, then sat down heavily while grabbing the remote from the table and moving an empty ashtray closer. The whole sofa seemed almost ready to collapse under his weight, groaning in protest. Daisy carefully observed from behind her book as Kyle turned the tv to a baseball game, cracked open a beer, and took out his phone to order dinner, all while his lit cigarette waved in the air from between his lips. Determining that he was relatively harmless, Daisy resumed reading. Kyle turned the volume up when he was done on the phone and began armchair umping the game, yelling at the tv with every toss of the ball.

After three beers and two smokes for Kyle, and twenty more pages for Daisy, the buzzer went, signifying the arrival of food. Kyle belched loudly, hefting himself from the couch and scratching as he made his way to the door. The transaction with the delivery person was swift, and Kyle tossed the pizza box on the coffee table without ceremony.

"Come grab some while it's hot. I got you a coke, too." He reached flipped open the cardboard and grabbed a giant piece of greasy goodness, placing the can of pop down on the table.

Daisy's hunger was too great for her to ignore, and the smell of the pizza had her salivating, so she quickly came over and grabbed a piece, not caring what the toppings were. She was far too hungry to be picky. As she went to retreat back to the chair, Kyle grabbed her lightly by the wrist.

"Sorry girlie, gotta eat here. No food on the lazyboy." He nodded his head towards the open spot next to him, and, as much as Daisy longed for space, she didn't want to break any rules in this man's apartment. Although she couldn't really understand how pizza would make the dilapidated chair any worse for wear.

"O-okay," she replied, timidly, squeezing herself into the very far corner of the offered space. "Thank you, Kyle."

Kyle grunted in reply, nodding, and turned back to his game.

After the initial discomfort, Daisy ate, had some pop, then ate some more. Kyle seemed fine, ignoring her in favour of the Jays' game, and Daisy was relieved.

It grew dark outside and Kyle's beer was dwindling. The game was entering it's eighth inning, and Leeann still wasn't home. The game wasn't going in the Jays' favour and Kyle's voice was rising. Daisy was beginning to get nervous. Was this really all that safe? Her thoughts were interrupted when Kyle swore loudly at the opposing team hitting a home run. He turned towards her, "Sorry, there, I get a bit into the game sometimes." Then he belched and turned back to the tv.

Daisy was considering returning to the safety of the chair, or maybe even bed. Would it be okay to go to bed without her mother home? Kyle didn't seem too bad... Just when she was contemplating her options, the apartment door swung open wildly, Leeann stumbling in on a pair of high heels, clutching a bag and her purse. She wasn't in her uniform any more, and instead was in a lacy pink tube top and lace-up black micro mini, the partly open sides showing that underwear might be optional. From the looks of things, she'd lost her bra somewhere, too.

"Hi sweetheart," she called as she tottered towards the couch. Daisy was certain the greeting wasn't meant for her. Leeann's eyes were wild and lipstick a bit smeared. "Sorry I'm late, I went out for a bit of a party after work. It was Deena's birthday." Leeann leaned over the couch and planted a very sloppy kiss on Kyle's mouth, leaving a smudge of red on his lips. The tube top threatened to lose it's elasticity and dump out it's contents.

"Could you move? You're blocking the tv," Kyle retorted rubbing off the offending lipstick.

"Don't be like that baby. I brought some of the party with me." Leeann began digging in her purse, pulling out a little baggie.

"Put that away, Leeann. Can't you see you've got a visitor? Or did you forget?" Kyle belched again and pointed towards Daisy with his cigarette. "I told you not to bring that shit in the house."

"That's why I did most of it at the bar." Leeann paused for a second to wipe her nose, then regarded Daisy. "Eh, she can take care of herself. Daisy's always been a good girl."

While Daisy may have always been a good girl, it was because she generally knew how to avoid her mother, how to be invisible around her. On the couch, there was really nowhere to hide and she knew whatever was in the baggie was probably a very bad thing. She didn't want to be around for whatever was going to happen. Daisy figured she'd better get going while the going was good.

"I'm glad you're home, Mommy. I'm going to go to bed, if that's okay?"

"Sure babydoll, you do that." Leeann's head swung over towards Daisy in an exaggerated gesture. "Leave Kyle and I to enjoy our night. Did you thank him for dinner?"

"Yes, Mommy," Daisy dutifully answered.

"Okay. Gimme a bedtime kiss," Leeann demanded with a smirk. "And Kyle, too."

Daisy almost recoiled in disgust, but hid her reaction and did as her mother ordered, knowing the wrath she'd face if she refused. A quick peck to Leeann's proffered cheek, then an almost air kiss to the cheek of the man she'd only just met this evening fulfilled the obligation. Both smelled similar to the sour odour of the couch which she now supposed was alcohol. Then Daisy hastily made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and then bed in the cramped room.

Once safely in the den, she didn't feel comfortable enough to change into a nightgown, instead opting to remain in her shorts and t-shirt. She knew Leeann wasn't stable in her condition, and Daddy wasn't here to protect her. Kyle might, but that wasn't something she could count on. Daisy seriously thought about barricading the door of the cramped room, but in the end, she just curled up tightly and tried to block out the noises coming from down the hall.

At some point Daisy drifted off, only to be jolted awake hours later by her mother's high-pitched, irate screams coming from the master bedroom. The moonlight cut a swath across the mattress as Daisy clung to the blanket and listened to the fight. It brought back incidents from the past that she'd hoped she'd left behind and her heart pounded fearfully.

"You don't know a fucking thing, Kyle." Leeann's words were punctuated with something being broken. Knowing her mother, it was probably a glass.

"Leeann, keep your voice down. You'll wake Flower, or whatever." Daisy could hear the resignation in Kyle's gruff voice. It wasn't the same, exactly, but it was close enough to the fights her mother sometimes had with her dad, and she knew there was no reasoning with her mother at this point.

"I'll yell if I fucking want to. That little ingrate can rot in hell for all I care. Her fucking father owes me. OWES me for the time I put in with him." Leeann's yells were punctuated with another smash.

"Oh, fucking shut up. It's not his fault, just go to sleep." Whether or not Kyle was right, Daisy knew this was completely the wrong thing to say.

"Now you're taking his side? How could you? How could you?"

Leeann's enraged screeches grew closer and there were thumping footsteps in the hall. The door to Daisy's room was flung open, knob denting the wall, and Leeann was standing in the doorway wearing Kyle's shirt from earlier and nothing else as far as she could tell. Fortunately he was a large man, so the shirt hung down to her knees. Daisy could see the wild look in her mother's eyes, and it wasn't normal, nothing was close to normal. Her face was flushed and movements jerky as she stormed into the room, grabbing Daisy by the arm tightly, tugging her to standing.

"Are you going to turn on me, too? Just like your bitch of a sister and asshole brother?" Leeann's screech was jarring in the quiet of the night. "It was always you and me, then I tried to get you a daddy because that's what all kids want, and look what fucking happened."

"N-n-no, Mommy." Daisy's body ached as Leeann yanked her hard by the arms, shaking her back and forth like a rag doll . Daisy wasn't sure what to do, but for sure her mother was really not right. Worse than she'd ever seen her. And there were going to be bruises for sure.

"You'd damn well better say no." Leeann roughly threw Daisy back down on the mattress and retreated back to the hallway, leaving the door open. After a minute of rummaging in the kitchen, Leeann came unsteadily back down the hallway with a liquor bottle in one hand and a fresh pack of cigarettes in the other. "Go back to fucking sleep before I make you sleep, and things are going to change in the morning," she shot in Daisy's direction, before slamming the master bedroom door. Grumbles from Kyle could be heard at a much lower volume.

Daisy was terrified. What on earth could change in the morning? What had she done wrong? For sure her mother had completely lost her mind, and Daisy couldn't even understand why Kyle was with her, he seemed kind of okay. She rubbed her sore wrists as she thought. One thing was certain, there was no way she could stay here a moment longer. The justice was wrong to put her in this situation and obviously the court didn't listen to what she wanted, what her father wanted. The only seemingly responsible adult in the apartment was some guy she didn't know who drank an entire case of beer, and her mother was completely drunk and more messed up than she'd ever seen her.

The terrified ten year old had no choice.

Daisy had no access to a phone and no idea what time it was, but she knew she didn't want to face her mother's wrath in the morning whatever it might be. Quietly, Daisy gathered up her backpack and the blanket, tiptoed down the darkened hall, slipped on her shoes, and snuck out of the apartment. She made sure the door shut, but kept the knob turned until it closed so there was no telltale click. Daisy made her way to the brightly lit stairwell, then out into the cool night air. She was going home and that's all there was to it. The justice could put her in jail if they had to, but she was never going back there.

A/N: This chapter had to be done from Daisy's view because we had to know what happens. Now Daisy's away from Leeann, out by herself in a strange part of the city, in the middle of the night. One thing is for certain, Leeann has completely messed up all chances at more custody. Let's just hope Daisy's found safe and able to explain exactly what happened.

Next update is on Wednesday! Thanks to all my readers, I can't believe the response my story has been getting. :)

<3 JJ