Recovering.

We sat in silence while the janitor cleaned up my throw-up. "Thank you," Layla said, smiling. I bet mom had already found my other money. It's a lot of money saved up. I've been doing this at least three times a week, making, on average, 750 a fight for two and a half years. I have plenty of money to pay for this.

"Where'd you get the money!?" I was getting pissed at her. "What!? You think I stole it!?" I yelled at her with aggressiveness in my voice. "Yeah! Am I wrong??!!" I was hurt by her words. "I didn't steal it," I responded with a mumble. "I've been saving this up for years from a side hustle." "No legal, mm immersed hustle" gets you this much money in three, maybe two years!"

I lied back down on my bed and turned to the side. "I don't care anymore. Take whatever you want from it's not as if anything's worth working towards anymore." "You irritating f***! Why can't you just listen?" Did Layla just say, mm why can't I listen? Always so selfish, I lost everything in one night no, twenty-five minutes and she can't even give me a break for ten minutes after I wake up.

"Get out," I mumbled. Over her excessive yelling, I don't think she heard me, "GET OUT!" I yelled at her, mm hurting my voice. "Fine!" She turned around and left out of my room. Soon mom came in. "What? Here to yell at me too?" She looked hurt. "What happened Theo? What happened?" Mom asked me on the verge of ears but staying strong.

"I don't know. Those guys hurt Maddie bad, then Parker fought a-and a guy attacked me so hit back the- then suddenly we all fought and J- Jackson got it- stabbed and fell over then all of them got stabbed, they are all d- d- d- dead." I broke out crying mid-sentence.

"I'm sorry honey, but you're going to have to go somewhere for a long time and I won't be there." "A clean slate. Okay?" I looked up into her eyes the same color as mine. Nodding in agreement, she sat in the chair with the book she had picked up and didn't question me about the money or anything of that sort.

"Mom, I didn't steal any of that money." Her eyebrow twitched then rested, "I know," "I made bets, and I won every time that's all I didn't make any enemies or anything like that." "That clears up a lot," She replied calmly still reading her book.

Looking at the clock, mm the time passed slowly, and it was awkwardly quiet in the room.mm "Mom, where am I going?" "The military." The military? I know i\I'm highly eligible to be drafted but why? We've got plenty of willing soldiers. "I know you don't like it. Your breathing just changed and your heart started beating faster.

???

How did she know that? "Mother's sense." She answered without even looking up.mm, I didn't even say that out loud?? Whatever. I wanted my phone, mmm, but who would I text? Or call? Sapphire maybe, but that left all of my contacts empty except mom and Layla. And I don't call them often as I don't get out of the city often.

I stopped talking to Mom and tried going back to sleep.m I saucerful faded off into deep sleep.

I was clearly in my dream world.m I could tell by that constant feeling as if I were falling. Yet I was stepping on solid "ground". I was walking with my buddies and laughing, then it skipped to them getting killed like a highlight clip reel. I screamed in the dream and suddenly I was impaled with one of the switchblades and fell over to see myself holding me screaming.

I then woke up in a cold sweat. It was.m nighttime. Mom was sleeping in the chair with a blanket and I heard soft crying outside. It sounded like Layla, Jackson Micheal and Parker had been like older brothers to her. Shem was hurting as much as I was. I heard her taking shallow breaths while whispering. Why? Over and over.

I just closed my eyes again. Getting no more sleep. I couldn't. My mind was tossing and turning so much it was unimaginable and I couldn't do anything about it, mm it so sleeps deprivation it is. I looked outside my window and it was a morning with the sun rising beautifully.

And I didn't get a wink of sleep since I had woken up from that nightmare. As soon as the first bird chirped, m my mom woke up to see me sitting straight up, looking out of the window. I looked towards her, mmm turning my head, and fell back down onto my bed.

"Good-morning mom." "Good morning Theo, want some breakfast?" I was hungry. "Yes, please." She came back ten minutes later with two muffins and cereal. "Thank you." Muffins are better than cookies any day of the week. All the hate to cookie lovers, mm by the way, m I spare no shame.

I scarfed down the food excitedly. It tasted amazing. "Thank you, mm mom." "It's fine. Just focus on recovering." She left out of the room and I saw Layla's arm peeking from the door slightly. I knew she'd been outside crying all night. I looked back down and fell back onto my bed.

Another day,