Many thanks to SimplySouthern for her help in editing this story.
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"Married! You can't be fucking serious! Why the fuck would you want to get married to that asshole?" Tabitha screamed at her mother while pacing back and forth barefoot on the kitchen floor; her best friend and mother stood looking on with expressions of shock tattooed on their faces. "He's a fucking loser! He fucking works at a goddamned gas station! Why the fuck would you marry him?"
"Tabitha", her mother said slowly as tears began welling up in her eyes. She had not expected this. Her newly adult daughter, her only child, her reason for living, breathing, being at all was not supposed to be yelling at her right now. She was supposed to be happy. "I love him."
"Love him!" Tabitha replied apparently unaware the quavering tone her mother had used and the tears that now began trickling down her cheeks. "How can you love him? He fucking cheated on you!"
"Tabby."
"He fucking tried to fuck me for fucks sake!!"
"Now, Tabby, you know he was drunk"
"Drunk!? He tried to fuck your daughter you stupid bitch! I was only seventeen."
Now the tears began to flow from her mothers eyes unhindered as she began to sob. How could she explain her feelings to her daughter when she had no explanation for her feelings herself? How could she get across her feelings of fear and loneliness to a beautiful, young girl like Tabby who had nothing but hope to look forward to?
She couldn't so she did what she'd always done when the situation got too tough; she ran away.
"You obviously aren't ready to talk about this. I'll be at the bar if you feel like being an adult about this."
Tears rolling down her face, she grabbed her keys off of the counter and headed for the door as Tabitha began screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Being an adult! Being a fucking adult!! I'm not the one running for the fucking bottle!" Tabitha screamed as the door slammed shut behind her mother.
"FUCK!"
Poor Emily had stood there and witnessed the whole thing. Being from a "normal" family she'd never even come close to experiencing something like this Her parents had married after they'd graduated from college and they'd been together ever since. Sure they fought, every family did, but not like this. Hell, she couldn't even imagine talking to her mother like that. She didn't even talk to her dumb ass kid brother like that.
Emily stood there, still, unnoticed as her friend picked up a remote from the couch and threw it at the door her mother had just slammed. It broke open exposing its guts of circuit boards and batteries as it skidded off into the corner. At the same time, she let loose another stream of curses at the specter of her mother.
This was not the way the girls had expected their day to start. Emily had stayed the night at Tabitha's house because they'd planned on going shopping this afternoon. They'd only woken up less than an hour ago expecting to eat breakfast before they took turns taking showers so they could head to the mall to get some clothes.
They weren't even dressed. The fight had happened so fast. Emily stood there in the corner of the dining room dressed only in a long t-shirt and some boxers to cover her petite frame. Tabitha wore even less with her black tank top and black panties; her usual summertime sleep attire. It matched her shoulder length black hair perfectly. Emily couldn't help but admire her friend's thin and athletic frame even though she was more than a little worried about Tabitha's emotional state.
Finally Tabitha stopped cursing and collapsed back on the couch covering her grimacing, but cute face with her hand as tears began to flow down her cheeks. Emily's shyness began to fade as she realized that now was a good time to remind her friend of her existence by lending her a shoulder to cry on. Even though this situation was beyond her experience she knew how to comfort her friend.
Emily slowly walked over to the couch where Tabitha still sat covering her crying eyes and softly sat down next to her placing a hand on Tabby's knee gently stroking the soft skin.
"Are you okay, Tabby?" she asked in a soft voice. Tabitha removed her hand from her reddened eyes and looked at Emily's sweetly concerned face before making a weak attempt to wipe her tears.
"Why does she do this shit, Emily?" Tabitha sobbed questioningly, "She knows I hate that fucker. She knows what he fucking did, but she'll never admit it. Never. What the fuck is wrong with her?"
Emily struggled with how to respond to Tabitha's question. She knew that regardless of everything Tabitha still loved her mother. She knew the back-story of how they'd both been the only constants in each others lives ever since Tabby's dad left them when Tabby was only six. Even though Tabitha hated her mother's drinking and poor taste in men Emily knew that she'd never abandon her mother.
"I don't know, Tabby. Maybe she's just lonely," Emily said finally. "But why?" Tabitha replied, "It's not like she's alone. I'm here. I'm her fucking daughter. Why can't she just love me and ditch that fucker? She could totally find someone better. Someone who isn't a fucking drunken loser who will fuck anything too drunk to push him away."