Dee Bell swept inside the apartment, forcing the door closed behind
her. She placed her back against the living room wall and tried to hold back her
tears. At sixteen years old, she didn’t want to think about what would happen
if she ever failed to make ends meet before her family somehow met the end.
She slid into the kitchen and gave her father, Nipsey, a sideways glance
as he took a long gulp of his beer.
“You know you should be in school,” he said—the same words that
had been coming out of his mouth for a month. The problem was he never said
it with a check in his hand.
“Keep your voice down,” Dee hissed. “I don’t want her to wake up
and hear you.” Dee opened the refrigerator and snatched up the six-pack of
beer.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his dark brown face furrowed with
concern. “You know you’re too young to drink.”
“Yeah, I’m also too young to watch my mother die,” Dee shot back,
Sierra Kay
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Naleighna Kai Literary Cafe Magazine July/August 2017 59