Free Save Me From Me by Erika Ashby

whole movie.
    Caterpillar: “Alo.”
    Girl: “Did you just say hello?”
    Caterpillar: “No, but close enough.”
    Makes me giggle every single time. Maybe it’s lame. Maybe it’s the Boones. I really don’t give a shit. It takes me to my happy place, the one where I can forget about the BS that’s also known as my life. That could very well be the Boones, too. That line gets a little fuzzy after a few cups.
    Once my movie’s over and my bottle is empty, I slip on my fuzzy slippers. My plan is to go to the kitchen, throw the bottle away, and grab a slice of pizza from the fridge. Yes, in that exact order. I slowly turn my doorknob, listening to see if anyone is still up. To be honest, I’m not even sure who is here. Billy is here more than Brandy. Brandy goes back and forth with her baby daddy every other week, but doesn’t bother taking their kids with her, which we all know is for the best.
    Billy and I don’t talk, which is also for the best. He’s always high anyway, and if he isn’t, he’s pissed that he’s not, and you don’t want to be around for that. He’s like a woman on a bad day of cramping. All whiney and shit. Ask him a question, and your head is gone. But on the bright side, he usually stays gone when he’s running dry.
    I tiptoe my way out of my room and past my mom’s closed door. The TV in the living room is on, but everything else is dark. I round the corner, spot the boys asleep on the floor, and continue my journey to the kitchen. I turn on the light over the stove, then open the kitchen cupboard under the sink, and start to ease the bottle slowly down into the trashcan. I don’t want to wake anyone with the heavy clanking of glass in the middle of the night.
    “Hey there, sis.” The voice from behind me causes me to jump and instantly release the neck of the bottle from my hand.
    “Dammit, Brandy,” I rudely whisper. If a yell whisper is possible, then that’s exactly what I did.
    “Did you get stood up and turn to drinking?” She laughs as if she made up the cleverest thing ever.
    “Yeah, that’s exactly what happened.” I try to pass her to get to the fridge, but she moves in front of me to block the path. From what bit of light there is, I can tell she’s higher than a kite. Her pupils are huge, and she seems extra twitchy. Not sure why the hell she’d come home in the middle of the night if she can’t sleep or be still for that matter. “Brandy, get out of the way. I don’t want to fight with you tonight,” I say in my most annoyed voice.
    “Who says I’m trying to fight with you? Because, I’m not. Actually, as much as I don’t like you, I’m in a good mood and figured I’d give you some words of advice. A lil, friendly sibling Intel.” She smirks.
    “You mean because you’re high?” I retort as I rest my hands on my hips.
    “Something like that,” she admits. “Watch who you hang with, Dani Girl. Not everyone is who they seem. At least with me, you get what you see.” She says this like it’s supposed to be a good thing. I guess not being fake takes precedent over being a deadbeat drug whore who doesn’t take care of her kids.
    “Cool, thanks for the advice. Now move so I can get my pizza.” I push past her, rolling my eyes at her mumblings.
     

     
    Just when I think it’s a typical, boring Monday at work, someone interrupts the never-ending thinking that never shuts off.
    “Hey, Miss, can I get a can of that snuff?”
    “Yah, sure. Which kind?” I ask, keeping my back to the male.
    “Shit, I don’t know. Whichever kind is fine cut wintergreen.”
    I find the can, turn to walk to the register, and finally make eye contact with the customer. I try really hard to hold back my grin, calm down my sudden racing heart, not stutter, and make a fool of myself.
    “I didn’t peg you for a dipper, Blow Job Boy.”
    “Well, hey!” he says, just as shocked to see me as I am him. “I didn’t peg a pretty girl like you being such a fighter