Nicole Partridge

The Strike

It was a late night and I had just gotten off work. I had to do the late shift again. "Ughh I'm so tired." That's what I always tell myself, and yet nothing ever changes in my life. I'm tired of everything I do, and my routine still never changes. I have all I want and everything I need in life. I'm still not satisfied. I feel empty and lost. So I decide to leave my cute and tidy little apartment and go on a vacation. I really need it. So I pack my bags and take my car out when my phone rings. It's my mom who I never talk to because of so many issues and I just don't even like her. She's so annoying and I just...ugh, I can't. So I decline her call and she texts me saying she wants to see me one last time because she has like cancer or something. But I don't want to see her. I can't. She ruined my life and I don't want to relive those moments. I text her saying that I don't want to see her end of story and that she needs to just leave me alone. My younger sister loves her and just adores my mom because she doesn't think she abandoned us. She thinks she left because my dad and her didn't get along. Truth be told, my dad is amazing and super sweet, but my mom didn't love him anymore even after 20 years of marriage. One day she just left, and now she tries coming back into my life with her 20-year-old boyfriend who is 24 years younger than she is. Absolutely gross. It's not my job to judge. I just try to keep my younger sister in check and she tries to keep me in check. So I text my sister that "I'm leaving town and going to Lake Tahoe and won't be back till Monday." She texts me back, "Alright love you" because she was probably dead asleep and I woke her up. I decide to leave at night because I want to get there in the morning and sleep in. It is already 11 and I still have two and a half hours of driving until I get there. Lucky me.