by Emily Camp
Running On Empty
Other Books by Emily Camp
Running Back
Overcome
Running On Empty
Published by Cambrooke Publications through Createspace
Copyright © Emily Camp 2016
Summary: Teen mom, Bree Morris, tries to keep her
life as normal as possible when her own
estranged mother comes back into the picture.
ISBN -13: 978-1495434617
ISBN-10: 1495434613
Young Adult—Fiction
Ages 14+
This book is a work of fiction any similarity to any persons living or dead,
or businesses is only a coincidence.
Cover photo and design © Emily Camp 2016
For those who feel like they’re running on empty.
Chapter One
The buzzing phone in her hand woke Bree Morris. The text popped up, Wake up, Beautiful. With a smile, she turned to her boyfriend, Garrett Light, sitting next to her, his dark blue eyes wide and a smirk on his face. Why didn’t he ever seem tired? He took care of their baby a few nights a week, between football and studying for his AP calculus and physics courses, when did he have time to sleep any more than she?
She didn’t mean to fall asleep during service. The church chairs weren’t that comfortable, but running on five hours sleep anything would do. It was hard enough being a teenage mom over the summer. Now, with classes and homework, it was a whole other story.
“Pay attention.” Her best friend, Carly Ley, poked her ribs.
Bree turned from Garrett to Carly, “You pay attention.”
“Quit staring at your boyfriend,” Carly smirked.
“You quit touching yours,” Bree nudged her with her elbow.
Carly’s boyfriend, who just so happened to be Bree’s older half-brother, Parker Harris, turned at the whispers. “Shhh.” His thumb stroked back and forth across Carly’s wrist, their hands intertwined.
Bree turned toward the front of the church. It wasn’t that Pastor Jack wasn’t interesting that made her sleepy. His voice varied and his hands were animated, as he told a joke. Laughter filled the congregation.
She thought she could just close her eyes for a minute, while the baby was in the nursery with Garrett’s mom.
Bree fought to keep her eyelids open this time, staring ahead and pretending that she didn’t notice Garrett watching her. Her phone buzzed again, but this time it wasn’t a text.
A lump formed in her throat when the word mom flashed across her screen. If she knew for sure it was her mom, Mindy, she may have ignored it. But it could be her little brother or her sister. She rose to her feet, thankful she was sitting in the back. Ignoring the quizzical look from Garrett, she stepped over Carly, then Parker, who had little room to make for her with his long legs taking up most of the aisle. She made her way to the exit as the phone continued to vibrate against her palm.
The minute she stepped out of the church, the door swishing shut behind her, her cell quit.
She pulled her light hoodie tighter around her with one arm when the cool autumn air hit her, and quickly pressed the callback button.
“Breanna.” The slurred cry made her gut twist. What did her mother get herself into now? “He’s kicking me out.”
Bree held the phone away from her ear an inch in an effort to not go deaf from her mom’s wailing. “What?”
“Lloyd. We have to get out tonight.” More sobs followed by obscenities rang out in the background.
The doors to the church clapped shut again, pulling Bree’s attention to them. Garrett strode toward her, his shoulders taut, as his eyes locked on hers. She didn’t know whether to be relieved to see him or feel smothered.
“We don’t have anywhere to go. Maggie, Bryson. I don’t know what to do.” Her mom’s voice was so loud, Garrett lifted an eyebrow at the phone.
Bree held her hand up and turned away from him, like that was going to help her understand the jumbled speech coming from the other end.
There were more shouts in the background then her mom nearly pierced her eardrums as she retorted with her own obscenities. Bree took a deep breath, a little uncomfortable at the fact she was standing in a church parking lot hearing all this.
“I need your help.” Her mom slurred back into the phone.
Bree wasn’t easily swayed by her mother. Thankfully, she didn’t have to live with her. But it was her little brother that she worried about, and even though she didn’t get along with her most of the time, her sister, too.
“Hold on, what am I supposed to do?” Bree held a hand over her exposed ear as if that would help her think. She felt Garrett’s hands on her sides. It was nice that he wanted to comfort her, but it didn’t change what was happening.
Bree waited for what seemed like forever for the sobs to dissipate.
Garrett’s hands were only making things worse, one more thing to add to the confusion.
“My car got repoed last week. We don’t even have that to sleep in.” More slurs and sobs.
“Where’s Bryson?”
“He’s right here. Breanna, we need you.”
“Is Bree coming over?” Bryson’s voice sounded excited in the midst of the chaos. She hated that this was his normal.
The guilt weighed heavy on her chest, along with all the other responsibilities she was trying to deal with.
“Mom, I don’t have a car.” Bree glanced up at Garrett to see his plump lips pursed at the mention of her mom.
“I guess,” her mom’s voice was barely audible. “We can sleep on the street tonight.”
Faint in the background, Lloyd cussed, calling her mother more than Bree wanted to hear. Then a crash and all she could think of was Bryson.
Bree sighed, “Let me talk to Parker.”
Garrett’s hands fell from Bree.
“We’ll get …” Mindy paused again before shouting more curses at the boyfriend.
“I’ll be there soon.” Bree shouted over the commotion, before hanging up.
The lights from the overhang above them cast soft shadows over Garrett’s furrowed continence.
She tilted her face up toward him, “She’s my mom.”
“Exactly. She’s your mom. Not the other way around. Not your responsibility.” He ran his large hand over his head.
Bree looked back down at her phone. Typing in a quick text to Parker. She knew it would be easy to walk in and get him, but she didn’t want to cause a scene. “Can you take Bailey tonight?” She asked as she pressed send on her brother’s text.
“I had her last night.”
“Seriously?” She whipped her face up again. They didn’t have anything set in stone with who had Bailey when, but since football started up, he rarely kept her two nights in a row.
He nodded with his eyebrows arched under his light brown hair. “I have practice tomorrow then a game Friday.”
She opened her mouth to retort when the church doors swished open. Bree’s attention went to her brother, who stalked toward her. His arm stretched behind him with Carly attached to his hand.
“It’s Mindy.” Bree held up her phone. Though Mindy was Parker’s biological mom as well, Bree knew better than to call her ‘mom’ around him. Like Bree, he wasn’t raised by her.
Parker’s face hardened and his shoulders slumped. Carly frowned, looking up at him. Bree thought for a minute that Carly was going to say something. Carly had been through this with Bree for what seemed like all their lives. If anyone understood, she would.
“What’s her deal now?” Parker’s jaw jerked.
“Her boyfriend kicked her out.”
Bree tried not to be irritated by the huff that came out of Garrett.
“And that’s our
problem because?” Parker’s eyebrows lifted over his dark eyes that were identical to Bree’s.
“Parker-” Carly began, but Bree cut her off.
“Because we can’t leave Maggie and Bryson on the street.” Bree’s words hitched as they came out. She couldn’t believe Parker and Garrett were being so callous. “You know what?” She pushed the strands of dark hair out of her face. “I’m going to help them.” She looked from Garrett then to Parker, “With or without either of you.”
“You’re the kid, Bree. Mindy is the parent. She’s not your problem.” Garrett’s tone was a little softer than a few moments before.
Bree glared at him then stormed inside to retrieve her baby.
“Bree wait.” Music was coming from inside the sanctuary. Their argument wouldn’t be heard in the hall.
Bree held up a hand to dismiss him, continuing toward the nursery. “Go play your stupid game. Winning’s more important than my family.” She felt justified as she said it, despite the slight tug on her heart. She hated fighting with him and it seemed like that was all they did anymore.
“Really, Bree, you’re going to do this here?”
She halted to a stop and whipped toward him. “What is this?”
He’d been walking so fast, he almost knocked into her. He stopped, clamped his hands on the back of his head, and looked to the ceiling, letting out a long sigh. “I don’t want to fight.”
“Then don’t.”
The sanctuary doors opened and the music rose. Bree and Garrett turned to the distraction. Garrett’s dad, Randy, strolled out, with the baby in his arms. Bree had thought she was in the nursery with her grandma.
“There you two are,” Randy said. The music quieted as he shut the door behind him. Bailey fussed on her grandpa’s shoulder. He patted her back while striding toward them. “Pastor wanted your mom to pray for somebody and Bailey didn’t like the music today.” He smiled and gave a small laugh.
Before Bree could reach out for Bailey, Garrett was already taking her in his arms. Bailey squirmed, her fists pumping in the air.
“Bailers.” Garrett’s words were squeaky and a smile stretched across his face like he’d forgotten the pending fight. Bailey stopped her fussing at the sound of her daddy’s voice and began to coo.
“What are you two doing?” Randy tilted his head and his eyes squinting toward Garrett.
Bree stared down at her worn canvas shoes. “My mom … she called.” It was only moments ago, but Bree already felt dread in her stomach. “Her boyfriend kicked her out and she and my little brother and sister need help.”
Randy frowned, making the small wrinkles on his face more noticeable. He didn’t speak right away. Randy had been like a father to Bree over the last year. She didn’t want him telling her this was a bad idea as well. Bryson couldn’t be on the streets. He was just a little kid.
“Bree,” Carly strode down the hall behind Randy. “I got Parker to change his mind. He’s going to go get your mom and the kids.”
A wave of relief washed over Bree. “Thank God.” She looked up at the recessed lights in the ceiling.
“Do you want to go with him?” Randy asked, surprising Bree. She glanced back at Garrett. Bailey began to whimper.
Garrett cradled her closer. His eyes met Bree’s.
“I …” Bree started.
“We can take Bailey tonight.” Randy nodded toward Garrett.
Garrett glared at his dad, his jaw stiff.
“Thanks, but she can come with me.” Bree held her hands out to take her from Garrett.
“You have family stuff to work out. Bailey doesn’t need to be in the middle of it.” Randy twisted the gold watch on his wrist, staring at Garrett, daring him to argue.
“I had her last night.” Garrett’s eyes were wide and his jaw slack.
“And you can keep her again tonight. She’s your daughter too.”
Bree didn’t want to be caught between another father-son spat. Garrett always seemed to be at odds with his dad. She envied him. If only her dad cared about her like Randy cared about Garrett.
“I have football.”
“Maybe you should have thought about football a year ago.”
At that comment, Bree felt her face flush.
Garrett’s jaw jerked again, but he didn’t release Bailey to Bree. He looked at her and smiled, though she could tell it was forced. The last thing she wanted was for him to only have Bailey because someone was making him. She’d always felt like a burden to her dad. She didn’t want Bailey growing up feeling the same.
“I can take her.” Bree reached her arms out. Garrett didn’t budge, holding Bailey against his grey tee shirt.
“Garrett’s got her tonight. Go take care of what you need to.”
Who was she to argue with Randy? She turned toward Carly.
“Parker’s pulling up the Jeep.” Carly pointed with her silver fingernail.
Bree hated leaving things like this with Garrett. Why couldn’t he understand? She turned to him, hesitating for a second as he coddled Bailey.
“I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” she said.
He nodded, but didn’t look at her. Her heart sank, but she turned and followed Carly out anyway.
Chapter Two
Bree bounced around in the passenger seat as the Jeep trekked across the bumpy road. Her elbow and temple cracked against the door when Parker swerved to miss a pothole. She massaged her injuries. Bree wasn’t sure why Parker bothered dodging the crater. It wasn’t like it prevented anything. He should be thankful he had a four-wheel drive.
Parker hadn’t said much since they’d dropped Carly off. Bree tried not to think of the irritation Garrett showed before leaving the church. This was bigger than Garrett and her. It was hard to tell what they were about to come upon.
Only a few sporadic cars brightened the inside of the vehicle as they passed, illuminating Parker’s white knuckles on the steering wheel. Bree tried to calm her heart beat, keep it from jumping out of her chest, by taking long, steady breaths.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said more for herself than for Parker.
Parker grunted, turning onto the trailer park’s dumpy street. Broken fences, trash in yards, barking dogs, and doors hanging from hinges filled the street.
Bree spotted her family before Parker and she were near. Maggie and Bryson’s small figures slumped over the curb. Mindy’s lanky body flipped through the dark. A small, glowing dot waved in the air around her. Of course she’d be smoking. If this wasn’t Parker’s family as well, Bree would be mortified.
Parker pulled up to the curb beside their younger siblings. Maggie’s red hair covered her face a cell phone in her hand. Bree hopped out of the Jeep only to be greeted by Mindy’s loud curses toward the trailer.
Lloyd stood in the sagging door way, the light silhouetting his large gut. He spouted out degrading words Bree cringed at hearing, let alone knowing her little brother was too.
Bryson jumped barefoot on the cold ground. His ratty sweatpants were faded a light shade of pink, from what she assumed was originally red, and a few inches too short. “Bree,” he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Bree hugged him like he belonged to her. His filthy hair rubbed the inside of her elbow.
“Are we going to ride in the Jeep with the top down?” He tilted his head back, blinking up, and acting like it was normal that he was stuck on the street while his mom cussed out her boyfriend from the sidewalk. It was a novelty for his older brother and sister to be there like any other time.
Maggie didn’t acknowledge Bree’s presence, her face down and blue from the light of the phone. The two year age difference between them always felt like a yawning chasm that Bree didn’t know how to bridge. Weren’t sisters supposed to be like best friends? Even if they are only half-siblings?
“It’s late. I don’t think we’re going to be taking the top off.” Bree patted the top of his dark, greasy hair.
“Awe,” Bryson drooped his shoulders l
ike he was just told he couldn’t have dessert.
“You have your stuff? We can throw it in the back.”
“He wouldn’t let us take anything,” Maggie grumbled to the phone.
Bree’s heart sank. She knew what it was like to have to leave everything behind. When she’d found out she was pregnant, her dad kicked her out. The only thing she took with her was what she could carry in her duffle bag.
Gum cracked in Maggie’s mouth.
The commotion behind Bree only escalated, bringing out the nosey half-dressed neighbors. The man next door stood tall on his stoop, bald head glistening under the outdoor lamp above him.
“Keep it down over there!” he shouted, not concerned about the obvious abuse going on.
Lloyd responded with explicit words. Bree resisted the urge to cover Bryson’s ears and eyes from everything, though hearing them was nothing new to him.
Mindy flailed like a rabid bird as Parker lured her to the car.
“That’s right, get her out of here, you punk!” Lloyd screamed in his raspy drunken voice.
Mindy shouted back, wailing as soon as the words left her mouth.
A lady in curlers and long gown across the street screamed for her to shut up.
“C’mon, let’s get in the Jeep.” Bree ushered Bryson around to the passenger side.
Maggie huffed, standing up with her phone in her hand like it was part of her body and all this was just a big inconvenience to her social media life.
Squished in the back seat, Bree held her arm around Bryson.
Mindy sobbed in her overdramatic cries, as if she didn’t bring this on herself.
Maggie popped her gum. Bryson rested his head on Bree’s shoulder.
After they were a good distance from the trailer and Mindy’s cries finally were silent, Parker asked, “Where are you going?”
This only garnered more sobs from Mindy. “I don’t have anywhere. I don’t have … any place for my … babies.”
Resisting rolling her eyes, Bree watched Parker as he gripped his steering wheel tighter, not saying a word.