Like a brazen thief, Lynnette snuck her way ever so quietly into the second story window of her parents' house.

With her brown paper bag tucked securely underneath her right armpit, the young woman carefully closed her bedroom window before taking off her sneakers and dropping her bag onto the desk that sat next to her rocking chair.

Before anything else, Lynnette tip-toed over to the door and listened for any sounds coming from the other end. It was still the early morning and she was well aware that her mother would be stalking about preparing breakfast.

Once she felt that the coast was clear, Lynnette went back over to the desk where her bag was resting and ripped it open like a Christmas present. What spilled out onto the desk's wood grain were tiny, white rocks that Lynnette hurriedly collected into her hands before they could fall onto the floor.

From there, she sat back in her seat and pulled out a drawer from within the desk. Inside the drawer was a rubber band that she immediately snatched out.

She then pulled off her jacket and exposed her boney arms that revealed needle marks all up and down before taking the rubber band and wrapping it tightly around her right arm.

"Lynn, are you in there?" A woman's loud voice shouted from the other side of the bedroom door.

At the snap of a finger Lynnette gathered every rock from off the table and scooted them into the drawer. She then put her jacket back on before shooting up from the desk and running towards the door.

"What's up, Ma?" Lynnette huffed.

Her mother bobbed her head up and down and from side to side just trying to peek inside Lynnette's room.

"Are you just now getting home?" Her mother asked in an annoyed manner.

"Yes, Ma'am," Lynnette answered surprised.

"Why didn't you come in through the front door?"

Lynnette thought for a moment and said, "Uh...I didn't want to wake anyone."

"Let me in there!" Her mother tried to barge in.

Lynnette only slid through the door's crack on her way out of the room and into the brightly lit hallway, quickly shutting the door right behind her.

"What do you need in there?" Lynnette looked perturbed.

Lynnette's mother, clothed in a brown robe and curlers in her head, just stood and stared at her daughter as though she were looking at a total stranger.

of yours keep you till the morning time?" The woman asked in

Walking down the stairs, Lynnette

the woman said, "You've been away for the past two days! What kind of job

The moment Lynnette reached the living room she immediately went for the

need me to watch over patients while they conduct

know that, but I've never heard of a job that keeps a person away

Lynnette pulled out a carton of eggs from the refrigerator and slammed them down onto

"Dad stays out all night and you

father is a night watchman, he has

been coming

that your son fell down the steps yesterday

only for a brief instant before

a big ole' knot on his head,"

that'll teach him to keep his little butt in bed." Lynnette shrugged as she took out

you keep on wearing that jacket? It's

come at me with this! If I was sitting around the house like Jackie, Bernadette and Lavonia you'd be all over me about that!

live in their own place!

end of the month, and I'll have myself a brand new place to live!"Lynnette then stormed out

"And what about Isaiah," she

"What about him?" Lynnette screamed

and tired of taking care of all these kids you and your sisters keep throwing on me and

basically commanded me to move back in here months ago! But like I said, since we're such a burden on you,

bearded, black man dressed in

"Dad, can you please tell mom to stop jumping on me?" Lynnette beseeched her

"Don't go running to your dad! Your little

I out of control?"

your tone when you speak to

looking back at her father and saying, "I came in this morning, like I always do from work, and

I don't trust

Lynnette's father placed his lunch pail onto the couch before sitting his exhausted body down beside

I have both been questioning this job of yours for quite some time now. I can understand you being

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