Just Breathe Again - Mia Villano Page 0,9

up to get to the door. The ancient trailer came with two dying shrubs out front, a busted up faded gnome with no nose, and a scrawny cat that ran every time you came near it. The trailers next to them were almost touching. Each one as pathetic as the next. A rusted car was usually in the driveway, the lawns were dirt, and the people that lived in them seemed to always be outside. Walking into the small living room, you could see the entire house. A kitchen taken out of the 1970’s sat behind the living room and down the hall was two small bedrooms and one bathroom with a cracked tub.

When the SUV she drove had to go back to the bank, Marsha sent John with her down to by a car at the “buy here pay here” place. She bought a 1995 Jeep Cherokee, covered in rust and a clanking sound she had no idea what it could be. For the money, John said the piece of shit, was better than any of the other pieces of shit they tried out. He wanted to go and buy Jeannie a car himself and she refused to the point of getting angry. Something she bought would have to do. It was a car, and the car took her to both jobs she needed, to keep the kids in a home and fed.

Her first job, other than working with Vince, was at CXX Trucking Company. They hired her to work in dispatching. She spent a good portion of her day in a cubicle with no windows, and in a garage that smelled like diesel. The men were rough and tough, and she had a hard time telling them what to do without being treated poorly or hit on. Two nights a week and most weekends, she waitressed at the local sports bar. Her legs and back hurt every day and she was in a constant state of dread. There wasn’t a day that Jeannie didn’t get up already exhausted, even on the weekend. Her problems showed when she looked in the rear view mirror noticing the dark circles forming under her puffy eyes. It was life. A life she didn’t ask for, just one she had to live. Her husband’s death changed her in ways she never dreamed, but it was just the beginning to what lay ahead of her. This is the story of a woman that walked through hell barely hanging on. A woman that never knew she had the strength to pull herself up and go on again.

Chapter 1

“Lydia, are you coming?” her mom yelled through the thin bathroom door.

Lydia tried to move her aching body and get enough strength to speak. “One minute, Mom.”

Lydia’s body didn’t want to cooperate. She tried to tell her body to move, though nothing helped. Nothing would register from her brain. The pain took over everything.

“Your brother has to use the bathroom before we leave for school, so please hurry,” Jeannie yelled, this time knocking on the door.

As the pain passed through her head and down her body, all she could do was whisper. “Okay.”

Jeannie was becoming more frustrated by the minute. “One minute is all we have Lydia then I’ll be late again, fired, and we will be living in a tent. Please move a little faster. It’s school, not the prom.”

For the past few weeks, Lydia made her mom late for work every day. Jeannie had no idea her daughter wasn’t feeling well again, and not telling her. She figured the procrastination had to do with not getting enough sleep, studying, or on her phone. Jeannie feared Lydia’s behavior could be a sign of rebellion or something worse. What if she was taking drugs or worse yet, dating some degenerate, or pregnant? Lydia was a straight-A student, track star, and involved at her church. She liked boys, but had not yet dated a serious boyfriend. She would have known if that was the case. Jeannie had no idea what was happening because Lydia didn’t want to worry her. Jeannie had been through too much the past year and finally getting back on her feet. Lydia didn’t want her mom to become concerned with her headaches. They had enough to worry about since their lives had changed so drastically. No longer could they run to a doctor when they felt a cold coming on or a headache. They had no medical insurance, or money to go to a doctor.