Her eyelids are heavy, with every ounce of hatred shining in them. Her hair is ratted, like she was electrocuted. Every time she takes a step towards Dom, she sways like a tree during a tornado. One hand is close to her head, and every time that Dom yells back, an unmistakable wince explodes on her face. As Elena and I inch forward, the familiar stench of alcohol stings our nostrils. After all the times that she's come home in this state, it does nothing more than cause nausea and disgust to violently bubble inside me. 

"Elena, how bad do you think it is?" I ask, as I nibble on the last of my ice cream cone. She shrugs, as she wipes her mouth with a napkin we got from the shop. 

"Considering she's screaming at the top of her lungs, and is mixing in random Spanish curses in there, I'm going to go on a hunch and say that it's not the greatest scenario." The shrieking becomes more shrill and witch-like. We can also hear Dom firing back with responses as well, which is anything but good. 

As we slowly step into the living room, we can hear my brother angrily replying back at her. We approach the scene with caution, like we're approaching two hungry grizzly bears that are fighting over the same piece of meat. Elena tucks a section of her dark hair behind her ear, as her eyes remain alert for anything sudden that could happen. 

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? Throughout the town, and all of the land, I shall be the fairest to stand. What? Snow White is fairer than me? Alas, I shall have to kill thee!" Elena mimics, while evilly cackling at the end. I can't help but chuckle as we reach the outside of the dining room. The fact that she was able to make the rhyme that amazing is amusing.

Before we walk into the dining room, I take a deep breath. Every time, the exact same outcome is extracted from the situation. My mom storms off to gosh knows where, probably to vomit some more in the toilet or to shower in the bathroom. "Why wasn't there coffee for me when I came back? I expect you to have coffee for me when I get back, Dominic!" my mom screeches, as we enter the dining room. 

As we do, Elena and I both take a good look at the whole situation. Dom looks like he just wrestled a grizzly bear and barely got out alive because of it. His eyes are drooping, with his thin lips pursed together. He's staring at the ground, with a face as blank as a canvas. He doesn't budge when we enter the scene, and after examining his face, my eyes dart to my mom's. 

Anger, disgust, and hatred is all plastered onto her face. Her eyes, with large, dark bags accenting them, look like they are going to stab Dom in the heart. Her lips are pursed together, with wrinkles indenting her skin and forming an irregular border. Years of alcoholism are etched onto her face, as she stands there and does everything in her power to make our lives hell. 

"Well, what's the point? You never treated us like that, so why should we?" Dom asks, as my mom's face grows angrier. His generally kind brown eyes are hot with anger and frustration. I love Dom for treating my mom the way she deserves to be treated, but he's asking for death right now. Angering my mom is like provoking a hungry lion. Things never end well. 

"Well, why should I treat you to things like that when you're such a useless son? You don't deserve to have anything! You don't deserve to have your girlfriend, or your sisters. I don't know why I had you," she spits at Dom. I gasp, as I can almost feel Dom's heart sinking with the punch of her words. 

He, however, doesn't show any sign of defeat, and keeps the same expression on his face, with his arms still crossed. Elena's hand, which is wrapped around mine, is squeezing mine as hard as it can out of pure fury. I can see the anger intensify in Elena's eyes, as she looks like she's going to rip my mom's throat out at that moment if she doesn't shut her mouth. 

"Don't you dare talk to Dom like that! He's been a better guardian to Nicole and I than you will ever be! You have no right to talk to him like that when he's done so much more than you ever have! You're a horrible mother, and I'm ashamed to even call you my mom!" Elena roars, as Dom flashes her a small smile out of gratitude. 

Elena is like the enemy lion that will fight my mom until they're both too bloody and injured to bicker any more. My mom's mouth falls open in offense at Elena's words. Elena's blood is boiling right now, and I can see the vein throbbing in her temples. My mom's eyes widen in rage, and she's taking deep breaths in order to prevent herself from exploding. 

"Shut up! Just shut up! You're an ungrateful little brat, Elena! You're no better than your brother, and I wish I just never had you! I'm disgusted to even call you my daughter! You're a lazy, whiny piece of crap and I wish that I never gave birth to you!" she shouts in Elena's face. Her words are meant to be like sharpened knives, in an attempt to stab Elena in the place that it hurts most. 

Elena, however, is unfazed by my mom's negativity. The knife of words that my mom attempted to use to harm Elena's ego is instead used to cut my restraints. I let go of Elena's hand and I step up to where she's standing. 

"You're disgusting! I can't believe that you would even consider talking about your own kids that way! You're lucky that we haven't thrown you out on the streets and left you to rot! We're done with you! You've caused us too much pain, and you've never done anything to help us. You're a despicable case of a mother, and when I'm done with college, I hope that I never see you again!" I scream at her. 

My eye is starting to twitch at the pure anger I'm feeling right now. I feel like my heart is on fire and my mind is in the clouds. There's a myriad of words that I'm hoping to hurl at her just so that she can get a hint of how bad she is of a mother. Experiencing red hot anger like this is a rarity for me. I don't recall the last time I ever got this angry with someone, let alone her. 

But, no one insults my siblings like that and expects to get away scot free. Not even my mother, who is far from one, has the right to shame my siblings and make them feel this bad about themselves. When I yell at my mom and give her a piece of my mind, that's when she officially loses it. 

Her right hand, which has been balled into a fist since the beginning of the altercation, loosens and instead strikes me across the face. The force of the hit causes my legs to buckle and for me to collapse onto the floor. Her hand is like a bee stinger, and now I feel like I just got stung by it. "Nicole!" Elena yells, and before I can hit the floor, Elena catches me in her arms. 

My hand flies up to soothe the stinging part of my face, as Elena turns me towards her and looks me in the eyes. The sting of the slap causes my eyes to dampen with tears. "You're the worst of them all, Nicole! You're a worthless little piece of scum, just like your brother! I'm sick of all of you! You've all done nothing but ruin my life, and it disgusts me to even think of you as my children!" my mom screeches, as Elena stands me up and puts herself in front of me. 

Dom rushes over to where I am, and he wraps his arms around me to protect me from my mom's wrath. Right when my mom spits those words, my dad comes wheeling into the room. Fury is plastered on his face, which is rare if it's directed at us. My dad takes one look at me, and then directs everything at my mom. 

"Tanya, get out! You've gone too far! Do us all a favor, and get out of here!" my dad screams. Dom walks me over to the couch and I flop down, while still holding my face. My mom lets out one more exasperated groan, and she storms out of the room. I rest my head on Dom's shoulder, as he strokes my hair. 

"Elena, get the-," he commands, but Elena rushes into the kitchen. 

"I'm on it," she says, as she knows what to do. This has happened so many times that she just knows what to do. My dad wheels over to where I'm sitting, and his hand lifts to cup my face. 

"Nicole, are you okay?" my dad asks, with worry plastered on his face. I simply nod, as Elena hurries back into the dining room. 

"Here," she says, handing me a dampened dish towel. I take it, and press it to the side of my face. Elena tucks the hair on that side of my face behind my ear so that it won't get wet. 

"Thanks, Elena," I tell her, as I rest my head against Dom's chest. 

"Dom-bear, how do you deal with her? She's a nightmare. How do you remain so calm even after everything she says to you?" I ask him. Dom just shrugs, while Elena sits down next to me and puts her hand on my shoulder. 

"I don't know, Nicole. After 24 years of dealing with it, I guess I just got used to it after a while. There's nothing I can do, anyways," he says, as Elena just sighs. My dad's hand rests on my knee. 

"Nicole, if I wasn't in a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis, we would be out of here as soon as possible. I know none of you guys can stand her. Darn multiple sclerosis," my dad laments, as Elena just lets out another brief sigh. 

"Dad, it's not your fault. You didn't ask to be wheelchair-ridden. Don't blame yourself," I assure him. At this point, I don't know what my mom has in store for us. But I have to try and prepare myself, because I don't know if I am able to prevent everything that my mom plans for us. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, I guess there's some tension in Nicole's family in regards to her mom. What's your opinion of Tanya so far? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! I hope you guys liked the first few chapter of Phoenix! I worked on them a lot, and put a lot of effort into them. I'd love to hear your guys' feedback. 

That's pretty much it. As always, please vote/comment/share/message/follow if you like my work! See you all on Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix! Have a great rest of the week!

Love you guys, 

Shree