Again (Brandy Jeffus)

Tatum looks as tired as I feel. Her usual bright sky blue eyes are surrounded by purple bags and her dark blonde hair hangs limply in a lazy ponytail.
    I heave a sigh and sink down on the couch by my mom's bedside.
    "Those people make me so mad. Always being nosy, never giving anyone privacy they deserve," Mama says her voice hoarse. The breathing tube they removed earlier scratched her throat. A half full bottle of sore throat spray sits on her tray off to the side.
    "Don’t I know it Mama? Don't worry, I'm used to it. There are more urgent matters at hand. They'll get bored," I reach over and smooth her graying hair out of her face. The heart monitor beeps are steady.
    A week earlier, Mama had been involved in a near fatal car accident. She was trapped inside the car, and the jaws of life were used to cut her out. I was a thousand miles away when it happened and I hopped on the next available flight to be by her side. Miraculously, she survived without any permanent damage. Mama credits God not having Heaven ready yet for her. She had been in ICU for a few days before they deemed her fit for a private room.
    "Well, let them interview me. I'll tell them exactly what's on my mind. That inconsiderate sack of crap tried to forbid you to see your own dear Mama." She closes her eyes, takes a few deep breaths and is out in an instant. The medication the physicians has her on tires her quickly. I say a silent 'thank you' because at the moment I just don't want to hear anymore negativity. My head feels like mush and my heart is on the defensive after Mick was brought up.
    "Lord forbid any reporters talk to her. She'll have them repenting for their sins in an instant." Tatum jokes as she stands and stretches. "You want to come have dinner with me? It’ll be my treat." My little sister cocks her head to the side and gives me a lazy grin.
    I nod and we leave the room. It's weird being home after so long on the road. The town has grown immensely, the traffic has gotten worse. Everything seems almost clogged and claustrophobic. Even the hospital, the same one I was born, has built on and been expanded. Not, only had I changed, but my hometown was completely different as well.
    "So have you talked to him? Has he apologized or anything?" Tatum asks shyly. She doesn't like to bring Mick up. It’s too soon and she knows I don’t care to talk about him, not yet anyway. Tatum is smart beyond her years and extremely sensitive to others around her. She’s always had that gift.
    "No he hasn't, but that's ok. I'm glad it happened...not mom's accident, but the break up. I think it was way past due." I reply quietly, lost in my own thoughts.
    Mick Jones had been my boyfriend for the past five years. We met at a local bar where his band headlined one night. Shortly after, they hit it big and signed a record deal. Mick begged me to come on the road with him and so I did. I packed a small suitcase and took off with him. I shocked Mick, my mom and sister and myself.
    Things were good for a long time. Being with a rocker was an equal mix of extreme dramatics and extreme chill. I was infatuated with Mick and carelessly threw myself into our relationship. Mick had some contacts and helped my career as an artist. I ended up creating the cover of their album and won some high spirited praise from the art world. Now we had split up. The past few months had been rough and full of fighting. The equal drama/chill relationship took a nosedive to total dramatics 24/7.
    When my mom had her accident, I told him I was going to go home for an undetermined amount of time. This sparked a huge argument and Mick gave me an ultimatum. He did not want me to go, and it was either him or my mom. I chose my mom.
    Gossip spreads quickly in the music industry. An hour after I boarded my plane, the news of our break up was already on TV and the radio. I never liked being a celebrity's significant other and always tried to keep private. Still, people knew who I was, and they knew we had split up.
    My sister knew about our break up via technology before I even broke the news to her personally. Giving up that part of my life was going to be easy. But having that part give up on me would prove difficult it seemed.
    "It's still weird seeing you on TV and hearing people talk about you like they know you. Before you landed, someone on the radio said you cheated on him. I was so mad. I almost called the radio station to set the record straight," Tatum says as we get ours