Page 49 of Mara
She didn’t make any movement when I walked into the room, my card unlocking all facilities within the clearance of the identity I stole. She had her nose shoved in a book, one hand caressing her belly.
I wondered what the toxin would do to the parasite inside her womb. Would it simply die along with her? Or would it be strong like the DNA it stole from and fight its demise? I never considered the idea of the thing’s life. Gianna had to die, and in turn, that meant the alien had to die too.
Simple math…
You could have a legacy to follow yours. Your son is growing up to be just like you. Please give him a chance.
The words weren’t my own thoughts. They were a memory of my childhood. My mother was desperately clinging to me as my angered father held a gun to my head. I didn’t normally see my father awake. His eyes were shut, his head lying on a bottle, but that night he was awake.
Mommy wanted to play hide and seek, and I was excited. I didn’t have any friends, and Mommy was always working with the other men. I missed her. The closest was a good place to hide, but that meant I needed to go past Daddy in the living room. He was snoring and smelled sour like bad apples and poop. I didn’t want Mommy to find me so easily. It was never a challenge when she knew all my hiding spots.
I looked around the corner of the wall at my father, still sleeping with that awful sound coming from his mouth. Taking a deep breath, I pretended to be like my favorite comic book and held my breath while tiptoeing across the hardwood floor. I could hear Mommy counting in the far hallway.
I smiled, spying the closet door behind the couch and making my way over to it. The glass on the floor hurt my bare feet, and I bit my tongue very hard to avoid crying. It hurt, but I couldn’t wake up Daddy. Mommy was almost done counting to one hundred, and I started to panic, reaching for the knob and pulling slightly.
The door was stuck. Something sticky, the nasty liquid Daddy drank all day long, had dried and acted like glue on the bottom of the door. I sighed and wiggled the knob, trying to pull the wood a little harder. Mommy finished counting, and her sweet voice drifted over to me. Fear consumed me, and I pulled even harder.
The door came undone from the sticky floor, but it smashed into the couch’s edge, and the bottles on top of the furniture fell down onto my Daddy’s head. There were no snores anymore. He woke up and roared like an angry bear. I ducked behind the couch and crawled into the closet, scared that Daddy was mad at me.
Mommy ran into the living room. Her face looked very white, and my Daddy started yelling at her.
“You stupid cunt! You woke me up! Why aren’t you getting fucked like you’re good for my beer money bitch? Huh? Why are you here?”
My mommy looked around the room. She was very scared, and I knew she was trying to find me. I was too scared to come out. Daddy started throwing bottles at Mommy, her body turning all kinds of colors, and red cuts formed on her body and face.
I didn’t like Mommy hurting. I pushed open the door to try to tell Daddy it was my fault, but Mommy fell onto her hands and knees right by the door, blocking me in. Mommy’s dress was ripped, and Daddy started growling at her from behind, shaking her over and over. My Mommy stayed still, letting Daddy yell and rock her body.
I felt sad. Mommy was crying. Her tears fell onto the floor, mixing with the sticky substance. Being careful, I reached my hand outside the door and reached for Mommy’s.
Mommy finally saw me and held onto my hand so tight it almost hurt, but I let her. Daddy roared at Mommy, bouncing back and forth off her back, and then he saw me. I was scared, but I didn’t want to let go of Mommy.
Daddy walked forward with a big, scary metal thing in his hand and pointed it at me. I could see it behind the wooden blinds of the door, and the big black hole at the end looked scary. Mommy screamed and turned around to yell at Daddy.
“You could have a legacy to follow yours. Your son is growing up to be just like you. Please give him a chance.”
Daddy laughed but then held his belly, vomiting all over the floor and Mommy. It smelled bad, but I still held onto Mommy’s hand. I wanted to see her smile again.
The metal thing in Daddy’s hand fell, and Mommy picked it up. She turned to me and closed me inside the closet.
“It’s okay, my sweet boy. It’s Mommy's turn, okay? Now just close your eyes and count to five.”
I was happy to play again and covered my eyes, whispering to myself.
“One.”
“You have tormented us enough, Matthew. I have put up with you breaking me, but you will never hurt our son.”
“Two.”
“I hate you for turning into a monster. I hate you for making me no better than you in the end.”
“Three.”
“Maybe this was always my fate. I loved you, but all you ever loved was yourself.”
“Four.”
“Your son is the only good thing that you have ever given me, and for him…thank you.”
