01| Broke

Aᴘʀɪʟ 6, 2019.

She is sitting in the couch before a blank television, with a glass cup of water in her hands, when her mother comes in. The front door slams against the wall, swinging all the way back when it's thrown open. The woman staggers in, heels clacking and keys jingling, disturbing the dead silence of the house that Alessia dwells in.

Her hands tighten the slightest, calculating eyes scanning her mother's body language and features, from head to toe. Is she drunk or high tonight?

For a whole minute, the woman stands on the mat in the doorway, shoulders slumped and head fallen. Her straight dark hair is cached and falls in bundles around her face. If Alessia wasn't keen after all she's been through, she would've never noticed the small shivers of her body. The young girl stiffens. Her mum is. . . crying? Why is her mum crying? She's only known her mother to have two direct ways of expressing herself, because all her life it has been either happiness or anger directed to her, and she sees the anger more than enough. But, tears? Sadness?

This is new. What is the woman going to do to her, now that she's sad? Hurt her, slave her around or let her be?

"Alessia." her name sounds crushed, making her nervous at its unfamiliarity. She inhales then stands, clutching the glass of liquid to her chest. "Close the door."

The order is quiet, but simple and sharp. Alessia moves towards the door fluidly, closing it and turning the lock. When she turns around, her mother has already taken comfort in the spot on the couch where she had been seated. Anissa looks up at her daughter with tear stained eyes, mascara and eyeliner running down her cheeks, thick with foundation. She lifts a shaky arm and pat's the empty spot beside her for her child to sit.

Alessia moves lightly on her feet, still neglecting the cool water in case she is in for another beating. Drinking or eating before a round will cause her to throw up, in addition, more beating.

She sits.

Five minutes of unspoken words pass, before Anissa speaks up hoarsely, "He left me." She takes a second to swallow, then continue, "He says I'm too clingy and over the top. He says if that's what I call love, then it's suffocating. I-It was unrequited all along. He dropped me so easily, then went about his business like I wasn't there. Like I wasn't a part of his life seconds ago." More tears seep from her eyes as she adds, now peering up at Alessia. "I owe him money for the drugs I took during our relationship. I have 5 days to pay and I'm broke." Her shoulders start shaking as another wave of sadness hits her, but this time, Alessia knows there is a mixture of fear.