Strong

Chapter Six

It's dinner time, but Maria's dad hasn't come home yet.

"Maybe cooking dinner will get my mind off things," Maria thinks.

She sluggishly makes her way downstairs in her blue and white Polk-a-dot pajamas that she has been wearing since yesterday.

"It seems like there are more stairs than usual," Maria whispers to herself.

She walks into the kitchen and grabs a can of soup.

"It should be easy enough to just heat this up, right?" Maria thinks.

She grabs a pot and pours the soup in. After setting the pot on the back burner and turning it on, Maria leans against the counter and stares intently at the front door.

"He'll be home soon," Maria convinces herself. "Anytime now".

Six minutes pass and the soup is already heated. Maria pours the soup into two bowls and sets them at the dinner table. She sits down at her place at the table and takes a small bite.

"He will come home."

The clock hits 7:00 PM, but her father still wasn't home.

Maria had taken only a few sips of her soup before she stopped eating. She can't help but continue looking at the front door of her dad walking through it, sober. But, she knew that when he comes home, he would be just as drunk as yesterday.

She sighs and forced herself to take another sip of her soup. Maria hardly ever feels hungry now.

Suddenly, Maria's father stumbled through the front door, drunk. He slumps against the wall next to Maria in the kitchen.

"Um, I heated up some soup and made you a bowl. Would you like some?" Maria asks quietly.

Her father stares intently at her.

"I could get you a cup of water if you'd like," she continues.

"Water," he slurs.

"O-okay," Maria whispers.

She walks over the the cabinets and grabs a cup and fills it with ice and water.

"Do you want to sit at the table?" She asks.

He shakes his head slowly.

Maria walks over and gently places the glass cup in his shaking hands. He tries to take a sip, but drops it, causing the cup to shatter on the floor. Water sprays everywhere and the ice slides across the floor.

Her father pauses and slowly looks at Maria.

"Oops, I'll get that," she says.

Before she can walk away to get a towel, he grabs her wrist and forcefully pulls her closer.

"Ow! What are you doing!?" She gasps.

"YOU WORTHLESS CHILD!" He screeches and throws her to the ground.

Maria yelps in surprise and crashes to the ground. She scrambles backwards and pushes herself against the wall in attempt to escape her father's wrath.

He closes his eyes and leans against the wall. Maria sees her chance to get away. She scrambles away from the wall on all fours.

Without any warning, there is a sharp pain in her left hand. Maria forces herself to ignore it, and quickly stands up. She turns and slowly walks past her dad, whose eyes are still shut.

"Did he fall asleep?" She thinks.

Suddenly, his eyes shoot open.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" He shouts.

Maria gasps and sprints up the stairs without looking back. She runs into her room and closes the door behind her, locking it. She leans against the door and slides down into a sitting position. Maria pulls her knees close to her chest and digs her face in her hands.

A single tear streams down her cheek.