amaya jumped out of her seat in surprise.
"what the fuck are you doing here gabriella?"
her mother slowly lifted her finger to shake it. "now now, little lady, enough with the attitude towards your old mommy dear. i've come to take you home! i missed you baby." she stumbled over to amaya, grabbing her by the arm. amaya shoved her off.
"what's the matter sweetheart, shocked to see your loving mother here at such short notice? well, i tried to call but i think i got the landline number wrong, and i never got your dead old cousin here's number so, here i am!" she held out her arms.
"i don't want to go home." it was all amaya could manage to say. she was so overwhelmed with shock, she could barely remember the day at the pool, the party last night, watching movies on the couch five minutes ago. all the recent events had blurred into nothingness and all she could focus on was the intoxicated woman in front of her.
"don't be silly now darlin', i came all the way over here to get you!" her mothers strong country accent was loud and forceful, despite her seemingly loving words. "now, go get your stuff, and we'll be right on the next train to cincinnati."
"i'm not going." amaya began to raise her voice. her mother's face dropped.
"well i wonder why not. don't you miss your momma?"
"no. and you're not my mom." amaya gritted her teeth, trying to hold back tears whilst remembering the abuse her mother had put her through back 'home'.
"i wouldn't say that dearie! you're my own blood, so i get dibs on you." she grimaced. "i wouldn't say the same about your old sister though. she threw away our name the minute she ran away with that punk. she's more hooker than litchman."
"don't you dare call her that!" amaya began to shout. she could deal with her mother calling her names, but when it came to her sister she got defensive.
"oh heck, that girl never did nothing for you but leave you here. you're coming back with me, whether you like it or not." she took a step closer to her daughter. "and i can't wait to have you back." she smirked, horribly.
amaya took a step closer to her mother. "i would never go back to that shithole if it was the last place in the world and i would never, ever go anywhere with you." she spat in the woman's face.
amaya felt a hand reach out and slap her across the face forcefully, grazing her cheek with long acrylic nails. she gasped in astonishment, before looking up at the woman, yanking on her cheap blond extensions and running out the door behind her.
amaya kept running. she had no sense of where she was going, she just knew that she had to get away. everything around her was spinning in a blur, and if she didn't stop she could collapse but she was determined to keep going.
after a few more seconds of sprinting away, she stopped. she had never been so dizzy in her whole life, it felt like she was floating. she had ended up underneath the L bridge. she was barely aware of her surroundings and as she tried to search with her hands for a wall to lean on, her legs collapsed beneath her. she had no idea how long she had been running for or how far away from home she was. all she knew was that she was on the floor underneath a bridge in the middle of the south side, and her mother was at her house, trying to take her back to cincinnati. she heard someone calling out her name.
"maya? maya! what the fuck, maya?" she could just about make out a person running up to her, kneeling down and lifting up her face with their hands.
"maya, what happened?" a boy with cornrows slipped in and out of her focus.
"carl?" she stuttered. "what are you doing here?"
"i could ask you the same thing." he replied, looking closer at her face, gently touching the bleeding graze. "why is your face bleeding? did someone hurt you?"
