A Forgotten Maiden

Chapter 10

Eve kept her head down as she left the school grounds, clutching her journal tightly to her chest. The walk home was only fifteen minutes, but each step felt heavier as the minutes passed. She dreaded going back, but there was no way to avoid it. She'd learned a long time ago that avoiding things only made them worse.

As she turned the corner onto her street, her breath hitched. Her house stood at the end, a two-story building that looked perfectly normal from the outside. But inside, it was anything but. The chipped paint on the front door was just the first warning, a small crack in the facade that hinted at the chaos within.

Eve hesitated at the front steps, her heart pounding. Maybe today would be different. Maybe her mom wouldn't be home, or maybe she'd be passed out in front of the TV like she sometimes was. But Eve knew better than to hope.

Taking a deep breath, she twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open quietly. The creak of the hinges seemed louder than usual, and she winced. The house was silent, but that didn't mean it was safe. She knew the quiet could be just as dangerous as the shouting.

She slipped inside, shutting the door behind her as quietly as she could. The living room was empty, the TV off, and the usual pile of beer bottles was missing from the coffee table. For a moment, a flicker of hope sparked in her chest. Maybe her mom had gone out.

But as she started toward the stairs, a voice cut through the silence like a knife.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Eve froze. Her mother's voice came from the kitchen, low and slurred, the way it always was after she'd had a few too many. She didn't need to turn around to know what was coming next.

"I asked you a question, Eve."

Slowly, Eve turned to face her mother. She was standing in the doorway, a half-empty bottle of vodka in one hand, the other hand gripping the doorframe for balance. Her blonde hair, which used to be neatly kept, was now tangled and matted. Her eyes, once sharp and clear, were clouded and bloodshot.

"I was at school," Eve said quietly, keeping her voice as calm as possible. She'd learned long ago that raising her voice only made things worse.

"School?" her mom scoffed, taking a swig from the bottle. "Like that's gonna do you any good. You think you're better than me, don't you?"

"No, Mom, I—"

"Don't lie to me!" her mother snarled, her grip tightening on the bottle. "I see the way you look at me. Like I'm some kind of trash. But guess what, Eve? You're no better than me. You're just like me. Useless. Worthless."

Eve's hands clenched into fists at her sides, but she said nothing. She knew better than to argue. It would only escalate things, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with that tonight.

Her mother took another step toward her, the smell of alcohol thick in the air between them. "You think you can just waltz in here whenever you want, like this is some hotel? Huh? Do you even care what goes on in this house?"

Eve kept her eyes on the floor, her heart pounding in her chest. "I just wanted to go to my room, Mom. I have homework."

"Oh, you have homework, do you?" Her mother sneered, stepping closer. "Like that's gonna get you anywhere. Like you're so smart."

Eve swallowed hard. She could feel the heat of her mom's anger, the way it radiated off her in waves. Every muscle in her body was tense, ready for whatever might happen next.

"You think you're better than me because you sit in your little room, with your stupid books and your stupid dreams?" Her mom's voice was rising, her words slurring more. "Newsflash, Eve. None of that's gonna save you. You're stuck here, just like me."