Motherless

39

Talia

It was one of those days where everything felt heavy.

The air. My clothes. My body.

Even my thoughts felt like bricks stacked on top of each other, pressing down until I couldn't breathe right.

I hadn't eaten in the cafeteria in weeks. Not since the day Mom got called in the principal office and everything unraveled.

From now until the end of the school year, you'll stay here with me during free periods and after school. No hallway passes. No excuses. No disappearing.

She said it with this edge in her voice I hadn't heard before—sharp and unshakable. That was the day she stopped being just warm and gentle and turned into a mother who refused to lose me.

Since then, lunch had been at her desk in her classroom, quiet and contained, like I needed a bubble around me to keep from shattering. At least Hector had started showing up too, like it was a normal routine. Eating beside me. Making me laugh sometimes, even if I only smiled with half my face.

But today was different.

Today, Mom had a staff meeting.

Just thirty minutes. That's what she said when she hesitated at the classroom door this morning.

"Just this once, okay? Straight to lunch, straight back. I mean it, Talia. Please."

I promised. I meant it.

But the second I stepped into the cafeteria, I knew it was a mistake.

The noise hit first. The stares. The whispers. A few people snickering as I walked by like I didn't hear them.

I kept my head down, clutching the brown paper bag Mom packed for me, her handwriting still visible through the fold.

Te amo. Eres más fuerte de lo que piensas.
*I love you. You are stronger than you think.*

I didn't feel strong. I felt exposed.

I sat at a small table in the far corner, trying to disappear into the wall. I didn't even open the lunch. I didn't want to wrinkle the note, didn't want to taste anything. My stomach was already turning.

Hector sat down a minute later, like he knew I wouldn't make it long on my own.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

I gave a small shrug. "Fine."

"You're not," he said.

"I didn't think it would be this bad."

"You shouldn't be in here alone."

I didn't get a chance to answer.

Because just then, they came.

Not Becca this time. She was across the cafeteria, eyeing me with that satisfied smirk she always wore when she didn't have to get her hands dirty herself.

Instead, it was Darius.

Loud. Cruel. Bored enough to be dangerous.

He walked up to my table with a couple of other guys trailing behind him like dogs. "Well, well. They finally let the charity case eat with the rest of us."

I froze.

Hector tensed beside me.

"I thought they kept you locked in Ms. Winslow's classroom like a pet rat," Darius grinned. "What's wrong? Mommy finally forgot about you?"

"Walk away, Darius," Hector said, voice low.

But Darius just leaned closer, his words sharp and slicing. "Or did she get tired of pretending you were worth it?"