Another week passed. Alicia Roberts sat quietly in her room counting down the days for her vacation. This was going to be the first time she traveled by herself. She walked around the room wondering what she was going to do. Was she going to find love, or friends? Many thoughts were running through her mind, she didn't hear her bedroom door creak open.
"Alicia," her mom called, "dinner's ready. Hurry up." Alicia turned and nodded to her mom. Julie, her mom, had adopted her when she was 14 years old. She saved her from her old home where she used to get beaten and abused every single day. Her real mother, Natasha, was an alcoholic and a meth addict. Natasha's boyfriend, Martin, used to be a nice guy. He would take Alicia out to the park and buy her ice cream every day after school. After her 12th birthday, everything changed. Martin began looking at her differently. There was a new fire behind his eyes that Alicia had never seen before. He look her up and down every time he saw her. When Martin hugged her, his grasp was tighter. He would pull her closer and closer until Alicia couldn't breathe anymore. At first she didn't much of it. She just shrugged it off and tried to pull away. One night though, Martin had come home drunk. He had no control over what he was doing. He barged into Alicia's room and pulled the covers off of her. He threw himself on top of her. She tried to cry for help, but his hand covered her mouth so her screams were barely audible. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't pry him off her. Finally, she gave up. Alicia already knew what was happening, even though she was only 11. Tears streamed down her cheeks and onto her pillow. This was the on memory she always tried to forget. No matter how hard she tried, she never could.
Once Alicia had made her way down the stairs and into her family's dining room, questions started bombarding her. They asked about that night, about her smoking, and about her sexuality. This wasn't a new thing. Her family always asked her stuff like this, but she never truly answered them. She just looked down and tried to change the subject. Won't they ever get the hint that talking about this only makes her worse?
"Alicia," Julie said, "Will please at least eat your some of your food? You never finish any of your meals. It's starting to worry me."
"Yes, ma'am," Alicia said as she began eating the food on her plate. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her mom smile, and she gave a small grin as well. "Where's dad and Mike? Are they still out at the game?"
"Yeah they are. They're going to go out to eat after it so we don't need to wait up for them."
"Alright."
They ate in silence for the remaining of the night. Alicia helped with the dishes while Julie cleaned up the living room. Julie have her a goodnight kiss and went up to her room. Alicia pulled out a pack of Marlboro Reds and her lighter and went out to the back porch. She lit the cigarette and took in a large drag. All her stress was gone as she stared at the glowing moon in the sky.
"Three more days," she said to herself. "Three more days until I can spend some time truly alone." Alicia took a last drag killing the cigarette and went back inside. Once she was in her room, she changed into her PJs and checked her phone. A single text from her best friend lit up her screen. Apparently, they were going to the club tomorrow. How fun. She texted back 'O.K.' and climbed into bed. Sleep quickly drowned her as she closed her eyes.
