She hid behind the couch just like she always did when the mean man came to see her mommy. He never bothered to knock- he'd just slam the door open- and she had to learn to be quick on her toes in those situations (not easy, given certain problems).
Sometimes he'd take her mommy into the bedroom and they'd make funny sounds together for a while. Then, afterwards, he'd give her mommy money and leave.
Other times, he'd come through the door and beat her mommy up until she couldn't stand. He'd spit on the floor just in front of her, lay money on the table, and leave.
Maker forbid he ever saw Mimi.
Something about the mere sight of her caused his already short temper to explode. The first and only time Mimi could remember him seeing her had resulted in her mommy going to the hospital (which, as far as Mimi knew, was the only time she'd ever went).
She didn't understand why he hated her so much- she was only six (well, almost six, anyway).
Anyway, that day he and her mom went into her mom's room and started making funny noises. Since it was normal for that to last a while, Mimi decided that it would be fine if she made a snack- her mommy had forgotten to make her one before the bad man came over and she was hungry.
As she was putting away the bread and other essentials, the bad man came stomping from her mommy's room and stopped mid-stride when he saw her. Mimi froze as she stared at him, waiting to see what he was going to do.
"Allison!" he shouted angrily at her mother, never looking away from Mimi. "Get your lazy, drugged ass out here!"
Mimi gripped the knife she had used behind her back, scared out of her mind. She just wanted to run, but was too afraid to make her feet work properly.
"Ryan, what is it?" her mom practically purred.
The mean man pulled his harsh glare off of Mimi and put it on her mommy. "What the hell happened to getting rid of it?" he demanded.
It.
Mimi had been reduced from a little girl to an it- an unwanted it.
Like a piece of undesirable furniture.
She waited for her mommy to defend her- give some hint that she was wanted and loved.
Allison regarded her daughter emotionlessly before turning back to Ryan. "D'you have any idea how hard it is to get rid of a five-year-old that can't even walk right?"
Mimi stared at her mommy, uncomprehending. It was as though she had already tried to get rid of Mimi already but couldn't because there was something wrong with her.
That didn't make sense.
The mean man strode forward and glared down at Mimi. "They have homes," he snapped as he reached out and gripped her left arm tightly in his large hand.
Mimi's eyes started to water and a small noise of pain escaped her mouth. "No," she gasped out.
"Oh, look, it speaks!" he laughed, a strong, bitter smell invaded Mimi's nose, and squeezed her arm tighter.
It hurt.
Her eyes darted everywhere- from her mommy to the door and back to the mean man. There was no one who would help her because, to the world, she was no one- just a speck of dirt in the entire world.
"You should have gotten rid of it as soon as you had it," he snarled at Mimi's mother. "It'll never be anything but a problem- reliant on other's to take care of it." He gripped her chin tightly with his other hand and leaned closer so that she was practically suffocating from his acrid breath. "Just like it's fucking father."
That made her decision.
Mimi lashed out with the knife that had remained behind her back and stabbed the mean man on the side of the neck between the ear and shoulder. He made a funny sound before releasing her.
She had kept hold of the knife and, due to his letting her go, slit a little further down his neck before she made the decision to pull the knife out.
Mimi's mother screamed and rushed forward to try and cover the bloody gash on the mean man's neck. She was crying, murmuring to the mean man.
Mimi stared down at her hands and the knife. She realized that this was something she could never take back.
What she did was a bad thing.
She carefully sat the knife down at her feet and calmly walked to the bathroom to wash the blood off of her hands.
It didn't feel like a bad thing.
With her hands clean, she went back into the kitchen and stopped a little away from her mother. Allison looked up at her through bloodshot eyes.
"He's dead," she whispered.
That meant nothing to Mimi.
She didn't understand.
She had no experience with that word.
"You killed him," Allison continued. "Get out."
"Mommy?"
Allison got to her feet and stumbled over to Mimi and slapped her across the face. Her face snapped to the side and remained there, stunned.
"Get out of my house. I don't care where you go- never come back!" Allison growled, practically throwing Mimi away from her.
Mimi's lower lip quivered. When her mother didn't take back her words, she slowly made her way out of the house in nothing but her shorts and t-shirt. She didn't even bother to put on shoes.
She had nothing and nowhere to go, so, instead, she wandered the streets- which was more than a little difficult considering she had trouble walking.
When she finally looked up, she saw a sign for the local hospital.
With nowhere left to go, she went in the general direction of the hospital to ask for help.
