Rotting From The Inside Out

Chapter 4: "Peas In a Pod"

Disclaimer: When you see certain things written in italics that Rotney couldn't possibly know, please understand that it's not from Rotney's point of view but just a general flashback so that the reader - you - can understand the storyline better and get to know the other characters better.

Rotney.

Isaiah and I sat smack dab in the center of the cafeteria. It was 'evening social' time as the warden put it and there was a lot of hustle and bustle going on. Pandemonium relinquished itself from the souls of the inmates and bounced off of the walls.

"See that joint right there?" Isaiah subtly pointed in the direction right in front of us. My eyes fell over a tall distinct girl. She was pretty. She had skin that mimicked a cocoa bean and hazel eyes that looked green when she quirked her head in certain directions. I studied her. I'd seen her here and there since I'd been here and every time, her hair was covered or pulled back. I never saw it hanging. Never.

"That's Spicy. People think her nick name correlates to her being Hispanic but nah. Baby murdered her step father. He's been orally molesting her little sister for quite some time. Her moms never did shit about it and sis just snapped one day. Broke the neck of a hot sauce bottle off, sliced dude's tongue out, fried it and fed it to him. She's doing 25 to life for that shit."

"mija, ¿dónde estás?" Selena Romono dropped her book bag by the door as soon as she walked into her home. The eerie silence worried her immediately because she was so used to pandemonium. Hispanic house holds where she was from were never necessarily quiet unless everyone was asleep. It had only been 6:30 PM, she'd just arrived from soccer practice and she was prepared to take her little sister down to the sweet shop.

It was real convenient because the sweet shop was just around the corner. It was Friday night and their favorite soaps were coming on back to back.

"mija, ¿estás dormida? ¿tan temprano? eres un bebé."

More silence.

"Savior? If you're asleep I'm kicking your ass. You promised we'd watch soaps together." Selena peaked in the kitchen. There was Taco Bell sitting on the counter.

How rude, Selena thought. Everybody knew Taco Bell was shitty and her mother only bought it when she didn't feel like cooking. It wasn't even necessarily that she didn't like it. Taco Bell just wasn't good compared to their authentic cuisine. Taco Bell was Americanized and overall disrespectful to people and places that took pride in that sort of food.

She entered her mother's room only to find an unoccupied bed.

"Ma?" She called. No answer. She back tracked and walked over to the other side of the house. She peered into her room, their rest room and finally began approaching her sister's room.

As she got closer and closer she could hear small muffled cries. Like someone was weeping but a hand was covering their mouth.

She pushed her sister's door back, her eyes growing big at what she was seeing. There her step father was, on his knees sexually assaulting her little sister.

Images of Savior's youth began to play in Selena's mind. She remembered when Savior was a little baby. Selena was always so lonely before her mother got pregnant with Savior and when she finally did get a sister she was elated. She promised herself that she would never let anyone hurt her. Savior was her baby in her own eyes. Always would be.

She felt triggered. Without the consent of her conscious mind, her feet were told to move and take her into the kitchen. She grabbed the first thing she saw: a bottle of hot sauce. She slammed the bottle onto the edge of the counter, breaking the tip of the neck off successfully the first time. She turned the stove on, placed a skillet over the burner and then sped into her little sister's room.