Star Bright Read Online Free PDF Page B

door
gently behind her.
    Dave knelt down next to
the pen and watched his daughter sleep. She was smiling, that meant
she was having a wonderful dream. Dave watched her for a while as
her face changed expressions, then feeling soothed he got up and
went back to work.

Chapter Five
     
    The stinging pain in
Maria’s forehead woke her up. She tried to sit up, but the pain in
her back was too much for her to bear. She lay back down carefully
and stayed still unwilling to provoke anymore unnecessary pain. She
was stripped down to her bra and shorts. She looked around, she was
in her son’s room and it was dark outside. She tried to listen for
her son’s or her mother’s voice, but there was nothing, the house
felt empty. She panicked, realizing she had been out for so long.
She sat up, biting her lips together to hold back a cry as her back
and stomach screamed in pain. She felt between her legs. The last
time she was out so long, Ricky had raped her. But he couldn’t have
been so crude to have done so in her son’s bed?
    “ Mama.” The
door flew open and Michael came running in. Maria teared up when
she saw her son. She caught him when he jumped on her, holding him
tight against her, completely ignoring the screaming pain in her
body.
    She hated being touched
by anyone, but she always looked forward to her son’s embraces,
which were like a cover of love that helped her get through the
day.
    She was glad to see her
son, but she wished Edna hadn’t brought him back. Edna came behind
him, a basin in her hand. She locked the door behind her and pulled
the chair close to the bed and sat in it.
    “ Come Michael,
I need to nurse your mama’s wounds.” Michael let go reluctantly,
but sat under Maria’s arm and held her close, sniffing quietly.
Maria felt like she was going to break down seeing her son cling to
her, frightened and his eyes wet with tears. Edna was about to move
him further away, but she shook her head, unable to
speak.
    Edna dabbed at her wounds
and bruises quietly. She concentrated all her energy on that. She
didn’t want to let her rage take her over. She was going to stay
calm and wait. It would take close to a week before she could carry
out her revenge and she was going to be patient as much as she
wanted to carry it out immediately on her own. Ricky was going to
get everything he deserved and more.
    “ Mama.” Maria
whispered. Edna looked up to meet her daughter’s frightened eyes.
She knew what she was asking, and for the first time she felt glad
Maria had suffered a lesser evil. The last time she had to tell her
it crumbled Edna’s heart.
    “ No, he
didn’t...” she stopped. She took a deep breath and swallowed a sob.
Maria closed her eyes and exhaled in relief. She couldn’t have
stomached that degradation again, “He’s passed out in the living
room.” Edna lowered her voice to a whisper, “Tom and Jane are
coming to pick us up.”
    Maria’s body tightened.
They’d tried that already and it didn’t work. She was too scared to
try it again. Edna put a reassuring hand on her, “I took the gun
away from him, and Tom will handle him.”
    The door crushed in and
fell on the floor. Michael held Maria tighter and hid his face in
her side. Maria stood up and placed him behind her. She too was
scared, but not too scared to protect her son. Edna passed a shirt
to her before she placed herself in between Ricky and Maria. She
stared at him, full of rage. She might not wait a week she was
ready to take him out right there and then.
    Ricky staggered into the
room, a bottle of vodka in his hand. He was still wearing the torn
up bloody shirt, but it was also wet with liquor, “It’s good you
are awake,” he stumbled forward, “Now go clean up your blood from
my carpet!” he yelled, but no one moved which only pissed him off
even more, “So, you haven’t learned your lesson yet?”
    Maria and Edna just
looked at him not saying a word. Maria put on the shirt, then held
Michael against her,