Broken Inside

2 - The Unwanted

Alex was surprised when her Aunt Sally answered the door. She looked exactly like her mother, only 10 pounds heavier and healthier, but that was where the similarity ends. While her mother was kind and loving on her good days, her aunt was bitter and resentful. Her aunt was 5 years older than her mother, but her mother looked aged due to the substance abuse. Nevertheless, Alex missed her mother so much.

Aunt Sally welcomed Alex and the CPS worker with a fake smile. She maintained that smile for half an hour while the CPS worker explained the process of child custody. The moment the CPS worker left, the fake smile was replaced with a sneer. 

"What the hell did Sharon do to herself? Now, I'm stuck with you."

Alex kept quiet, keeping her head down, as her aunt went on complaining. Apparently she was approached by a CPS worker while she was talking to the pastor at church. She couldn't say no in front of the pastor. That's how she got stuck with Alex.

"Pick up your stuff and follow me," she barked at Alex. Alex did as she was told. Aunt Sally led her down to the basement. "You'll sleep here. There's no room for you upstairs."

Alex looked around the large basement. There was a fridge, a freezer, the washer and dryer, a large pool table and an old sofa. There was a tiny bathroom. She could smell it from where she stood. An air mattress was placed over at the corner under the small window. A thin blanket was hung on the ceiling like a curtain, giving a bit of privacy. 

"You have a bed and your own bathroom, just like a princess," Aunt Sally said sarcastically. "Herb and his friends hang out here most nights. When they are here, you keep to your corner and don't make a peep!"

Before she stomped back upstairs, she added, "I will call you when it's time to eat." 

After hearing the basement door slammed shut, Alex went to her new bed and sat down. She has a place to sleep, roof over her head and possibly food. Things could be worse.

Turned out it was way worse. 

Aunt Sally only called her for meals after her family was done. So Alex was eating leftovers. She had to do all their dishes afterwards. 

Her cousins were younger, so they took the bus to school. Alex walked to school.

She also had to do all their laundries. Aunt Sally would bring down the laundry baskets and a few hours later, expected to pick them up dried and folded. 

Alex did it all without complaining, while counting the days to her eighteenth birthday. She could handle all of that, except for having Herb and his burly friends down in the basement almost every other day. They were loud, drunk and would stay until late. Alex kept her makeshift curtains lowered when they were down at the basement. She would sit at the far corner and read a book quietly in the low light. Nobody knew she was back there.

Her eighteenth birthday couldn't come soon enough.

*****

Alex followed her Aunt Sally into the thrift store. She knew the only reason her aunt took her shopping today was because she got a call from the school. The school counsellor noticed how old and shabby Alex's clothes were. Some even had holes, and it's not for fashion purposes.

Alex quietly followed her aunt around, holding her arms out as Aunt Sally tossed some blouses and old jeans towards her. Then they went to pay. Alex didn't even get to try the clothes on first. She kept quiet as her aunt loudly complained about having to pay twenty dollars for the clothes.

As they left the store, her aunt bumped into her friend. They chatted away while Alex stood to the side, trying as much as possible to be invisible. She heard her aunt called her a 'nuisance' and 'a waste of energy'. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Her time will come. She just needed to be patient.

She followed the two ladies down the street. They stopped in front of a cafe. The smell of baked goods made Alex salivate. Her stomach rumbled.

Aunt Sally turned to her with a tight smile and said under her breath, "Excuse yourself and go home."

Alex sighed and said, "Excuse me, I have homework to do." Then she turned around and walked away. She was walking down the block when she saw the sign outside an ice cream store. Help Wanted - Part Time. She paused for a moment, then went inside.

Later that night, when she told her aunt that she got the job at the ice cream place, she flipped out.

"How dare you! You will go back there and tell them you will not take that job!" Aunt Sally yelled.

Alex kept quiet. It was better to wait until she finished yelling.

So Aunt Sally yelled for another fifteen minutes. She mentioned 'embarrassment', 'shame', 'what would the neighbours say', and more things like that. When she paused to take a breath, Alex figured she should speak up.

"I can use the money to buy my own clothes and other things, so you don't have to spend anymore money on me," she said simply.

Aunt Sally glared at her, but seemed to be contemplating her point. After a while, she grudgingly agreed and stomped away.

*****

Alex lived her new life day by day. She tolerated the life she was forced into, with the family who doesn't want her there. She goes to school and after school, she goes to work at the ice cream place. She made a little money, just enough to cover the basics. 

Alex was used to living in the basement. She was used to the noises, the heat from the boiler, the occasional rodent running across the room. What she struggled with was Herb and his friends.

Herb knew she was there, but pretended like she wasn't. There were a few times when one of his friends asked what was behind the curtain and Herb just dismissed them. Alex wondered whether he was embarrassed of her or he just refused to acknowledge that she existed. Either way worked for her.

One night, Herb and his friends were at it again. Drinking and playing pool. They were rowdier than usual that night, making a lot of noises. Alex kept to her corner, wishing they would clear out soon so that she could go to sleep. 

It was sometime after midnight that they started to clear out, one by one. When finally, everything was quiet. Alex shut her book and settled down to sleep. Then she heard it, someone large coming down the stairs, from the way the wooden steps creaked. She bolted upright, her heart beating fast. She looked around for something to use for self defence, but she only had books, so she grabbed the thickest one. 

The curtain was suddenly pulled aside roughly, causing it to fall off the rod. It was one of Herb's friends, drunk as a skunk. He was barely standing, his eyes heavy. The way he was looking at Alex made her shrunk deeper into the corner. 

"So, this is what Herb has been hiding?" he slurred. He bit his lips and said, "How are you, lil' lady?"

He grabbed her leg and Alex instinctively throw the heavy book at his head, causing him to yelp.

"Girl, you're gonna be sorry you did that..."

He grabbed her ankles and pulled her towards him. She screamed, as loud as she could, and tried to grab on to the mattress, but it was pulled with her. She screamed again, and kicked her legs, hoping to loosen his grip, but he held on tighter, grunting from the exertion. Alex screamed again, praying that someone would help her.

Just when she thought she was done for, a chair came crashing down on the drunk's head, causing him to fall to the floor with a loud thud. 

Alex turned around in shock. Herb was standing over his friend, an unreadable expression on his face. He looked at Alex and said hoarsely, "Leave, and don't come back."

Alex grabbed her backpack and jacket. She scrambled off the bed and ran upstairs. She went out the front door and kept on running without looking back.