7 Minutes ✔

13: Minute Five

The moment I stepped into my house, I regretted it. Clothes were thrown all over the living room. And screaming was all that I could hear. I glanced over at our maid who was cleaning the stairs. As I looked at her, I could feel my blood boil.

My parents always argued, but ever since my petty father hired a woman we did not need, it tripled. My father's excuse for hiring the thinnest, most beautiful girl to clean our already clean house was because my mother was terrible at everything she did.

He wanted to hit her where it most hurt, and it worked. He challenged her entire self-worth and that was the cruelest thing any man could do to a woman. It seemed like he was willing to do everything to hurt my mother except divorce her.

Maybe a divorce looked too bad for his career. I knew my dad wanted to go into politics and possibly run for governor, so he was willing to do anything to keep his name as squeaky clean as possible. It didn't matter who he hurt because of his own selfishness as long as he got everything he ever dreamed of. It was another reason why I couldn't stand being anything like that man.

"Good afternoon, Madison!" Anna, the maid, exclaimed.

"Shut up," I seethed, storming up the stairs.

Anna looked only a few years older than me. Her favorite thing in the world was plastering some innocent smile on her face and pretending like she was oblivious to the way she shattered cracked glass. I hated Anna almost as much as I hated life.

When I made it to the top of the stairs, my parent's yelling grew louder and more prominent. I watched their door open and my mother with an armful of her clothing.

"I'm done! I can't take this anymore! You are killing me!" she sobbed. Tears were rolling down her face, taking on a path that was far too familiar. As I looked at my mom and tried my best not to break down, I saw the defeat. For once, she was angry or defeated, but she had given up. The person whose strength I learned to channel in my heart, had finally lost all hope.

"Mom?" I asked, catching her attention. She tried to sniff up her tears, but it was already too late. Mom was so tired of pretending that she couldn't even crack a smile. I saw the truth in her glassy eyes...she was far from being okay.

"I'm going to go now, Madison. I promise that I will come back after I clear my head for a few days. I love you," Mom said. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I shook my head.

"Don't leave me here! I don't want to be without you!" I cried.

My mom opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, my dad appeared in the hallway.

I didn't have anything else to say, so I walked into my room and slammed my door. I allowed every tear to fall just like my hope in ever having a normal family. For my entire life, I had to put up with the arguments and the bickering. I had to be constantly reminded that I wasn't even good enough to keep my parents together. I was a failure and began on the day I was born. A curse seemed to seep into my blood and pin me to a wall of misery.

The sound of my mother's heels clanking against the flooring as she descended the stairs infiltrated my ears. Every second of her walking away from me was another tear that slipped from my eyes. She made sure to slam the front door shut, alerting me and my father that she was gone.

As soon as she left, I threw open my door and stormed over to my father.

"Why do you keep doing this to us?" I sobbed. He narrowed his eyes at me, preparing to say the words I didn't want to hear. He was going to say that I would never understand because I'm too young. I would never understand why it's so hard for him to love us.