Crow

Alonzo

From the start, Maria had never trusted her step dad Alonzo, he was so rotten you could see it emanating from his being. His black beady eyes were full of malice, every body could see that. Everybody, except Maria's mother, who had always craved a sincere and loving male attention, that she had become blind to every kind of warnings and red flags. Even when her friends had informed her of their thoughts towards that man.

Maria's mom grew up in a dysfunctional family, were abuse toward women were not only expected, but had become the norm as time passed. Maria's grandfather was a drunk that would abuse Maria's grandmother, and hit his own children. Maria's uncles grew to become abusers themselves and her aunt as well as her mother grew up to become submissive house wives. Maria hated the pattern, and she was ready to break it. She would not be abused by a man, she would not stand by a drunk. Most of all, she would not put her children aside for crumbs of a messed up love.

As for her father, Maria never had one. Well, she had one, but he was never there. Maria's father had abandoned her mom once he new she had become pregnant. He was not ready to leave his wife and family for the teenager he had so devilishly seduced. Maria's mom had then to survive alone, as her parents had disowned her because of the shame of her becoming a single mother and getting herself involved with a married man. Of course the town's people were fast to condemn and criticise her for being a "slut". None of the blame falling towards the married man that had seduced a teenager. Once Maria was born, her mother decided to share her name with her daughter, who was now her only family, and decided to never reveal the identity of her daughter's father. Which made the town's people blame her for the situation even more.

It was when Maria became a teenager that her mother had revealed to her, and only her who her father was. Maria's mother saw one day who were Maria's friends, and the people that moved around her social circle at school and after school. Afraid that Maria could some day start dating her half sibling, her mother had confessed her father's identity. Maria never told anyone, not even her half bother, as she saw that he looked to be content with his family, and admired his father, and she was not going to ruin that. At first Maria wished her father would stop pretending she was only another random girl from the town, and acknowledge her. With time, she realized he was never going to approach her, as she had even been to her father's house invited by her unknowing brother, and her father had never even bothered to look at her. Not even to prohibit her from going to their house or talking to her son, it seem her father was not even worried that his two children could one day date as her mother was. Either that, or he knew that Maria's mother had already explained the truth to her.

As for Maria's mom, she was single for a long time, not letting any man approach her, fearing she would be hurt again. It was with time that Maria's mom started to crave the touch of a man, so she started dating, and with that started to bring man after man to her home. She tried to find that gentle soul that would finally give her the love that she deserved, but had been unlucky to find it. Soon as she dated one man after the other, the men she gave her heart to slowly started to transform into a parade of incompetent, evil, possessive, man. The next one worst than the last until she landed with Alonzo who knew how to charm her heart in a way no man before could.

Maria was 12 when her mother started dating Alonzo, 14 when she allowed him to move to the home she shared with her daughter.

Maria was almost 15 the first time Alonzo tried to enter her room.

Alonzo had been giving Maria weird, lustful looks. She was somewhat naive, but had never been stupid. She could tell what those looks meant, and she could predict what would happen if her step dad was given a chance. It was one rainy night, after her mother had fallen asleep, that she heard for the first time those heavy foot steps going up the stairs towards her room. At first she thought its was a burglar, and frozen in fear she had not moved from her bed. It was until he opened the door, and walked towards her bed, that Maria recognized the unmistakable silhouette that moved slowly through the darkness.