Growing Pains

Chapter 2

When Nathaniel left that day, Silvia's world turned upside down and ran in all directions. Gina has got worse and all Silvia could do was go to her room, block out the world with her fingers in her ears or run away outside where it deemed safe but was nothing close to it.

Sometimes Silvia forgets where she lives when she tries to escape the hell of her home. She has to constantly remind herself it's not always safe outside and people aren't always who they appear to be.

She sits alone in her room, doing her homework and minding her business like her mother raised her too. The only good thing that came out of her teachings was for Silvia to learn to shut her mouth and that she did. She heard a knock on their door, then it gradually turned into a banging. Silvia usually doesn't answer the door but her mother was finally asleep and she wanted to keep it that way.

It was four in the afternoon and usually people don't come to see Gina this early in the evening but she figured it must of been important. Silvia got up and let out a heavy sigh before running to the door. She asked who was there but they just cussed and demanded that Gina comes out.

"Gina! Bitch where's my money!? You better get your ass out here!," the man says between knocks. "Gina I ain't playing with you! I know you there!", the older man yells into the door and ignores Silvia.

Gina groans loudly and Silvia hears the bed as it shrieks from under Gina's small body. Her mother makes her way towards her, heavy feet pounding against the cool tile floor. Her hairs a mess and she looks like she only got two hours of sleep or less. Probably did. Gina pushes pass her staring daughter and moves over to the peek hole. She turns and glares at little Silvia. She's in trouble now.

"Don't you have a t.v. show to watch or something? Why are you always in my face?", she's interrupted by the rude man on the other end.

"Gina I hear your no good ass on the other end. Get out here! You owe me big time. You ain't bring in all that you said you would. You better have my money! Open..this....door!". The man yells and bangs on the door exaggerating every word.

Silvia just wishes that her mother wouldn't bring her work home with her. Now everyone knows where they live and that's dangerous.

"Stop banging on my goddamn door! You causing a lot of noise over some little money you fean. Damn. I can work something out...", Gina begins to unlock the door and Silvia walks away, heading towards her room. She has much more important things to do. But surely, coming out of the safety that which was her room, to try and help, she'll regret. Before she could even reach her room the front door barges open and her mother falls backwards from the impact, falling to the hard floor.

The man that stands before her is a  huge dark skinned man. He wears a black silk button down with black slacks and gold rings on every other finger. Around his neck slings a gold link chain and he looks like money. But if he was all about money Silvia wondered what made him come here. They didn't have money and from what Silvia knew, if they did it wasn't much. Especially not enough to buy any of what he was wearing. So what could he had possibly want?

Gina lies there on the floor struggling to get up. Her drugged infused tired body struggles from the blow she just took from the door and the big man behind it. He bends down and it appears he might be helping Gina but only slaps her so bard Silvia swore she heard the echo bounce off the hallways walls. Silvia flinched at the impact. Frozen in place, she watches the physical abuse break lose before her eyes. The big man in the clean suit grips Gina by her arms, slapping her wrist at her scars and shaking her tired body, asking for money they both know doesn't exist. And if it did, she wouldn't be hungry right now, and this probably wouldn't be happening. But then again, maybe it would be. Knowing Gina, Silvia doesn't expect much.