Mary's Broken Family
The window flew open in a raging fit, and coldness filled the room. Light beige curtains were gently blown by the harsh wind, which howled bitterly at the young woman. Her pure and innocent bedroom walls had dark shadows drawn on them, turning into monstrous figures and towering over her slender figure.
Mary was a confusing girl, a soft-spoken lady at times, kind, considerate, and rather emotional. However, now and again words that cut like a sword damage her many companions. Her appearance doesn’t always match up to her personality; skinny, pale body with a few tattoos usually hidden by her long black hair, her fringe sometimes covering her greyish-blue eyes which shed many tears. Her wardrobe was mostly black and white, inspired by gothic and grunge styles: torn fabric, spikes and spiked collars, lots of lace and fine details, ruffled sleeves, and all sorts. She was very into fashion and enjoyed putting outfits together, styling and make-up. Though, at this very moment in time, her appearance faded and her feelings came to the front, sorrowful and full of despair. Tears trickled down her face, pooling under her whilst she sobbed, buried into her soft pillow. “What is going on?” She cried. “Why am I the one being targeted? I did nothing, nothing that would get me grounded anyways. And I am an adult. I AM 20! Just ugh... leave me alone.” Mary quite often got into trouble. Her father was quite strict and unapologetic, whereas she liked to experiment with different, not so good things and was a little too laid back.
Her sister, Alice, could hear her moaning from the other room. “Stop talking to yourself, you weirdo!,” she shouted, echoing through the walls. She always knew how to escalate things and never how to keep her mouth shut. "All you ever do is cry and moan and complain and..."
“Shuuut...UP!”
Despite the commotion being heard from all corners of the house, the rest of the family decided to stay out of this one. They knew better than to make things worse, especially when the problem started with them. Not to forget to mention that this arguing was pretty normal for this household. Not a single day when you could just peacefully listen to the sound of birds in the garden and relax. This was it, a mother, father and their four children, cooped up inside, listening to each other exchange harsh words. Lots of disagreement was common, mainly from both Mary and her father, Daron. They clashed, a lot.
Mary had now calmed down a bit and had decided to come downstairs to their half-kitchen-half-dining-room. It was a nice, cosy and relatively small house, considering it fit six people in it, and their kitchen had just been refurbished so it had a very modern touch to it. At the bottom of the stairs, leading off to the dining room, Daron was standing menacingly with his arms crossed. “Oh, so you’ve finally decided to come downstairs huh? Took you a while, I must say." His eyebrows raised as he took a deep breath. "Y'know, if you want to be treated like an adult, simply act like one. Usually they don't cry into their pillows, they don't try to sneak out the house, and they BEHAVE."
"Why can't I leave dad?" She questioned firmly.
Her father was drawn back by her tone. "Can I trust you to not do stupid things hm?"
She looked at him blankly.
Daron finished his sentence with certainty "No. Didn't think so."
Mary's mother, Charlotte, came over. "You need to stop being so over the top, Daron. She is an adult, end of. We might not agree with some of the things she does or says, but at the end of the day, we, as parents, can only guide her and help her. Not stop her from living how she wants, you understand?." She gave him a little nudge on his side with her shoulder and a little frown on her face. "You're gonna have to get to grips with that when our other children grow up. We have three others. Learn to accept it or you're gonna make family life harder for yourself."
Mary's mouth lifted with a small smile. "Thanks mom." Her mother looked slightly proud of herself for de-escalating yet another problem.
"Anyways, Daron, go look after your two kids downstairs. I'm busy now. Gotta do your week's worth of gross laundry. And Mary, could you help wash the dishes please? They've been sitting out for too long. Also, it would be nice if I had a bit more help around here daily, instead of you running upstairs as soon as you've taken your cravings out of the fridge. Same goes for you babe."
Finally, after hours, the housework was done. Mary was about to go upstairs when she heard an argument taking place in the living room. It was her father and her brother. Her brother was supposed to be doing schoolwork on his laptop, but of course playing games is much more fun. Her brother looked up from his screen, Dad's eyes burning into him as he filled up with guilt. "I was just taking a break, I swear." Daron didn't look very happy with his excuse.
"Just confess you're not doing what you should be doing," he sighed.
" I told you, I was just taking a break."
"Liar. Show me your work then."
"No."
"Show it to me."
"Dad, stop, please."
"Then show me your work and I will stop!"
Both of them were furious at this point.
"You are so annoying and I wish I had a better dad. I can't stand you anymore! Just go AWAY!" The brother shouted with rage. His eyes were glowing like a fiery furnace, harnessing chaotic flames and spewing out glittery sparks. It didn't take a lot for their anger issues to ignite.
"How dare you to speak to me like that! What is it with these offspring that have no respect anymore? And am I really that old to notice that much of a change in people's attitude nowadays? Even Mary, the oldest and supposedly the most decent, treats me like crap and does terrible things. You, yes you, are grounded for a week! You're gonna stay in your room, no internet and no treats!"
"WHAT?! You can't do that! That's too much!"
Just then, Mary came round the corner looking for trouble. "What did you just say?," she replied to her father's earlier statement through gritted teeth.
"Not now, Mary," Daron replied
Mary started crying again. Frustration, anger and betrayal coursed through her veins. "I thought we had finished this earlier with mom. Why would you bring it up again?"
Mary rushed back upstairs to her room and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. She was back where she started. In her room, she could hear her parents arguing once again. "Oh what have I started this time?"
Her prison seemed much darker. She felt heavy. Echoes of screams surrounded her and made her shiver; whispers and whistling. Goosebumps covered her skin as the coldness blanketed her bony and fragile body. It was then quiet. Time stood still and so did the air. Mary swung herself onto her bed and lay there lifeless like a ragdoll. In just a few short moments, three arguments had taken place, toxic conversations. One day this would have to stop. One day this would be too much. Quietly she hummed a comforting tune. "Hmm dum dum dum hmm la la." Cogs were turning and connections were being made. "Hmm dum dum la la la la." A few clicks in the brain and her mind started racing, racing with corrupt thoughts and actions. What if she ran? She couldn't possibly. Lots of bad thoughts spiralled into existence. "Maybe I should wait this out. I could go back downstairs and apologise when they've finished. But still, what if I ran?" She started weeping. What would happen if she departed from her home like a ship departed from land? Deep ocean waters distancing her from where she belongs. Family washed away by the tides. "I c-c-could do it," she stuttered. Just let myself go and run. Outside I could find somewhere better and somewhere warm from this thunderstorm and these waves.
Ring-a-ling-a-ling! Just then, her phone turned on. It buzzed and vibrated on her desk, making her jump, and lit up with a picture of her and her mother standing side by side. Her grandmother was calling.
"Hi." Mary couldn't bring herself to say anymore. She just listened to her loving grandma talk away about her recent activities and plans. She was planning on coming over next month to see the family again. Her grandmother, Judy, lived with her husband in another state, so visiting when they were so busy was difficult and not very often. Her visit would usually be a highlight for Mary but this time was different.
Mary tried her best to speak. "I'm glad you...you're coming over. I don't know if... you'll see me though."
"Hm?" Poor Judy didn't know what to make of her sentence. "What do you mean, sweetie?"
Mary's eyes darted towards the window. She hung up. Right now wasn't the time for a conversation. "I'm sorry. I'll miss you." She quietly whispered to herself.
On the side of her room was the window that was wide open from this morning. It was so tempting to just leave. She thought long and hard about her decision to run away. It sounded so promising to just start anew. Slowly, she found herself creeping closer and closer till she was leaning out. "Look at all those houses and shops and streets. I'll find somewhere." Before she could have doubts, she climbed out the window. Looking out at the view beneath her, she slid, not very gracefully, down the pipes attached to the wall, bruising her skin in the process, every time she hit a little bump. Now she was on the ground outside. It wasn't very long before she regretted her decision. She hadn't thought about planning or preparing, just escaping. Now she was out in the freezing cold with just a top and leggings. No shoes, just thin trainer socks and no jacket for warmth. "How stupid," she thought. Despite many regrets, she started walking in any direction. She had no friends or family close by, or any known places that would let her stay. It was just her and the world now.
As she continued walking, she passed a shady alleyway which provided enough shelter for the night.
Air rushed past her through the narrow gap as smoke and particles of dust flew up her nose making her sneeze. The alleyway was dim and filled with overflowing bins. Moss covered the walls and ooze dripped from multiple crevices. She realised what she'd done and where she was. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, sat down and cried once again. She was all by herself in an unknown place, with who knows what. Anyone could be lurking around the corner. She was incredibly overwhelmed by her current situation. "Why have I done such a stupid thing?!" Mary lunged her hand at her head and gave herself a blow. "Whyyyyy?!" Her body found itself slipping against the hard concrete ground and she buried her head into her knees.
Just then, a young man appeared in the corner of her eye. Tall, slender, handsome and covered in tattoos. The man seemed to be looking in her direction, eyeing her up and down creepily. She felt herself panicking and her heart pounding from this unfamiliar scene. "What do...I do?" She gulped in fear, almost choking on her words. He came closer, his silhouette enlarging as his feet moved in front one by one.
"Are you ok?," an unfamiliar voice echoed into her ears. She shuddered a little bit. "Do you need help?"
She sat there silent. She was like a small animal pretending to be dead to avoid getting caught by a hungry predator.
"You look... very... troubled." The young man then sat next to her on the floor holding his knees together.
She thought to herself for a minute. "Please! Please don't hurt me!" Despite potentially being in danger, she couldn't move. She felt helpless and stiff.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you are ok."
"Then why were you looking at me creepily?! And do you usually just randomly go up to crying strangers?"
He looked back at her a little embarrassed and offended.
"Um, sorry I wasn't trying to be creepy. I just thought you would like to have someone to comfort you and help you out. You know?" They stared at each other. Both were not so sure what was happening anymore. "So, are you ok then? I mean, you were crying just a minute ago."
"No I'm clearly not," she replied, a little annoyed.
"Oh, ok."
The man started then looking at her tattoos on her shoulder.
"You're looking at me creepily again."
"Huh? Oh no, I don't mean to, honestly, please, I swear I'm not a creep. I just really like your tattoos... Um, do they symbolise anything or did you just like the design?"
"Oh...ok... thank you... Actually I got them to remind me of my mom. This one is the same doodle me and my mom made in the sand when we went to a beach in Barcelona on holiday. These ones are of art pieces my grandma painted. I wanted them recreated as a tattoo because of how beautiful they are and to show my grandma how much I love her work."
"That's lovely, my tattoos also have a lot of meanings and symbolisations attached to them too."
The two of them began discussing all their tattoos' meanings and having a deep conversation about family life, both struggling with issues. "I have a very complicated family, mostly involving my dad. He is a disgusting man. I couldn't tell you all the things he's done." The man gave a deep sigh. "I just hope I never see him again."
"My dad is the source of all my problems." Mary giggled. "He's actually the reason why I'm sat in a dirty alleyway right now."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh," Mary said with a smile, even though deep down she felt terrible.
"Are you busy?," he questioned.
"Ok, that was random. Do I look busy?"
"Hmm. You could come to mine for the night since it's getting dark now?"
"Absolutely not. How do I know you're not gonna kidnap me?"
"We're alone in a dark alleyway. If I wanted to kidnap you, I would've done it already. Besides where else ya' gonna go?"
"I don't even know your name."
"Good point. I'm Luke, nice to meet you."
"Luke what?"
"Luke King Quinn, and you?"
"Mary Adelaine Kempton."
"Nice to meet you, Mary, now what ya' gonna pick? Outside or my place?"
"You're strange."
