Lunch

MIA’S POV

For an amount of time that I couldn’t recall, I sobbed in my room. My entire being felt it was crushed under the weight of my existence.

My beloved father was dead and now I had lost my virginity to a stranger, the pain was too weighted for me to bear.

I felt like dying at that moment. What would become of me if my mother finds out that I slept with a stranger? My virginity was stolen by a random man and I had to take the secret to my grave.

“I will not tell her about what happened at the party.”

Brushing away my tears, I mumbled. “Why can’t I remember anything that happened? Why am I so dumb? How did I get drunk?”

Blaming myself was the only thing that I could do. I felt really frustrated at myself for not remembering anything that happened last night.

I was still sobbing when I heard a knock on my door.

“Sweetie, are you in there?”

I heard my mother’s voice, and I immediately wiped away the remaining tear on my cheek, trying my best to not look sad.

I walked towards the door in my pink pyjamas. Thankfully, I had already changed because I didn’t want to raise suspicion.

“Darling, where have you been? We tried calling your number, but you weren’t picking up”

My mum inquired the moment I opened the door. She had a worried expression on her face and I tried to come up with an excuse.

“I spent the night in my friend’s home mum, I am sorry for keeping you worried.” I replied absentmindedly as my mind replayed the man’s words in my head.

My heart ached and I could feel the tears well up in my eye. Somehow, I found relief in the fact that my mother didn't realize I was emotionally shattered.

“I’m also sorry” in anguish, my mother’s words flowed out of her mouth. I knew she meant her words this time. I could see the honesty in her words.

“I promise to always be by your side. Please give me another chance.” She added before continuing, “I want to be there for you as a mother, Mia. In my heart, I know that I have wronged you. I’m sorry for leaving you and your dad.”

My mother was about to get on her knees, However I stopped her from doing so.

“It’s okay, mother, I forgive you. I’m sorry for what I said to you and my stepdad yesterday. I wasn’t myself.” I kissed her on the cheek and said, “Dad’s wish is to see us together. I can’t go against him. It’s okay, mama, I love you.”

My words seemed to lighten up her mood. She pinched my cheeks lightly, just like she used to do when I was a kid.

“Why do you have a cut on your lip? Did you get into a fight?” She questioned, before placing her index finger on my swollen lip. The pain from her warm touch brought tears to my eyes.

I couldn’t tell her that a man had done that to me, so I turned my face away and quietly mumbled. “Mum …I burned myself accidentally with a curling iron.”

Closing my eyes, I silently prayed that my mum would believe my lies once again.

“The thought of you getting into a fight almost made me cry.” My mother chuckled lightly before walking over to the first aid box that I always kept beside my bed.

She took out the ointment from the box and instructed me to sit on the bed. My legs felt as heavy as lead, but I managed to walk towards the bed. I plopped my butt down on the bed and she applied the ointment on my swollen lip.

“Thanks”

“Your uncle is coming over for lunch,” my mum stated.

Stunned, I asked, “Really?”

“Yes sweetie, hurry up and get dressed. Lunch will be ready soon.” She placed a light kiss on my forehead before leaving my room.

I sighed, not wanting to meet the uncle that I have never met in my life . There were a lot of things on my mind, and meeting a new family member didn’t really appeal to me.

***

AT LUNCH

My stepfather and my mum were sitting at the dining table. The table was set in a way that my stepdad and my mother could sit side by side and I sat opposite them with an empty seat by my side.

Our guest still hasn’t arrived and I was already getting impatient, wanting to eat lunch and get back into my room, where I could be alone.

I uninterestedly twirled the spaghetti with my fork, lost in my own separate world.

“Your uncle just arrived. Please go get the door for him.” My stepfather politely requested and I stood up from my feet, before going down the stairs, the door wasn’t too far from the staircase. After living here for about a month, I was able to locate it easily.

“Hi…” my words skyrocketed back into my throat the moment I saw the man, thousands of thoughts raced through my mind.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t I warn you to stay away from me?” I questioned after finding my voice, but was met with a blatant snub.

I had to blink my eyes multiple times, just to be sure that I wasn’t hallucinating. My heart felt like a thousand needles had stabbed it, seeing him outside our home was the last thing that I wanted.

“Are you dumb? Can’t you answer?” Angry didn’t quite caption the whirlwind of emotions that I felt. I couldn’t believe he had to guts to show up at our house after what he did to me.

Without a second thought, I attempted to close the door but was met with an unexpected retaliation — he held the door with his palm, my pupils dilated, astonished.

“Thanks for the memorable night. Everything was going well till you slapped me. You made a bad decision cutie, now I will never forget what you have done to me, I won’t let you go easily till I get my revenge.” He whispered seductively into my ear before walking past me, I was beyond stunned.

I ran in order to stop him, but his strides were faster than mine and he had gotten to the dining room before I could.

“Sweetie, this is Ryan, your uncle. He is your stepfather's younger brother.”

My mom’s voice rang in my ears and I couldn’t stop replaying her words in my head.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” She asked, seeing that I was silent and somewhat shocked to meet the man whom she referred to as my uncle.

“Nothing, mum, let’s start eating. I’m famished” I shook my head in denial, avoiding the piercing gaze I got from the man whose name I just knew to be Ryan.

Ryan was smirking deviously. He sat beside me and striked a conversation with my mom and my stepdad.

Never would I have thought that he was my uncle. I expected him to be a middle-aged man but he defied my expectations. At most, he looked to be about thirty one years old.

I was really trying so hard to not raise suspicion. Ryan acted like he had never met me before. I couldn’t help but think that he was a demon in human clothing.

“Your daughter is just as pretty as you are, Martha,” I heard him say to my mum, the spaghetti I was about swallowing got stuck in my throat and I swiftly tried to reach for the water, while coughing.

“Drink this” Ryan said, pretending to be a caring uncle. He brought the glass to my mouth and I drank it while trying to avoid his gaze.

“Thank you, uncle.” I said, feeling a little relieved that I wasn’t about to die due to my carelessness.

My mom and stepdad had worried looks on their faces, I had to smile a little just to assure them that I was okay.

Laughter erupted the room as they all made jokes, but I wasn’t in the mood to speak so I kept quiet and focused on my meal.

“Mia will tell you all about what you need to know. She’s great at telling stories.”

“Yes Mia, I want to know more about you.” His raspy voice, coupled with his cold hands on my bare-back jolted me out of my trances.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my heart leaped into my throat, finding myself unable to speak.