Page 44 of Neverland

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If it hadn’t been for Mrs. Sanchez, my mother would most likely have died. Mrs. Sanchez had taken the time off work to keep a bedside vigil and nurse Mom back to health. It was late the following night after my father’s rampage when she finally opened her eyes. Beneath the bruises and wounds, her skin was deathly pale and sallow. Mom turned to the side and vomited twice, Mrs. Sanchez helping me clean up the mess without complaint. She’d done a beautiful job in repairing my mother’s face, sutures perfectly lined to reduce scarring, and there wasn’t a spot of dried blood to be found.

The next morning before school, we helped her out of bed so she could stretch her muscles, her body frail and weak. She’d turned forty almost two months ago, yet she looked like a seventy-year-old woman, years of abuse finally catching up to her. My mother remained silent, almost like the words had been knocked clean out of her by my father’s drunken fist. There was never a thank you for Mrs. Sanchez’s help. There was never a kind word extended to a family who’d saved her life. There wasn’t even recognition that I was there. I watched as she restlessly fidgeted, her hands trembling. My mother was officially lost in her own world. What I didn’t know at the time, was that world was still controlling her and the poor decisions she made.

I had attended school knowing my mom was in good hands and because I was only allowed a certain amount of days off to qualify for the scholarship. After being called to Mr. Rosser’s office and meeting Romeo in our usually spot, Romeo did everything to take my mind off things.

“Whose skull does Hamlet discover in the churchyard?” Romeo asked, angling his paper so I could see the answers. We were walking home from school, with extra questions Mr. Daniels had given Romeo to help me.

“The former court jester,” I replied.

“Where does the ghost appear during the play?”

“Gertrude’s bedchamber. Hamlet can see it, but she can’t and she considers him mad.”

“Look at you, elaborating and shit,” Romeo teased, gently nudging me with his elbow. “How did Claudius murder King Hamlet?”

“He poured poison in Hamlet’s ear so he can take the throne and marry the queen.”

“See…” Romeo said, stuffing the paper in his bag, “… you’ve got this. You’ll top the class for sure.” His gaze moved to his front door where his mother stood expectantly, arms folded tightly across her chest. “What’s going on?” he asked more to himself.

We walked the last fifty odd steps in silence.

“Miho, go inside,” Mrs. Sanchez ordered her son, and he obliged but not before throwing me a look of support. When the screen door closed, Mrs. Sanchez pulled me into her arms and held me tight. She kissed the top of my head before stepping back to see my face.

“Your mother has left, carina.” There was a deep sadness in her eyes. I wanted to tell her that feeling anything for my family was a waste of time. But then I realized she wasn’t feeling for them. She was feeling for me.

“Where’d she go?”

“I went to the pharmacy for more pain relief and when I came back, she was gone. Mrs. Schumaca said she spotted your mother stumbling back around the block and into your house using anything she could reach to keep her upright.”

“She went back to my father?” In any other situation, I wouldn’t been surprised, but given the shocking level of violence she’d just experienced, I was blown away at how quickly she returned to him. He’d almost destroyed her and she just went running back into his arms.

Mrs. Sanchez nodded. “I’m sorry, Lucy. Your mother isn’t mentally well. I can only help her physically.”

“I know, and you’ve been more than generous with your time. I guess I should go get my things and—”

She gripped my arm, stopping me from moving. “Lucy, you’re not going anywhere, especially not back to that house.”

I appreciated the sentiment, but with my mother having gone home, she’d most likely tell my father where she’d been. “What if he comes looking for me? All of you will be at risk.”

I saw a glimmer of pity in her eyes because she knew the answer before she even asked. “Do you really think he will?”

Exhaling heavily, I let the weight of the world lift slightly off my shoulders before it fell back upon me. “No. He wouldn’t care if I were dead. But still, when he’s been drinking, who knows what he’s capable of.”

~~~

“Mom says you’re staying here indefinitely,” Romeo offered while we lay on our side facing each other up in Neverland.

“She’s an angel.”

“Yeah, she’s a pretty cool mom.” His eyes widened a little with horror. “Shit, I’m sorry, Lucy. I don’t mean to point stuff out like that. I just mean, it’s cool you get to have her as a mom, too, you know?”

I covered his hand with mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You don’t have to sugar-coat anything for me. I can handle it. My family is fucked up.”

He raised his brows for emphasis. “Real fucked up!”

I laughed because what else could I do? I stopped crying over spilled milk years ago. “See, it’s funnier when you don’t sugar-coat.” I winced with pain, the sudden motion from laughing tearing at my stitches.

“Show me.” Romeo lifted onto one elbow and pulled up the corner of my shirt to just below my breasts. His fingers ran softly down my waist causing my skin to deliciously tingle all over. I wasn’t used to touch that brought pleasure, but from him, I’d take it any day. He stopped just shy of the wound on my left hip which his mother had carefully repaired. There’d still been a shard of broken beer bottle tangled in the flesh when I’d collapsed on their front lawn. Mrs. Sanchez said I must have fallen onto the glass and twisted while trying to escape causing it to rip into the shape it did.

“Just another ugly reminder of how fucked up my family is.”

Romeo shook his head. “No, it’s not a reminder. How could it be? It’s gonna be beautiful. A beautiful scar for a beautiful girl. A perfect heart shape.”

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