《Star Bright》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Maria weaved through the booths and walked to table five, bncing four tes on her arms and hands. Sometimes she wondered why she took this job in the first ce. But she didn¡¯t have much of a choice, that and the fact there wasn¡¯t much in the small town of Jacksonville Mississippi to do. There also weren¡¯t many job options for a twenty three year old girl who without a college education, with a five year old son and a dead beat boyfriend. It was a good thing her mother worked as a seamstress, or they would be struggling more than they already were. ¡°Two burgers with fries, a veggie sd and an omelette with toast,¡± Maria repeated their order with a smile as she set the tes down on the table. She ced the veggie sd in front of the girl silently congratting her on her efforts to lose weight. She was so round and hefty, at first Maria didn¡¯t think she would fit in the booth, but somehow she managed. She ced the omelette and the burgers in front of the three guys sharing her table. ¡°Would you like anything else?¡± she asked with a pasted smile that her manager had insisted she needed to have on at all times. ¡°You got our orders wrong!¡± the girl barked at Maria with a lethal gaze. Her freckled forehead was creased in three deep Vs and her chubby cheeks looked even bigger with her lips in a scowl. Maria looked at her with equally hostile eyes. It had been a long day already, with many obnoxious and perverted customers. There was very little polite left in her and chubster was pushing it. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Which one?¡± she said feigned concern. She was sure she had gotten the orders right and the girl just wanted to annoy her. For some iprehensible stupid reason, customers thought it was fun to make waitresses run around like hamsters on a wheel under the guise of good customer service. She was about to pull out her notebook from the front pocket of her apron when the girl switched tes with one of the burger guys and pulled the omelette closer to her. ¡°Those are both yours?¡± The shock clear in her voice as it probably was on her face. ¡°Yeah, so?¡± the girl barked defensively. Maria looked at the man who didn¡¯t have food. He was tiny and wearing a shirt three sizes too big. He sucked on his straw nosily, looking at her from under his long brown hair. Then she turned to the one with the sd. His clothes fitted tightly on his small frame. He looked like a pubescent girl tossing the sd around on his te. He needed that burger more than the chubby girl did. The two were thin enough for her to eat with one bite each! At least the third guy had some meat on his bones. ¡°Enjoy your meal.¡± She turned around and walked away, shaking her head at the oddity. As she made her way to the counter, she could feel several eyes on her. She suddenly felt under dressed as she did on several asions in the diner. Their uniforms didn¡¯t help much and made her difort even worse. The manager made them wear the tiniest ck shorts she¡¯d ever seen and tight grey tops which they had to leave the front buttons open to show off more cleavage than necessary. Their green aprons were only an inch longer than their shorts. This was one of the reasons she hated working there¡ªit was a step away from working in a strip club. She was relieved to see her best friend¡¯s friendly face at the counter. Jane was more like her sister than a friend and they¡¯d been inseparable all through high school. She too didn¡¯t go to college, but her reasons were for true love. Her husband Tom worked at a factory close by. She¡¯d insisted on not leaving the small town to go to a big city like most of their ssmates had. She didn¡¯t want to leave him alone; in case he found some other girl to love¡ªwhich personally Maria thought was inconceivable. The man was head over heels in love with Jane. Her parents fought her left and right. They wanted her to better herself, to find a job in a big city and to find someone her own age to love. Tom was almost ten years her senior, but she didn¡¯t care, she loved him. Tom also tried to get her to leave, but Jane wouldn¡¯t budge, so he broke it off and avoided her as much as he could. Her parents were ecstatic of course, but Jane was heartbroken. She got desperate and when she got desperate she came up with the craziest ideas. She lied to her parents and said she was pregnant, and since Maria was close to six months pregnant at the time they didn¡¯t doubt it. They med Maria for corrupting their daughter. Maria put up with it though the usations annoyed her. She wanted her friend to get what she wanted, and since Maria was happy at the time, she didn¡¯t see why her friend shouldn¡¯t be also. Jane married Tom a monthter. Her parents didn¡¯t want the embarrassment of having a pregnant daughter in their house. A few weeks after the wedding, she told them all the truth. Tomughed, and couldn¡¯t believe he didn¡¯t see through her n, her parents however were furious. They took her college money and moved to Miami stating they were going to put it to good use since Jane didn¡¯t want to. Two yearster Jane did have a child, a daughter, the splitting image of herself. Maria leaned on the counter, her hand in her long thick ck hair. ¡°Jane, why do we work here again?¡± Jane smiled at her, ¡°Because we have families to support.¡± She squeezed Maria¡¯s hand and went back to filling sses from the soda machine. ¡°Twenty more minutes till our shift ends, suck it up.¡± She pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail then picked up the tray full of drinks. Jane had one of those pageant faces, big beautiful brown eyes, and the body to match. Maria always liked to think Michael had Jane¡¯s eyes, just so she wouldn¡¯t see the resemnce of Ricky. Maria felt more depressed at the thought of going home. It wasn¡¯t her mother or her son. She looked forward to seeing them at the end of a long day. The one she dreaded seeing was Ricky. She hated the N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. fights, the beatings, and his unfounded jealousy. If she could, she would pack up her mother and her son and leave. But with Ricky it wasn¡¯t that simple. He would find them and when he did, he¡¯ll take her son away from her. Maria could live without a lot of things, but not her son. Maria watched as Jane put her tray down and before wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. Maria held on to her grateful to her. If it wasn¡¯t for Jane¡¯s support, she wouldn¡¯t have the strength to hold on to life otherwise. Jane pulled away, ¡°Maria, leave him.¡± She shook her head the feeling of defeat and fear settling heavily in her stomach, ¡°I can¡¯t do that. He¡¯ll take my son away.¡± Jane looked at her, ¡°Why not reach down for the Latino in you and kick his ass.¡± Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Maria chuckled, a slight smile on her face as felt the tension in her shoulders ease. She had never met her father, but her mother, Edna told her everything about him. Miguel was one of the members of a notorious Latino gang in New York. He was on the run when he passed through their small town. Her mother fell in love with him and his dangerous life. He fell in love with how innocent she was. He stayed around for three months before he left, saying it was for her safety. Maria however didn¡¯t believe that. She believed he just cut his losses and left. It was too convenient that he left so soon after Edna told him she was pregnant. All men thought of number one first. She picked up three menus for the three guys who had just walked in, ¡°Jane, not all Latinos are gangsters and besides I¡¯m half Latino.¡± Jane picked up her tray, ¡°You inherited a lot from your dad, especially those green eyes I¡¯m so crazy about, but what you should have inherited was the gangster part. Whoop his stupid ass to the next decade.¡± She turned and walked away. Maria smiled at the thought of giving Ricky a taste of his own medicine as she walked to the trio this time with a genuine smile on her face. ¡°Hello and wee to JJ¡¯s diner. This way please.¡± Her smile suddenly died when she caught the lustful eyes the guys were giving her. She pulled her hair over her chest, trying to hide her cleavage. Eighteen minutes to go she thought to herself as she led the way, so sure that their eyes were stuck on her ass. She fisted the apron in her hand fighting the urge to turn it around and hide her ass. Maria was a beauty, courtesy of Edna and Miguel, and she knew that. She didn¡¯t need constant reminding. In high school, it was fun having all the guys look at her and some even did her homework. But it also got her into trouble, Ricky being the trouble. He bought her choctes and flowers, wrote her poems, and walked her to and from school. He went as far befriending the two most important people in her life¡ªJane and her mother. To Maria, he was a dreame true, her own romantic interest in a romance movie, until she got pregnant. And once they moved in together, she was even more reviled believing she liked the attention. When Michael turned two, Jane threw a birthday party for him at her house. Tom¡¯s best friend Ned helped Maria decorate, since Ricky didn¡¯t want to do anything to help. He was very friendly, and no one was immune to his jokes, except Ricky. He saw it as Maria and Ned¡¯s way to tantly flirt in his face. After the party, they got into an argument when they got home about his misced jealousy and he punched her, warning her to stay away from him. Edna N?velDrama.Org holds this content. had insisted she leave, if she didn¡¯t want to be a punching bag, but when he came begging for forgiveness pointing out how it was her fault he lost his temper she took him back, foolishly apologizing. After that day, Maria never spoke to Ned again. Worst of all, she was hooked to Ricky, with no way out. He hit her more, practically on a weekly basis, determined to disfigure her face and her body so that men would find her repulsive. When people began to notice, he hit her everywhere and anywhere else that could be covered by clothes. She tried to leave, but he kept threatening to take their son away from. She couldn¡¯t risk not seeing Michael ever again, so she did what she thought she had to do. She stayed and took the beatings for two years. Maria thanked God every day that Michael wasn¡¯t a girl and wouldn¡¯t bare the curse of having an abusive, useless and absent man in her life. But she was equally scared that her son may turn out to be one of those bad men. She froze when she felt something trail up over her long hair, leaving a tingling track of cold fear. She hated being touched and if Ricky walked in and spotted her, she would hate it even more with her bruised body all over. Please don¡¯t touch me, please don¡¯t touch me, she chanted in her head unable to utter a word or move her paralyzed limbs. She managed to inch her head away and swallowed a whimper when the warm hand stroked her hair on the side of her head. This couldn¡¯t possibly be happening. Couldn¡¯t he read the sign on the wall, no touching the waitresses? That¡¯s what it said and yet he was doing the exact opposite or was he a selective reader! She felt her chest tighten and her breath shorten as her mind kept chanting the four words engraved in blood and fear in her mind and on her body, please don¡¯t touch me, please don¡¯t touch me. She heard him draw in a deep breath and prayed it wasn¡¯t what she thought it was. ¡°You smell as good as you look.¡± the hoarse, scratchy voice whispered wetly in her ear and it echoed repeatedly in her mind, tightening every muscle in her body in terror. She forced her legs to move and took a sidestep away from him counting the fear away as she took deep breathes to wake the rest of her body. ¡°Please take a seat.¡± She managed to whisper with a shaky voice. She didn¡¯t dare turn to look at him, she couldn¡¯t. His voice was enough to torture her. She¡¯ll always hear his wet, hoarse voice uttering those words everywhere she went and with every man she was forced to speak to. She wasn¡¯t going to make it worse by putting a face to it. The man chuckled, taking a seat opposite his friends. Maria kept her eyes on the table away from her new tormentor. She clutched her fingers in a tight fist as a spark of anger simmered inside her. Great! He just had tough. That¡¯s going to haunt me too! Why don¡¯t I just look at him andplete the package. She blinked back her tears and bit her lips together. The anger inside her was quickly turning in to self- pity. She hated her life and herself even more. She was such a coward for letting herself get to this point. A spineless cowardly chicken too scared to get out of the hailstorm thundering down on her. Maria drew in a deep breath then took out her notebook, pulling herself out of the pity hole she so often spent most of her time in, long enough to put on a fake smile and take their order. ¡°What would you like to have?¡± One of the men looked her over, undressing the little clothes she had on with his eyes. ¡°You.¡± he blurted out. ¡°I¡¯m not on the menu.¡± Chapter 3 Chapter 3 She responded turning around and walking to the back room. She pulled her jacket out of her locker and shrugged it on. She sat down on the bench with her purse held on herp, silently waiting for Jane to finish up so they could go home. She knew she would get into trouble for leaving those jerks unattended, but that would be child¡¯s ypared to what Ricky would do if he walked in and found her with them. Maria took a deep breath and fought the urge to search for Ricky, fearing he might at any second attack her for the idiot¡¯s remark. The thought of another beating sent a cold chill down her back, and it angered her that she lived in constant fear. She hated men. If she could, she would take them all out, starting with Ricky, then the assholes at her table and then maybe find her dad and kill him too. If he bothered to visit once in a while, he would have taken care of Ricky like a father should and she would finally breathe easy. She hated men. All men. Every single one of them. They were like roaches infesting the world, never dying. And if one did, another one was born to rece him and pick up the trend of objectifying, hurting and using women like toilet paper. Michael was a child, so he didn¡¯t count. **** Maria stood on the porch and watched Jane drive away before she went into her home. Edna was wonderful enough to take care of both their kids while they were at work, but Maria always felt like she was taking advantage of her mother, all things considered. She went into her son¡¯s room to watch him sleep. She loved doing that. It gave her the peace that she so badly needed. She sat down next to him gently stroking his long hair. Edna always said he looked like Miguel, but Maria could see some traces of Ricky and she hated that. He had his brown eyes, his chin and a stare that scared her when he got mad because she could see more of Ricky in it than her beautiful son. But the rest he got from her or Miguel. She reached down and kissed his forehead. He stirred awake and turned to face her, his fists rubbing his sleepy eyes, ¡°Mama.¡± he whispered. ¡°Hi honey, go back to sleep.¡± She pulled the covers higher under his arms. He stretched his arms out for a hug. Maria bent down and held her son tightly against her. She loved him so much, she was sure it was what kept her alive. ¡°Sleep here with me please?¡± Prompted by the worry in his voice, Maria pulled him back and stared at him. The only time he asked her to sleep in his bed was when Ricky was drunk or he was scared, and there was only one thing that frightened him¡ªRicky. How long was she going to let her family suffer in the hands of that drunken mad man? She nodded, getting into bed and holding him tight against her. But for some reason, it felt like he was holding onto her. She held back a sob and wiped her flowing tears away. She couldn¡¯t let this go on much longer. She needed to find a way out. It felt like she¡¯d barely fallen asleep when all hell broke loose. Michael shook her awake up, screaming in fear. ¡°Mama! Mama!¡± It only took the sound of his voice for her to know there was trouble. She scrambled out of bed and stood by her son¡¯s locked door. She whimpered in fear watching Edna lean against it fighting to keep Ricky from knocking it down. He was screaming for Maria, threatening to burn down the house if she didn¡¯t open the door. Maria looked at her scared mother and her crying son. It took all she had to keep from breaking down. She didn¡¯t doubt Ricky would carry out his threat. She needed to get them out of the house. With trembling legs, she ran to the window and opened it wide. It was just a few feet to the ground. Michael could reach it. ¡°Babye here,¡± she held her hands out for him, but he shook his head. ¡°Michael please!¡± she begged desperately, very close to crying. ¡°Grandma first!¡± he insisted. Maria looked at her mother and then at her son. He wasn¡¯t going to budge unless she went first. Maria picked up his chair and wedged it against the doorknob. ¡°Open up you bitch! If I get my hands on you I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Ricky¡¯s hoarse voice rang from behind the door. The banging got harder, and Ricky got madder, scaring Maria even more, turning her whimper into a muffled cry. She wanted to curl up in a foetal position and just weep, but she pushed the thought away. She needed to protect her son. If Ricky got his hands on any one-off them he would kill them for sure. ¡°Mama, go and take Michael with you!¡± Maria pinned her weight against the door just in case the chair slides out of ce. Edna went through the window first, and then helped Michael out. When they were both a distance from the house, Maria ran for the window, jumped out and ran for the car. Ricky appeared out of nowhere. He chased after them screaming and yelling. Maria ran faster, her energy fuelled by intense fear, catching up to Michael and her mother easily. She scooped up her son and held him against her like a football as she ran. ¡°Mama run faster!¡± she called out to Edna. She ran faster, reaching the car the same time as Maria. She got into the car and took Michael from Maria and cradling him on herp while Maria started the car and drove away like a mad woman. Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. Maria watched Ricky through the rear-view mirror as he chased after the car for a while before giving up. They drove for a few minutes, and Maria checked behind them again. She wanted to make sure Ricky wasn¡¯t following them anymore. When she couldn¡¯t see him, she pulled over and started crying. All the frustration, anguish and fear she had been holding inside finally made its way out. God she was tired. She was so tired. She felt Michael quietly wrap his tiny arms around her neck and hug her head against his. This only made Maria cry harder. She heard the passenger door open then close, and then her door opened. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!