Innocence Betrayed

Chapter 3

"Hey girl," the woman shouted in the direction Clea was lying. Her heart picked up as the woman’s brown eyes bore in her direction.

"Get here fast," she yelled rudely. Clea was about to answer when a small whimper sounded from somewhere behind her. She turned around to see a small girl, no more than seven, near the door. She was shifting her weight continuously, as if nervous and she kept her gaze firmly on the ground.

"Heat the chicken in the microwave. DONT BURN IT!" the women shouted as she placed her glass back on the table with a loud thud.

The small girl was startled and hurriedly moved in the direction of the fridge. She opened the door, clumsily knocking over a set of glasses that were on top of the fridge and took out a dish of chicken. Clea stood up to have a better look at the child's face, but the small girl turned around quickly, as if she didn't want to be seen. She walked slowly, the dish firmly held in both of her hands as she approached the microwave; she stood on her toes as she opened the small door and slid the dish in. Pressing the little button slowly with her index finger, she set the temperature and waited patiently for the chicken to heat.

Clea watched the woman glaring at the small child's back, as if wanting to burn holes there herself. The beep of the microwave rang through the still kitchen. The small girl stood again on her toes and slipped the gloves on. She carefully opened the door and took out the heated chicken. She then very cautiously walked up to where the man and the woman sat; she placed it in the centre of the table and stood a few paces behind the man as she waited for them to taste it. 

The man grumbled incoherently as he lifted his legs off the table. He eyed the chicken distastefully and grumbled once again under his breath before he took his fork and cut into his chicken; he placed the huge piece of it into his mouth and chewed for less than a second before spitting it all out. 

It startled the small child and her eyes slowly filled with tears. The man very slowly turned towards her. The woman wore a satisfied smug expression on her face as she watched her husband started at the small child.

'No...no…please no,' the small child pleaded as she took small steps away from the man.

'It was disgusting," the man said as he slowly got up from his chair. 'This is ridiculous. I warned you yesterday, girl, that I want edible food and this is what you make?' His raspy voice vibrated off the walls and the girl started shivering violently. He gestured towards the plate of chicken and lifted it up; he threw the plate across the floor where the small girl now stood with her back pressed tightly against one of the cabinets.

"I tried. I'm sorry," she pleaded with the man coming towards her. He smiled a fake smile before grabbing her roughly by her arm. Clea was sure the girl’s arm must have come out of its socket because she heard a small pop.

"I'll punish you for this." He dragged her with him. "You don't seem to learn," he scolded, his voice still high as he stopped in front of the microwave. "But you'll learn now." 

He didn't give her time to think as he grabbed her left hand and placed it inside the heated microwave. The small girl cried as the man pressed on her small palm. Clea cried out in horror as she ran towards the man. She attempted to push the small girl away but she couldn't. Tears flowed down her face as she turned towards the man. She tried to push him away as well but couldn't because she couldn't touch them. They couldn't see her, and no matter how loud she cried or shouted, it didn't affect them in the least. She pounded heavily with her fists on the man’s back but they went right through him. It did nothing to stop the poor child's misery. The small girl was in pain as the man let her go. She slid down heavily onto the ground, cradling her left hand against her chest.