"You got a fast car
We go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs....."
*****
~~~~Mariah's POV~~~~
"Damn it, Mariah!! You're always being so afraid of every fucking thing! I'm trying to be good and marry you, and you're turning it down? You're a fucking idiot!!" Noah screamed at me. He had just proposed to me, but I said no because being married was the least of my issues....besides, he and I needed to worry about getting out of the shelter and being financially stable enough for Marisol. Plus, I had something else that was really weighing on my mind.
"N-noah, I j-just don't think we n-need to worry about being married right n-now." I stuttered.
"What?! Is it because I can't get you a ring?! What is it, Mariah?!?!" Noah angrily shouted, roughly grabbing me by the forearm.
"N-noah, I-"
"You're what?!?! You're sorry?! Damn it, you can spend years being loyal to your daddy after he diddled you, but you can't commit to me?!?!"
"Hey, don't you dare bring my father up in this!! That was different!" I argued.
"Different, huh? Gee, Mariah, I'm starting to think that you enjoyed being your father's little sex toy! He got into your panties more than I do!!" Noah spat. I was so angry at what he said to me that I slapped him as hard as I could. However, I soon realized that it was a poor decision on my part because he punched me square in the face, knocking me off of my feet. I thought that would be the end of that, but then I felt myself being dragged by my hair and into the wall.
"NOAH!! STOP!!!" I screamed, but he kept on and kicked me in the stomach.
"NOAH, DON'T DO THAT! YOU'RE GONNA HURT THE BABY!!" I cried, making him stop.
"Wh-what?"
"I-I'm pregnant....I-I found out about 3 w-weeks ago, but I-I didn't know h-how to tell you." I sobbed. I curled up into fetal position on the floor, and Noah came and tried to hold me but I scooted away.
"Mariah....."
"N-no.....leave me alone." I cried. I picked myself up, noticing that the others in the shelter were staring then I went over to to Marisol, who was sitting on the bed covering her ears and facing away from me and her father.
"Mari, baby....." I said, tapping her shoulder. She slowly turned around with tears streaming down her face, then she started to sob once she saw my face. (A/N: Marisol, aged 7)
"M-mama....wh-what.....what did Daddy d-do to you?!" she screamed. I just looked at my beautiful baby, trying not to cry as I watched her cry. It seemed as if something was always happening, and my poor child was always having to witness it. My relationship with Noah seemed to be turning into my mother and my father all over again.....Noah couldn't get what he considered a 'real job' due to his lack of education and his young age, and he'd become more violent over the past couple years. He would get so stressed and angry at life that he'd yell at me, and push me around....and occasionally, he'd snap and beat me.
"Mari, I'm fine baby...." I sighed, pulling my hair down to make it enclose my face to hide my bruising cheek.
"N-no you're not......why d-does he always hurt you?!" Marisol questioned.
"I-I don't know, baby. But come on.....let's go get some ice cream, okay?" I weakly smiled. I'd always take Marisol to get ice cream after Noah would snap on me because I'd feel bad that Marisol had to witness it. I'd always remember how I felt when my father would beat my mother in a drunken rage, and how I'd always feel like it was somehow my fault. So, I take Marisol for ice cream to compensate for Noah's beatings.....I never wanted Marisol to feel as bad as I used to as a child.
"M-mama...."
"Mari, I'm fine....now come on." I said to her.
~~~~2 Hours Later~~~~
Marisol and I were at Will's apartment, since we ran into him at the ice cream parlor. He had offered to take us back 'home', but I wanted to be as far away from Noah as I could be at the time so Will just took us back to his apartment.
"So then, Jeffery told me that he thought I was pretty and that if I was his girlfriend he'd let me have his G.I. Joe action figure." Marisol explained. She was telling me and Will all about this little boy at school that's been crushing on her for the past couple weeks.
"And what did you say?" I asked.
"I told him that I'm a young lady, and that I couldn't be bought with action figures. Besides, I told him that I was focusing on my career at the moment and that I wasn't looking for a relationship." Marisol responded while drawing her picture.
"Your career? You're a seven year old kid....what could possibly be your career?" Will questioned, laughing his ass off.
"My singing career. I'm gonna sing just as good as Mama one day, but I'm gonna be famous so that I can get me and Mama a big house in a good neighborhood.....and get Mama away from Daddy, so that he can't hurt her no more." Marisol explained. Will looked at me but I turned away, not wanting to hear what he had to say about Noah hitting me.
"Mariah, I told you to tell me if he ever hurts you......" Will said.
"I-I know, but it's only happened once." I lied.
"No it hasn't. Daddy hits you every time he gets real mad....he even punched you today, and that's why your face was turning purple." Marisol stated.
"Mari, I'm gonna talk to your mama for a minute in the room.....are you fine staying in here and finishing your picture?" Will said to her.
"Mhmm, I'm okay in here." Marisol grinned. Will leaned down and kissed the top of Marisol's head, then he looked at me and held his hands out to me. I sighed and grabbed his hands and he helped me up, and he lead me to his bedroom and shut the door behind us.
"Will, I-"
"Save it, Mariah.....let me see you." he stated, making me look at him weirdly.
"Wh-what?"
"Let me see you.....take off your clothes, and pull up your hair so I can see what he's done to you. I won't try anything out of line.....I really just need to see how bad he's hurt you." Will explained, sitting on the bed. I debated doing it because I was covered in old marks from Noah, AND I was pregnant but Will didn't know that.
"Come on, Riah.....please." he begged. I sighed as I faced away from him, and started taking off my clothes until I was left in my panties and bra then I pulled my hair up into a high bun.
"Turn around, Riah....let me see you." Will softly said. I slowly turned around, instinctively holding on to my stomach, and Will stood up.
"Mariah, look at you....he's done this to you." he whispered, staring at my marks.
"Will, please....I-I'm fine." I told him. He continued to look at me and his eyes eventually landed on my stomach, which was slightly protruded and decorated with a nicely sized bruise from Noah's foot.
"Riah, y-you're pregnant?" Will questioned, and I nodded as tears started flowing down my cheeks.
"I-It's a mistake.....m-me and Noah can't afford this baby, w-we're not ready for this. W-we can barely t-take care of Mari." I cried. Will knelt down in front of me and held both sides of my waist, followed by kissing my stomach a few times.
"Mariah, if you ever need my help with anything....I'm here. If you and Mari and the baby need to get away from Noah, I've got here. My door is always open to you and the kids, baby girl....I care about y'all like y'all my family." Will told me. He kissed my stomach once more and laid his head on it, so I rubbed his head and just enjoyed his embrace.
"I know, Will.....and I care about you too. I want to name the baby after you, even if it's a girl......find some way to make its name a part of yours."
"Well, th-that's if the baby's okay...." I mumbled, making Will look up.
"Why wouldn't the baby be okay?" he questioned, getting back up on his feet.
"Because of Noah; h-he.....he kicked me in the stomach, b-but he didn't know I was pregnant." I explained.
"Let me take you to a doctor....because we need to make sure the baby is alright."
"Well, I was gonna go by the clinic but.....I just haven't had the time to do it." I shrugged. Will was about to respond, but Marisol ran in holding something up at me.
"Mama, look! Is this you when you were younger?" she asked, holding a year book in her hand. The year book was from freshman year in high school, when I had horribly crimped hair and weird makeup.....and there was Will, right there with me.
"Unfortunately, yes it is. I can't believe I walked around with THAT hair." I said, shaking my head at the photo.
"You were still gorgeous, though." Will smiled, making me blush a little.
"Nah, I really think you were the star of this picture."
"Me? Please....I don't know why I left the house in those shorts. And the sunglasses really didn't help me." he laughed.
"I thought it was kinda cute."
"I was hoping that you would. I was tryna seem cool to impress you."
"I liked it! In fact, I remember how my mom was making such a big deal of it.....she kept saying 'this is your first date with a boy, Mariah....this is big' and I kept trying to convince her that it wasn't a date. My mother thought that whenever a guy breathe in my direction, it was automatically a match made in heaven. The night was really fun, though." I giggled.
"Mama?"
"Yes, Mari?"
"How come you dated Daddy instead of dating Will? Will is always nice to you, and he doesn't hit you like Daddy does." Marisol said to me, causing me to sigh.
"Sweetheart, it's some stuff that's too young for you to understand.....but, Will is my good friend and I care about him very much." I explained to her, grabbing Will's hand in the process. Will and I had been friends for years, and the longer our friendship went on the closer we got. I loved Noah, I really did, but I enjoyed being around Will more than I did being around Noah. Will was honestly everything I would want in a man, but I had so much history with Noah that I felt like I HAD to stay with him.
I felt that I had no choice........
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So, it's been a little while but I've been having all my AP exams. Anyway, COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT AND VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!!!!!!!