The heavy fist banged on the table causing the little girl to jump in her seat. “Eat!”
Autumn, along with the other three children, stopped eating looked to the end of the dull room with timid with wide eyes. No one said a word. Tears rolling silently down her face, Autumn waited for the next heartbeat wondering, anticipating, and dreading what was to come.
Autumn, picked up the semi-clean fork, her young stomach folding in on itself imaging putting something that looked as though it had left over boogies on it in her mouth. Hazarding a glance through her lashes was a mistake. Beady eyes, red-rimmed with drink pointed out at her from a face afflicted with high blood pressure.
“Eat, I said." His own utensils dropped to the side of the plate with a clatter before be picked up his beer to draw deeply from the bottle. "Goddamnit. I’m sick of putting food on the table and you not eating.”
“Now Harvey.” The heavyset woman named Frankie came in from the kitchen reeking of grease. “She’s our ward and we get some pretty good coin for keeping her.” Pausing with a hand on her hip under a wayward fat roll, she turned appraising the three-year old. “Like the other’s there, she’ll eat when she’s hungry. They all get hungry eventually.”
Autumn stared at the green glop from a can decorating the chipped plate in front of her. I want my own Mama. She said she wouldn't leave me so long this time. Her eyes began to swim as she stared at her dish unable to muster the energy to eat. Why does she leave me? Why am I here, Mama? I told you the strangers were mean.
The bottle banged on the cheep veneer table top causing the little girl to jump and sniff all at the same time. Raising shaky fingers she wiped at the tears trailing down her cheeks. The other children lowered their heads making themselves as small as possible so as not to be noticed.
“Ohmigod! She’s crying again!” Harvey yelled scraping his chair back from the table reaching for his belt. “I can’t stand it. It’s been a month already. When’s this sniveling going to end? There’s not enough money to put up with this shit day in and day out.”
Frankie held her hand up to Harvey, palm up. “Time the princess got a dose of real life.” Frankie never smiled. “Always the same. Have to be taught how it goes here.” The woman lifted her arms in exasperation, revealing sweat stains. She bent low – menacingly – towards the slight girl’s chair talking through her clenched teeth. “We give too much. That’s our problem. That’s always our problem. We give too much and the little brats take advantage of us making us teach them a lesson.” She drew a long breath before standing straight. “Well, this one ‘ll learn like the rest ‘o them.”
Autumn didn’t know what to expect as she stared up into Frankie round face, listening intently. Like the other kids, she didn’t speak. She couldn’t speak if she wanted to. Like all children in a similar situation, Autumn knew when danger lurks silence is a necessity. She prayed for her mom to not be gone and come back for her. She would have settled for a hug from someone, anyone. Today was another day that no one was listening to prayers from little girls.
On her next breath, seemingly lightening fast Frankie grabbed Lorna by the hair yanking her out of her seat. Autumn screamed, tears an instant cascade until another hand slammed across her mouth silencing her leaving her only concerned with being able to draw her next breath as she squirmed trying to get free from the heavy grip. Both hands latched to the meaty forearm as she struggled to pull air through the snot in her nose.
Mama, Mama, where are you? Mama, help! Help me! Please.
Her feet scrapped and banged across the floor as she was dragged around the corner from the dining room. Frankie paused at a door Autumn had never seen before but had heard the other children mention only in whispers. This is the bad room. Her heart slammed against her ribs. She was like a wild animal wanting to get free. No, please, I’ll be good. Please, not the bad room.
The door creaked open and Autumn began to fight in earnest. I can’t go down there. Please no. I’ll be good. But no words were able to pass through the hand still clamped across her face. Her hands reached out to grab at the door jam and Frankie started to laugh without mirth.
“Harv, look at this one thinking she fight back.” A substantial weight slashed across Autumn’s small wrists and the pain made her see stars. “She’s got more spunk than I gave her credit for. I’ll give her that.” Bending low to Autumn’s ear, she growled. “But that’s all I’ll give you.”
“No broken bones, Frankie.” Harvey warned, yelling from the dining room. “We can’t have them in here snooping again. You know when you wrap ‘em yourself sometimes they don’t heal right.”
Just the tips of her toes touched the floor as Frankie craned her head back around the corner. “Bugger off Harv and let me handle this. I don’t see you lifting a finger to patch ‘em up when they get hurt.” She bent low again and Autumn was relieved to have her feet touch the cracked linoleum only to have the yellowed eyes peer unblinkingly at her. “Accident prone nobodies is all we get ‘ere. You gonna be an accident prone kid, princess?” Frankie reached up again to grab the crown of Autumn’s reddish-blond hair and yank, hard while the young girl tried shake her head no.
Her scalp stretched and tears continued leaked out of her eyes. Autumn cradled one arm with the other feeling shivers of fear race along her spine. Frankie’s face was so close to her own she could see the strings of pus puddle in the corners her guardian’s eyes. I need to let Frankie know that I can be a good girl. Please don’t put me in the bad room.
“That’s right. You’re smart. I can see it in you. You’ll learn fast.” The big woman straightened up. “This will be a lesson you won’t soon forget.”
Stretching her eyes wide, the child tried to see through the dim light as her feet crashed on each and every one of the eighteen stairs that lead down to the bad room in the basement as she was dragged backwards. Try as she might to bend her knees and protect herself by the time she got to the bottom blood streamed from calves where they had hit scrapped along the lip of the rough planked steps.
Frankie released her at the bottom where she fell to the concrete floor. Getting her feet under her, Autumn looked around the plain room. It was cold and damp but looked like a normal basement until her caretaker proceeded to what looked like workbench. Frankie turned on the child. “Don’t move or so help you.”
Autumn’s body began to quaver as Frankie slid the worktable forward revealing a hidden room.