Laying quietly on the bed of navy blue sheets, Eve Montgomery closed her eyes to stop it all...the fighting...the frustration...Tendrils of her hair lay stringy and flat against her cheek. If only someone would be able to stoke her head and tell her it was alright even if things weren’t that way. She craved a motherly hug of warmth...just one hug...just one time....
Of course, that’s what was going to happen. Not then. Not now. Not ever. It wasn’t fair. Not fair at all.
The only thing Eve’s mother did was sigh and say, “Evelyn, pick yourself up, and stop whining. Who cares if a couple of kids made fun of you?”
Eve had started crying...sobs melting into a tissue. She then went to her room, and slammed the door shut. Her mom didn’t understand...her mom was a cheerleader in high school, and was the Homecoming queen. She couldn’t figure out why her daughter was so ugly, and scrawny, or why she didn’t have many friends. One time, Eve evesdropped on her mom’s phone conversation with her sister. She had said, “I just can’t understand why Evelyn can’t be more social. She makes okay grades, but she’s bad in sports, and she doesn’t seem to care that not many people like her or that her appearance is so sloppy.”
Hate poured into Eve’s veins. Her mom never once critized her twin brother and sister: Nancy and Taylor. They were little darlings and “cute as a button.” Nancy had long coifed brown hair and had an energetic personality and
smile, and Taylor was the popular class clown. All her mother did was compliment and brag about them while Eve stayed out of the conversation unless people asked about her. Then, all her mother did was bash her: Can you believe what she did yesterday?, Can you imagine being that way? Can you tell what a
disappointment she was today?
Eve sniffled a bit, and scoffed when her mother called out, “Dinner’s ready. C’mon now. Don't be this way."
“I’m not eating.”
“Oh, just come out! There’s no reason not to,” her mom coaxed.
“You know and I know that there is a reason.”
Silence carried its weight on both people inside and outside of the door. Eve stayed where she was, and her mother left.
At night, when everyone was asleep, Eve crept out of her room and tiptoed into the kitchen where the linoleom felt cold against her feet. She opened the refrigerator and found that a bowl of leftover spaghetti was there to microwave.She closed the refrigerator door with a slight thud with the tupperware of pasta in hand, and was surprised to here her mother’s voice in a nearby hallway.
“I’m coming. You don’t want to eat some microwaved spaghetti alone. Sit at the table. I'll heat it up."