Every day after school, Soso comes home with a smile upon her face. Her mother in the kitchen, fixing dinner. Her six year old brother, Liam, by her side, admiring her underestimated culinary skills. Their father, in the living room with a cold alcoholic beverage pressed against his lips, swigging away. Soso always hugs her mother and kisses her cheek. She looks at Liam, sticking out her tongue and crossing her eyes only for his entertainment. His big smile brightens Soso’s entire day within an instant. She then tells her mother that she’s headed to the store and local park in town with her friends, Chloe, Nathan, and Micah. Before leaving, her mother wraps a beautiful watch around Soso’s wrist to keep up with the time. Today, though, wasn’t fully functioning the way it always has.

Soso skips her way into the well lit living room, carrying her backpack by her side.

"Mom? Where's dad?" Soso questions, fiddling with her braided hair.

"He's out working at his new job. He’ll be here by seven o’clock, and so should you," she says with a vague smile and continues dropping various ingredients in the boiling pot of water.

New job? Soso starts to wonder, her lips curling upward at the thought of her dad coming home with presents on top of presents for her and Liam. Soso kisses her mother’s cheek and gives Liam the same expression she always gave him : sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes. This time, though, Liam didn’t smile. Instead, he stares blankly at her before frowning.

“Uh..” Soso places her hand on her brother’s head, giving him a light noogie. She then runs out the front door to see her little clan.

“Soso!” her mother exclaims. Above Soso’s head, a light bulb comes on.

Oh, right! She runs in, seeing her mother hold out the wrist-watch. Grabbing it, she once again sprints outside. Nathan, Chloe, and Micah stand by the dirt road, kicking rocks with their hands in their pockets. As Soso’s feet brings up dust, Chloe looks up and meets her eyes, both their grins gradually widening.    

“Ready to head out?” Micah asks, leaning against a utility pole. Nathan bends down, scooping up tiny pebbles with his dirty hands. Soso nods, beyond ready for the afternoon routine. The four of them begin walking their way to the ninety-nine cent store.

“Who brought the money this time?” Soso asks, smirking at Chloe.

“Not me, no way, I brought some last time!” Chloe shakes her head, then gazes at Nathan. He lets out a sigh, pulling out a five dollar bill.

“I got it this time,” he exhales. The three all sigh in relief. While walking up the packed parking lot, Nathan chooses a pebble from his now sweaty palms, and throws it far in front of him. A millisecond later, a loud, high pitched clang reverberates throughout the small town. The group of four gaze in the direction of the noise, which is the same direction the rock was thrown. A hunter green Silverado comes into Soso’s vision. A small dent can be seen as she stands four feet away.

“No. No, no, no, no, no!” Her eyes widen as she exclaims. “Nathan, my dad is going to kill-” she stops, thinking. Wait. Dad?

"Mom? Where's dad?”

"He's out working at his new job. He’ll be here by 7 o’clock, and so should you,"

Soso raises her wrist, looking at her watch to check the time. Four-thirty. Soso, keeping a confused expression, approaches the vehicle, peering into the driver side window. She feels queasy at the sight of a red-haired woman applying dark maroon lipstick in the passenger seat. Soso feels a negative reign of emotions wash over her, but she’s oblivious to why she feels this way. For a while, she stares at the unknown woman. Her voluminous hair, her pale, skinny face, her thin figure only covered by a tight tank top and skimpy shorts.

Merely her presence angers Soso.

“Soso!” strained whispers call out. Turning around, she sees her dad approaching the truck with multiple groceries, unknown of her presence. Her eyes gaze toward the Nathan, Micah, and Chloe as they all hide behind another vehicle, hastily waving her to come their way. Running their way, she looks back and notices the woman’s eyes meeting hers.

Crap.

Feet stampeding away from the parking lot and toward the park, heavy breathing and sweaty palms. She seen me, who was she? Oh my gosh, dad! What’s he doing? Who is that woman?

Approaching the colored swing sets, they all slow down their pace. Chloe bends down, hands on her knees as she catches her breath.

“Soso,” she takes two deep breaths, “what happened? You were just staring, what,” she pants once more, “did you see?” Chloe grabs hold of the chain which connected the swing. Soso stands there, letting oxygen fill her lungs again. Red hair, tight clothes, her and dad together.

“Nothing,” Soso sighs. She peers down at the ground, wondering why she couldn’t bring herself to say it. A woman was sitting in the passenger seat, and I didn’t feel right about it. I don’t know. That’s what she wants to say, but she couldn’t. The group of three hesitates before attempting to change the subject. Chloe starts toward the swing set, while Micah and Nathan run to the monkey bars. After a while, Soso let the memory of the woman and her dad fade away. Her mind’s calm, while her body is full of excitement as she runs around with Chloe, chasing down the two boys.

Time passes as Soso loses her train of thought, as well as the time. She sits on the grass, her legs crossed in front of her. She notices the sun setting and remembers to check her wrist-watch. 6:52. Soso scrambles to her feet.

“Guys, we gotta go! Like right now! It’s almost seven o’clock!” Soso exclaims, watching Chloe, Nathan, and Micah walk up to her. “Ugh, you guys are too slow! I’ll just go on my own!” Soso takes off before anyone can mutter a word.

Her feet barely hit the ground as she runs with all her might. There’s a countdown running through her head as her legs sprint. 6:53. She feels so far away, and perhaps she is, but she’s determined to continue running. Soso knows if she’s even a tad late, she wouldn’t be able to go back to the park, hang out with her friends, or merely walk to the store. 6:55. Come on, So.

Soso feels her right leg give up on her, instead of keeping a cautious, straight stance, her leg wobbles as the tips of her toes go downward. Her whole body started tumbling, and in her mind, a flash of red hair runs across Soso’s train of thought. Red hair, tight clothes, her and dad together. I have to get home before dad. She feels a strong urge to inform her mother of what she saw earlier today. 6:59. Soso’s eyes widen as she turns the corner with a sharp twist of her ankles. Almost, almost. Soso runs through the front door to find- nothing.

“Mom?” Soso calls out, looking around anxiously.

“She went to bed,” her dad says, approaching from the staircase that led to the bedrooms.

“Oh, uh. Okay,” Soso says, confused on why mom would be in bed this early. She usually stays up until midnight, reading her books. “She didn't take a book with her, or anything?”

“How am I supposed to know? Look, just get some grub and hit the hay. You can talk to mom in the morning, she's asleep now,” says her dad, seeming agitated. Soso silently walks up the staircase in loss of her appetite.

She pauses when her body is positioned in front of her parent’s bedroom door. Muffled whimpers, that’s all Soso hears as she presses her ear against the door. Her eyebrows raise, feeling tempted to open it, but as her hand barely grazes the knob, she hears something. A long creak disrupts Soso’s knob turning. Turning her head, she sees little Liam with tears filling the brims of his eyes.

“Liam,” she whispers,  coming to his rescue, “are you okay? What’s going on?” Instead of answering, he gestures her to come into their bedroom as he lead the way. He sits on his bed as Soso closes the door behind her.

“Mama and daddy were fighting,” Liam whispers. “It started when mama told daddy ‘where’d that-’ hockey, I think she said, but it don’t make no sense because how could a hockey puck be stuck on daddy’s neck?”
Soso stares at Liam, confused until it hit her. Her eyes widen. Hickeys. “Uh, yeah! Exactly! Liam, they were just play fighting, you know, how you and I mess around?” She smiles as warmly as she possibly can. Poor Liam. I should have brought him with me today.

“Oh!” Liam returns the smile, but the only thing is, his is genuine. “That explains why daddy hit her! They were just-” Liam continues talking, going on and on about how it all made sense, but Soso isn’t listening- she can’t. She takes in what Liam spat out and it was as if her whole body went into physical and mental shock.

“-daddy hit her!”

The next morning after Soso gets ready for school, she comes down to the kitchen and the sight of her mom makes her heart hurt. Liam sits at the table, taking small bites of his ham sandwich without a worry. Their mother, on the other hand, keeps her, head down as she makes my sandwich, her bangs covering her face.

“Morning, mom,” Soso says, scooting a chair out to sit at the table. Her mother turns her head slightly, softly smiling.

“Good morning, hun,” her mother mutters. “Turkey, right?” Soso turns her head in her mother’s direction.

“Right. Actually, don't worry about it, I'll make it,” Soso says, walking up to her mom’s side.

“No, honey it's fine!” Her mother reaches for the bread, but Soso already has it in her grip. There’s a pause.

Soso trails her eyes up her mother’s arm to find a large purple, greenish bruise right under where her sleeve ends. A slight gasp breaks through Soso’s lips, her mother noticing.

“Uh, okay, go ahead. I'll be over here if you need me,” her mother scoots off in awkward silence. After eating her sandwich, she walks her brother out to the front porch. They wait for the bus. When it comes, their mother waves them goodbye.

During lunch, all Soso can think about is what will happen after school. 3:00 hits and you'll be ready to hang out with your friends-. She stops, wondering. She feels it in her gut that she should stay home with her mom, just in case. Just in case what? Soso wonders. If the hockey pucks, red hair, and purple greenish blotches pop up again, I guess. 

Around 12:30, the intercom booms all over school announcing that school would be let out early due to tornado warnings. Soso and her brother ride the bus home. When Soso and Liam arrive at the front yard, Soso sees her father's truck parked out front, near the porch. He must've got off work early, or something. Soso has a bad feeling as she walks up the steps to the porch, rain soaking her nicely ironed dress.

"Mom!" Soso screams, running inside of the wooden house. Horrified by the sight of her father with his fist clenched, standing over her mother, Soso jumps onto his back, swinging her fists toward his head as she screams for him to stop.

"Didn't I tell you to stay out of my business?” he yells to his beaten and bruised wife. With a swift movement, he slings Soso off of him, grabbing his wife by the throat. She gasps, struggling to breathe. Soso has no time to think; she takes this opportunity to gnaw down on her father’s leg. With a kick back, she flies across the floor.

Her mother seems to be losing consciousness and Soso, in the back of her mind, knows it. She grabs Liam’s arm and runs to the house phone in the kitchen without her father seeing. Quickly dialing nine-one-one, she nervously holds the phone to her ear.

“Preston Police Department, what seems to be the problem?”

"My dad- he's hurting my mom,” she whispers. "Please hurry," she finishes, ending the call. She runs back into the living room, listening to the awful things being said. With her father squeezing her mother’s throat so tightly, she looks Soso’s way. "So.." she gasped. "I..I love you.." Her eyes got heavy and she became limp. Her father tosses her down and looks straight into his daughter’s tear filled eyes before running out. The police and paramedics come a few minutes after.

“Check for a pulse!” Soso hears a female voice say as a group of paramedics barge in. They swarm Soso and Liam’s mother. A police officer pull them both to the side, reassuring them that everything will be alright. He asks many questions, and they both answer honestly.

“Mister?” Liam pulls down on the policeman’s coat. “Will daddy come back for us?” Those words break Soso’s heart. She wishes she would have stopped time just to keep Liam from seeing what he saw.

“No, son, I can promise you that,” he replies.

Liam and Soso are sent to their grandparents, who decide it’s best to stay at the hospital, watching over their daughter. Days went by, soon a week. Soso can no longer sleep, and Liam doesn’t know what to think at such a young age. One night, as they attempt to nap in the waiting room, Grandma Ennis and Grandpa Ken are called into the hallway be the doctor. Soso stares out the window from her seat, watching as the doctor converses. Beside her, Liam’s fast asleep. Grandma Ennis turns to Grandpa Ken, holding him tight as her body jumps occasionally. Tears roll down Grandpa Ken’s face.

“No,” Soso bursts into tears, which she attempts to mute to keep Liam asleep. Then, the strangest thing happens. She notices Grandpa Ken smile, a genuine, joyful smile. Wait, what? Soso sniffles, wiping her eyes.

She stands up, approaching the door. She reaches for the knob and her mind went somewhere else as she gazes at the knob. Why didn't I open mama’s door? Why didn't I check on her? I just stood there! Turning the knob, she opens the door and immediately, her grandparents hold her tight, laughing and crying hysterically.

“She's awake! She's alright, So! She's awake!” Her grandmother exclaims. “We can see her now! Go wake up Liam!” Soso does just that, they run to their mother’s room and peeked in. Her eyes heavy, but open as her lips curl.

“My babies.”