Page 1 of Rescuing Mary

Prologue

25 Years Ago, Age 5

* * *

“You listen to me, Mary, and listen good. Men are dogs. Good-for-nothing, low-down, rotten liars. All they want is to get in your pants. No matter what they say, they’re incapable of love. You hear me?”

Mary didn’t know why a boy would want to wear a girl’s pants, but she knew better than to disagree with Mama so she said obediently, “Yes, Mama.”

“And if they say they want to help you, what do you do?”

“Don’t believe them.”

“Right. Why?”

“Because they always have an ulteer motive.” Mary had no idea what that meant. She’d asked once and Mama had started yelling at her and telling her not to question her atority. Whatever that meant. So now she knew to simply answer the questions as she’d been taught.

“Right. They always have an ulterior motive. They never do nothing for free. Remember that. And when they say they love you, what do you do?”

“Nod and agree. Take what they’re willin’ to give until they leave.”

“Exactly. If you gotta open your legs to get what you want in this life, you do it. Money, drugs, a place to live…it don’t matter what it is…but never get attached. Hear me?”

Mary nodded immediately. She was confused once more, but kept her mouth shut. She didn’t know why opening her legs would make a boy give her money, but she knew better than to ask.

Her mom sat back on the couch and gulped down the clear liquid in the glass she’d been holding.

Mary bit her little lip and studied her mama. She was wearing the same clothes she’d had on the day before, and the day before that. She kinda smelled and didn’t seem to notice that she hadn’t eaten in a day and a half…or that she hadn’t fed her little girl in the same amount of time. She’d been drinking the clear, nasty-smelling stuff for two days. And Mary hadn’t seen Uncle Brad in two days either.

Mary wasn’t an idiot. She knew Uncle Brad wasn’t really her uncle, but since Mama asked her to call him that, she did. Brad was actually one of the nicer men who had stayed with them. He didn’t hit, and sometimes he even smiled at her. Alan had hit Mama and made her cry. Harry had sat on the couch and drank the clear liquid all the time. And… Mary couldn’t remember the name of the man before Harry, but he’d had a huge belly and burped and farted all the time. It was gross.

“Mama’s tired now,” her mama said. “Go to your room and play, okay?”

Mary nodded. She was tired of being in her room and she was hungry, but she agreed anyway. Mama was being kinda nice at the moment and she didn’t want to do anything that would make that change.

Maybe Mama would remember to cook dinner tonight. Last night, she drank the clear liquid until she fell asleep on the couch, and Mary was afraid to go into the kitchen to try to find something to eat.

* * *

21 Years Ago, Age 9

* * *

“Get out!”

“Fuck you!”

“You already did. Now get out!”

“You weren’t even that good. Newsflash, bitch, men don’t like it when you scrape their cocks with your teeth!”

Mary heard her mama arguing with Uncle Ron and immediately slid off her thin mattress onto the floor and got under her bed. She put her hands over her ears, but could still hear them yelling at each other.

“You’re nothing but white trash!” Uncle Ron yelled, then Mary heard glass breaking.

“That’s better than being a stingy asshole!” Mama yelled back.

“Stingy? I’ve done nothing but give you money since I moved in,” Uncle Ron replied. “I bought you booze. I bought groceries every week so you could fucking eat. You haven’t even once said thank you. Not once. I even paid attention to your brat, which is more than you ever do.”