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Evil People - Set It Off

Age 6

“Riley!” My mom screams my name from outside the bathroom. I simply continue to kick my feet in the bath water.

“Unlock this door, or I swear to god I’ll beat your ass black and blue.”

I uncap the soap and lather some bubbles on. I burned my fingers a little when I was burning Noel’s clothes. Noel is my mom’s current fling.

My fingers clench. I should have burned him . Watched the skin blister off his face from up close. I can’t remember why I hate him so much, but I know he’s done something.

The door rattles, and I pull in a deep breath. I know what the punishment is. Mom will hurt me for what I did.

On the other side of the door, Mom goes completely silent. I wait patiently, and then I hear her messing with the door handle, and the lock pops open.

Mom rages into the bathroom. She spots me and lunges at me. “You need to learn, Riley.” Her hands grip into my hair and around my shoulder. Before I realize what she’s doing, she shoves me forward into the bath water.

Warm water surrounds my head, and I scramble. I try to get out, but the tub is slippery, and Mom’s grip is iron. My heart pounds. Mom’s fingers rip little pieces of my hair out, and my lungs start to burn.

Mom yanks me back up. She’s screaming something at me, but I’m just trying to suck in another breath. When I feel like I can breathe again, Mom’s voice comes through. “Do you understand?”

I laugh, but I don’t mean it. “Yeah.”

Wrong answer. Mom shoves me back down. This time, she holds me for longer. I try not to feel anything. Fear, anger, nothing. If I feel nothing, then I’m safe. She can touch me, but she can’t touch me .

When Mom lets me back up and sees my lack of response, it makes her go crazy. She screams in my face, calling me a psychopath and saying she’s going to call the cops on me.

I close my eyes. I’m getting pretty good at blocking out emotions. Noel and the others give me plenty of practice.

Finally, my mom storms out of the room to “call the cops,” she said.

I lean back in the tub and pull in a deep breath.

Fire is most definitely better than water. Maybe I’ll burn my mom next.