I smell like pizza, Brynn thought to herself as she unlocked the door to the tiny home she shared with her mother and her mother's boyfriend. The house was, as usual, a mess. She decided to at least to the dishes before she went to bed. The dishes were piled high in the sink. All Brynn really wanted to do was sleep, but she couldn't put this off. And then there was her homework...

Her homework! Brynn groaned. She had completely forgotten about her history project due the next day. The clock in the hallway chimed twelve o'clock. How had work run so late? Brynn sighed as she walked into the living room to gather up any dishes that might be in there as well.

As always, her mom was passed out on the couch with a half-empty beer bottle in hand. An open bottle of slipping pills was sitting on the coffee table. As Brynn collected the dirty dishes and empty bottles that littered the floor, she wondered how many pills her mother had taken that night.

"She'll be fine," a groggy voice said from behind her, almost as though to read her mind. Brynn jumped before realizing it was just her mom's boyfriend, Craig, lounging in the recliner. His eyes were bloodshot and half closed, he smelled of booze. Even from a distance, Brynn could smell him. She slowly turned to face him as he continued. "Don't worry about Jane, Brynn. She's a big girl." He studied her for a moment. "Where have you been all night? You look beat."

"Work ran late." Brynn liked to keep her conversations with Craig as short and simple as possible. She straightened up and walked back into the kitchen. To her dismay, Craig rose from the recliner and followed her. Without acknowledging him, Brynn got to work on the dishes. As she reached for the dish soap, she caught a glimpse of something suspicious out of the corner of her eye. She brought her full attention to it to discover a syringe that obviously had been used.

"What's this?" Brynn demanded. She grabbed the dirty needle and held it up in front of Craig. "You promised that you wouldn't bring this trash around here anymore. You know what it does to my mom!" Craig casually took it from her and tossed it atop the overflowing garbage can. Brynn angrily shook her head and turned back to the dishes.

"Jane's a big girl," Craig repeated. "Don't worry so much. Brynn, in her fury, continued to ignore him. He inched his way closer until he was directly behind her. "Hey," Brynn shuddered as she felt his hot breath on her neck. "Calm down, Brynny-bear. I'm here to take care of your mom. And...you." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't call me Brynny-bear." She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Just leave me alone, she pleaded in her head. She brushed Craig's hand away, but he placed it on her waist instead.

"Aww, don't be like that. I'm just trying to be friendly." She wriggled her way away from Craig and the sink, and started walking toward her bedroom. "Where you going, sweetheart?" Craig caught her by the wrist and pulled her back.

"Let go of me!" Brynn pulled her wrist away, but Craig seized her shoulders and pushed her up against the wall. "Please stop," she sobbed. Tears ran down her cheeks as he pressed himself up against her.

"Relax Brynny-bear," he hissed. "I would never hurt a pretty thing like you." Craig's grip on Brynn's shoulders tightened as he closed his eyes and leaned his face toward hers. To Brynn's horror, he pressed his lips against hers and forced her mouth open with his tongue.

Somebody help me! she screamed in her mind. Out of panic, she bit down hard on Craig's tongue. He cried out in pain and let go of Brynn's shoulders. She gave him a violent shove, causing him to fall backwards, breaking a chair.

"What's going on?" Jane had appeared suddenly in the doorway. Dark circles were present beneath her bloodshot eyes. On top of her head lay a frazzled mass of dry, blond locks. With a body resembling a skeleton, Jane always seemed to be shaking.

"This girl's crazy, babe!" Craig yelled. "I was just telling her that she should cut back on her work hours--for hre own good--and she flipped out on me!"

"Mom, Brynn protested, "you can't believe that! He was try--"

"Go to bed." Jane pointed a bony finger in the direction of Brynn's bedroom.

"But Mom, I--"

"Just go, Brynn. I don't want to deal with this right now."

"You never want to deal with anything! You always take his side!" Brynn wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm the only one around here with a real job! Who cleans the house? Who pays the bills? Who has made the most sacrifices for this so-called 'family'?"

"Brynn," Jane adopted a fierce tone, "bed, now."

"Listen to your mother, Brynny-bear," Craig said with a serpent-like smile. "I'm willing to chalk tonight's behavior up to lack of sleep." He was still sprawled out on the floor, looking up at Brynn with piercing eyes. A chill ran down Brynn's spine as she angrily turned on her heel and walked into her room.