You Play My Heart Like Your Guitar

Seconds later she heard someone make their way to the door, when the door opened she saw a woman in her forties sporting a bruise on her cheek underneath her vibrant yet dull blue eyes.
“Are you the social worker?” The woman spat and Mina flinched,
“N-no are you Annalisa Stanford?”

“Yea...Who are you?” The woman said coldly, just then a little girl of about 5 bounded near her blonde hair in pigtails and the blue eyes opened wide. Mina couldn’t help but stare because the little girl was an exact replica of her.
“Who are you?” Her mother said even more defensively,
“Your...daughter” Mina held her breath while her mother’s eyes scrutinised her.

“That’s a load of crap you aren’t my daughter” Annalisa scoffed,
“No really, I…well here” Mina said quickly and gave her birth certificate to show her mother’s signature on the given for adoption form.
“Well, what are you doing here?” Mina’s mother spat after her eyes scanned the papers.

Mina flinched at the coldness in her mother’s voice but it was also the astounding shock that this woman knew that her daughter was standing right in front of her and she didn’t care.
“I-I-I wanted to meet you…” Mina stuttered, bewildered but her birth mother’s attitude and defensive posture.
“Well you met me” Annalisa said gruffly and made to slam the door in Mina’s face.

“Wait! Please! I-I just want to talk to you…please” Mina begged,
“No you have to leave!” Her mother said and Mina staggered back.
“Please! Annalisa just…just give me an hour” Mina knew she was begging but she really wanted to know her birth mother.

Mina heard a very exasperated sigh come out of Annalisa’s mouth,
“Only one hour…then you’re gone, you got it?”
“Yes thank you, just an hour…”Mina breathed a sigh of relief once she entered the house, but soon her breath halted…what in tarnation happened to this house?
This house had punch holes in the plaster; beer bottles on the floor…Mina counted about maybe 10 empty beer bottles scattered around. There was smashed glass on the other side of the room; their carpet was beige once but now looked black, this was not a good house.

Mina’s eyes took in Annalisa’s face and noticed the bruising on her cheek under her left eye, Mina winced…what is going on here?
“Feel free to sit” Annalisa said sarcastically but Mina sent her a smile and sat down thankfully.
“Thank you” Mina smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, she felt Annalisa’s eyes scrutinizing her.
“So why did you want to meet me?”
“Well…you’re my moth-”
“Only by birth but you aint my kid” Her mother said with a scowl while getting a cigarette out, Mina’s felt unwanted moisture fill her eyes.

“That’s true, I-I just wanted to know what you looked like…” Mina said cautiously, but her mother laughed at her.
“We both know that’s not why you came, now what do you want money? Sorry to say I got none” Annalisa said while chuckling while inhaling the poison from the cigarette.
“I wanted to know why you gave me away!” Mina was getting frustrated at this woman…how could this woman be her mother?
“Easy answer, I didn’t want you” Annalisa shrugged, Mina gapped at her…how can she say such a thing.

“Mommy!” a girlish squeal broke the tension and in bounded the replica of Mina as a child.
“Hush Leah!” Annalisa growled, but the little girl walked up to Mina.
“Who are you?” Leah tilted her head to the side, her long blonde pigtails brushing over her shoulder.
“I’m…your sister little darling” Mina grinned and heard Annalisa choke on her cigarette.

“Don’t tell her that!” Annalisa yelled but Leah and Mina didn’t care, Leah grabbed Mina on either side of her face with her adorable chubby hands,
“You my Sissi?” The little girl said in wonder and when Mina nodded the little girl jumped into Mina’s arms, it almost ripped Mina’s heart to pieces as she felt the little girl bury her face in the crook of her neck.

“You my Sissi, I have a Sissi!” The little girl mumbled enthusiastically, making Mina grinned and then she felt a tear escape her eyes, when she looked at Leah’s arm; her grin got wiped away, on Leah's arm was a bruise the shape of a large hand, the bruised was tinged with pink and yellow. This alarmed Mina like never before….someone was hurting her, but not only her sister but someone was hurting her mother as well.

“Annalisa, is someone hurting you both?” Mina looked up to see Annalisa’s face pale as marble.
“It’s none of your business!” Annalisa seethed.
“It is you’re my family!”
“You’re not my daughter!”
“There is a bruise on her arm the size of a man's hand!” Mina all but yelled,
“Get out!” Annalisa stood up, Mina did as well both not noticing that Leah was whimpering.
“No!”
“Get the hell out of my house!”
“Annalisa please I’m only trying to help” Mina said quietly,
“I don’t want your help! I don’t need it either!” Her mother pushed her making her stumble.
“Well, well, well…what have we got here ey?” Mina heard a masculine voice say and saw the sheer terror that washed on her mother’s face.

“L-L-Lukas” Her mother stuttered, Mina looked at Lukas, he was at least 6’5 blonde hair, mean grey eyes that almost looked black and he had a salacious smirk on his face that made her stomach churn.
“Who are you, you pretty thing?” Lukas made his way to her,
“My name is Emilia” She glared at him,
“Oh feisty, I like that want to have some fun pretty?” He ran a hand down her arm and she flinched away.

“Don’t touch me!” Mina said forcefully, her heart pounded in her chest, this guy was bad news…when she looked at him she realised, he’s the one who is hurting Leah and Annalisa.
“Naww, why? you look so touchable” He cooed and she felt repulsed as he almost pinned her to the wall.
“Lukas!” She heard authority in Annalisa’s voice; Lukas turned a murderous glared at Annalisa.
“Leave her alone! Emilia leave…NOW!” Annalisa growled and Mina saw an opening an darted to the front door all she saw was Leah’s frightened look and the way Lukas looked murderously at Annalisa.
When Mina made it outside, she ran down the road and that's when she knew; she had to get them out of there.