Chapter 7

Back in the house,

Iris was busy watching a cartoon on her tab when Mia came in.

"Iris, please can you help me do my homework?"

"Nope, as you can see, I'm busy.Besides, you're already seven, right ?So you're old enough to do your homework yourself."

" Are you so busy that you can't help your sister with her homework?"Mia said pouting her lips.

" Ugh ........just go meet Dad. I'm sure he'll help you."

" I can't go alone; come with me please."

"He's your dad Mia, you're not supposed to be afraid of him."

"I don't know why, but ever since Aunt Pamela came, Daddy has been acting weird."

" What do you mean weird."

" Daddy doesn't reply to my greetings, and the last time I asked him to do my homework, he shouted at me and told me to leave his room and never come back. He also had that alcoholic smell."

" He's drinking again."Iris sighed.

"Don't you think we should tell Mum?"

" No, don't tell her; we're the only one who knows about it, so if any word goes out, you're responsible and besides,I think she already knows he drinks."

"But why? I still think Mum should know."Mia replied, confused about Iris's decision.

"Mummy will be sad if she finds out and it can cause a fight between them."

"So will you help me with my homework ?"

"No, but I'll go with you to meet Dad; I'm sure he won't say no to the two of us."

On their way to Cisco's room, they heard muffled sounds and hushed voices, like someone talking in a low tone.

Iris mentioned for Mia to stay quiet and tried to listen to whoever was talking. They tiptoed and leaned on the door, trying to grasp the sound coming from the room.

" Who's dad talking to?" Mia said in a whisper.

" I don't know, stay quiet let me listen."

Mia tried to wiggle her way to place her ear on the doorknob."No, I want to hear what he's saying; get out of the way." Mia whispered.

"Stop, Mia, he might hear us, and please hold on to your books tightly, don't let them ..."She couldn't finish her statement when the books fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Cisco heard the sound, he put down the bottle of alcohol and quickly hung up the call, afraid that someone might have heard his conversation.

The two girls took to their heels, ran to their mother's room and locked the door since that was the only safe place for them. They knew their father could not just barge into their mom's room unless he wanted something.

The girls were already panting when they got inside the room.

"We're lucky he didn't see us."Mai said trying to catch her breath.

" Yeah, we are."Iris smiled, but her smile faded when she realized they left Mia's books on the floor right in front of his door.

"Umm ...Mia?"

"Yes ? "

"Your books..." Iris was already looking worried.

" Oh No!...my books, I left them on the floor right in front of his door."

" We're so dead, now he's gonna know that we were eavesdropping on him."

" What should we do?Should we hide?"Mia said, her eyes watering.

" Hide quick!"

They couldn't even find a place to hide; they kept turning in circles. Soon, they heard heavy footsteps approaching and then a loud bang on the door.

"Open this door right now!"Cisco shouted, he was already boiling in anger and quite drunk.

The room went quiet; they both stared at each other. Mia was already shaking in fear.

"Quick act normal like nothing happened while I'll open the door."Iris whispered.

Mia quickly acted like she was brushing her hair and Iris took a deep breath and walked to the door. Her heart was racing, she slowly reached for the door handle while Cisco kept banging on the door.

A voice told her not to open the door while another told her to open it. She drew another deep breath, and as she was about to open the door when Cisco stopped knocking. And his footsteps grew faint which only meant he left.

Iris heaved a sigh of relief and walked back to Mia.

"He's gone, let's just hope mum comes back soon "

A few minutes passed, and they heard a clicking sound. They shifted their gaze to the door as fear gripped their hearts.

They saw the door knob twist and another click.

When Cisco saw that the children wouldn't bulge, he went to get the spare keys. His face was already burning red, and his fistd were already itching to punch something.

As soon as the door was unlocked, he pushed the door open and marched towards Mia, who quickly hid behind her sister. The alcohol smell that filled the room almost made the girls puke. He looked like he was quite drunk with the way he was wobbling.

Cisco grabbed Mia by the neck and choked her."How dare you keep me waiting and what the hell were you doing in front of my room!"

"Dad, please let her go; you're hurting her".Iris screamed, trying to pull his strong hands away from her sister's neck.

Mia choked.

Cisco lifted her up from the bed still grabbing her by her neck, choking the little girl. Iris quickly grabbed a stool and put it under her legs to support her so she wouldn't choke to death.

"Tell me the truth, Did your mother ask you to spy on me, huh?Did she?"

"No...Dad please, she didn't; stop what you're doing She can't breathe." Iris was already crying.

"I'll scream if you won't stop."

"Scream for all I care."he retorted.

The two girls started crying, their voices were sharp and very loud. He knew that it could attract neighbours, so he let her go. He threw her roughly on the bed, and then stomped out of the room.

At first, Cisco didn't feel bad about what he did to his Seven-year-old daughter, but later, when he was sober, he felt guilty.

Mia was in great pain; her neck was bright red, and she was crying hard.

"It's okay, Mia, stop crying; I never knew daddy was this heartless. I don't know why he hates us; I'm going to tell Mum about this and what I heard him say to whoever he was talking to on the phone."

Mia rested her head on Iris's lap, and Iris helped her massage her neck.

"Iris what did dad say?"Mia asked.

"He said he has Mum wrapped around his fingers. He said his plan was working, and that Mum was falling for it, and it was only a matter of time before he got what he came for. "She cleared her stuffed nose before she continued speaking." He said Aunt Pamela is acting according to plan, and he said something about money, but I couldn't get that when your books fell."

"We will have to tell Mum about this."Mia said.

"Yeah, I will when she comes back."

Suddenly, the door flung open; it was Nora standing at the door rubbing her eyes. Looks like she just woke up from sleep.

"Iris, Mia, what happened? I heard noises, and why are you crying?"

"Come here, Nora, and close the door behind you." Nora did as she was told and went to sit on the bed with her sisters and then joined them in crying.

Iris didn't know how she was going to explain to her little sister Nora. She didn't even understand the situation herself, but there was one thing she knew for sure. Something was wrong with her family; her dad was about to tear their once-happy family apart.