Ruby
ten years ago...
A pool of ketchup floods the chicken.
Mother takes the sauce-dripping piece of chicken and tucks it in her mouth. I swallow hard as I watch her chew but my mouth is dry. There's no more saliva.
I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. I'm craving chicken. I'm craving food. Any kind of food. I'm craving water. Any kind of water. Even dirty water.
A pang of envy clutches at me when Father throws a huge piece of chicken to the dog. A black pit bull. Lucky dog. Watching him eat when I'm starving makes me despise dogs even more. Dogs are supposed to protect people but he does nothing to protect us. All he does is eat and shìt and kiss Father's àss. Dogs are useless. I prefer cats.
I turn to look at my sister, Hope, tears spilling down her cheeks. I squeeze her hand. But she doesn't
