Chapter 7

When Jane woke up, she saw from her phone that it was already 2.30 and she felt hungry. She had not eaten since the night before, so now her stomach was growling and rumbling, letting her know that she needed food. As she stretched and yawned, she realized that she had gone to bed naked which was not something that she normally did. That realization brought back vague memories of the strange dream she had had, and she felt disturbed by how she had reacted, by how she had actually masturbated while remembering the dream.

“God damn you mom,” she thought to herself. “You managed to get under my skin even when I was asleep with that crap of your life as a whore slut. Well, I’m not letting you get off so easy.” Jane felt the old anger welling up inside herself as she looked in a drawer for a T-shirt and shorts.

When she had dressed, she unlocked her bedroom door and stepped out into the living room. She saw that her mother was already awake and preparing some food in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the kitchen and smelled what her mother was making. The smell was pork adobo cooking along with steamed rice.

Jane could feel the saliva in her mouth telling her that she wanted some of what she could smell.

“Oh, Jane. You’re awake. Do you want to eat? I made your favorite adobo, baby.”

Being called ‘baby’ had begun to annoy Jane over the last year or so, and now it was the last word that she needed to hear.

“I have told you many times, don’t call me baby,” she snapped. “And don’t think you can make me forget what you are by making me adobo to eat. You’re still the same slut and bitch whore that you were last night,” Jane’s eyes blazed with anger.

“I ... I’m sorry, b ... Jane,” stammered Cherry. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to make you your favorite meal.”

“You didn’t mean to upset me?” Jane’s voice rose as she repeated what Cherry had just said. “Upset me? How do you think I would feel after I discovered that my mother is a whore, a bitch, a slut, who fucks men for money and who enjoys it when they humiliate and degrade her? A woman who has no pride and no shame, who will allow men to treat her like dirt, worth less than a piece of dogshit on the street? And you don’t think I would be upset when I found out the truth about my whore of a mother?” Jane’s voice had become a scream again as she accused Cherry of having no shame in telling her how she had become a worthless slut.

“Please forgive me. I don’t want you to be upset, and I don’t want you to leave me. I’m begging you, please, please,” Cherry was close to tears as she tried to make Jane forgive her.

“How can I forgive you after what you told me you have become? How am I supposed to continue living with you knowing that every weekend you will come home after having been fucked by some strange man? How am I supposed to live with the knowledge that my mother is a cheap whore?” Jane’s accusations flew out of her mouth one after another, and they all wounded Cherry deeply.

“But ... but ... if I don’t go with men, we can’t continue to live here because they are the ones who allow me to pay the rent. I told you that I pay 20,000 pesos a month and then there are all the other expenses. And don’t forget your university fees. Do you want to stop studying and have to take a job in some shop because you will not be able to graduate if your fees are not paid?” Cherry had made a point that Jane had not considered.