Maria: Oh yuck!

Sean's fumbling has lead to an explosion of cereal everywhere: on the floor, on the counter, on the table, and on Maria. Sean approaches Maria, looking as if he wants to help clean her off.

Sean: Stop moving!

Instead of helping her, he is trying to sweep enough cereal from her back into his bowl. When he has completed this task, he simply walks over to the refrigerator, removes the milk, and takes a swig straight from the carton before pouring some into his bowl. As expected, milk spills out onto the floor, but this doesn't faze Sean, nor does the risk of spoiled milk as he leaves the open carton of milk sitting on the counter. He crunches cereal under his shoes as he steps to a chair. Sweeping the flakes off the seat, he sits and starts chomping sloppily on cereal while reading the funny pages.

Maria, standing in disbelief, has been uncharacteristically dumbfounded by his actions, but that silence is short lived.

Maria: How... How could you! Sean, you had better start cleaning all this shit up!

Sean: Chill. I'm trying to have breakfast. Aunt Amy will take care of it later.

Maria: (screaming) You have been taking advantage of me and my mom long enough!

Sean: Let's see, I've been here what, two weeks, and you stayed with my mom, what, 5 years? What kind of gratitude is that?

That stung Maria! Sean knew exactly where his words would hurt most. When Amy DeLuca had Maria at age sixteen, she truly tried to be a good mother. However, a 16-year-old teenager is in no way capable of that, especially one without a husband to rely upon. Soon after Maria's first birthday, Amy DeLuca made a decision she would regret, maybe not forever, but for a long time: she left Maria. But Amy was not without responsibility, she left Maria with her older sister, Sean's mother, along with all the spare money she had.

Maria couldn't say anything bad about Theresa DeLuca. She was sort of a mother to her. Maria was 6 years old before her real mother had returned, done with her adolescent excursions. Maria, even at that age, knew that Amy was her true mother, but still, after 5 years of caring, it hurt Maria to leave Theresa behind. She loved her aunt, but leave it to Sean to use that as ammunition against her.

Maria: I love your mom more than you probably do.

Sean: You don't know that or me at all. Now just shut your trap like a good little girl.

Maria: Fuck you Sean! Fuck your always making a mess! Fuck your always making us watch your wrestling crap on TV! Fuck your self-righteous attitude towards my family.

Sean takes notice of Maria's tirade. Maria isn't sure if that is a good or a bad thing, but she needed to vent her frustrations. Sean stops eating and stands, right in Maria's face. Given his height and size advantage, he easily intimidates Maria, who again is silent, terrified of what Sean could do to her. She can see the anger and resentment on his face.

Sean: You have always had the good life. When we were kids and I wanted something, it was always, 'no, we need to buy more stuff for little Maria.' It was always Maria, Maria, fucking Maria.

Sean is fuming now, explosive.

Sean: I know you love my mother. I know because you took her from me.

Sean can't hold his anger anymore. He violently shoves Maria who comes crashing onto the floor and into the stove. Maria lies on the floor like all the pieces of cereal. She can feel a warm liquid flow down from her right elbow and a throbbing burn in her upper back. Oh, how they will ache, but she doesn't want to show any weakness. Maria holds her composure in front of Sean's rage, using all her strength.

Sean: (yelling) No! Fuck you Maria! It's your mother who ran away! Why is it me who was abandoned?!

Sean storms out of the kitchen, stomping his shoes all the way out the door. With a slam of the front door, the storm is over. Maria, finally coming out of shock, begins to shake. She starts to rub her elbow, trying to take away the pain, but it does nothing since the pain isn't in her joint. Although she tries, she can't stop the hurt, which starts in her chest, it spreads all over, into her neck, her belly, her pelvis, her arms and legs. Her composure is fractured and her soft sobs erupt into a desperate surge of tears.