Family Affairs Chapter 10

“So what do we do when he gets back?” Steven while he sat on the floor near the bathroom door.

“Nothing. There is no way out of here.” Carry said. He sat with Tyler on the cot across the room.

“The way I’ve figured it, is we act like good little boys until he has everyone. He can’t keep us in here forever and live undetected. If he gets a hold of Carry’s mom, he’s going to want her in the same room with him. Which means he’ll train Brutus not to attack her. Once he does that, it’s our ticket out of here.” Tyler explained. He had given up on trying to pick the lock some time ago.

“So your plan is to play Leave it to Beaver, sons until he decides to give us house privileges? I don’t think so.” Steven paced the room. “Why don’t we rush him when he comes back? He has to open that door sometime.”

Tyler stood up and shoved Steven against the wall. “He’s going to have Leah with him. She will not be put in danger. I’ll be damned if I’m ever going to put her in a situation where she might get hurt.”

Steven shoved Tyler away from him. “Wake up! This is a dangerous situation. How do you know he won’t molest her or something? He’s never had a girl around him. He’s a sick bastard. Huh? How do you know he won’t touch her?”

Carry’s eyes widened at the thought of what he might do.

Tyler swung at Steven and hit him square in the cheekbone. “Don’t you ever talk about Leah. I won’t let him touch her. I can protect her.”

“Enough!” Carry stepped between the boys. “This isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Carry watched as Tyler sat back down on the cot and put his head in his hands and Steven sat back down near the bathroom door. “We don’t know anything about Leah. She could have a health condition that may prevent her from running with us. Now you don’t propose we let her be a distraction for Brutus do you Steven? I didn’t think so. So let’s just cool off and see what happens. Right now let’s just sit tight and let this run its course.”

Steven could understand their views, but he wanted out of here fast. He had already been shot and had seen the boys get one hell of a beating. He didn’t want to see anymore of this.

“You want a sandwich?” Tyler asked, offering one to Steven.

“No thanks. I’m allergic to peanuts.” Steven replied.

“Look, we know this is hard for you.” Tyler spoke as he went into the closet and started reaching near the ventilation shaft. When he pulled his hand down it had two Hershey’s bars in it. “It’s something you just have to get used to. Here.” He handed Steven the chocolate bars.

“Thanks.” Steven said. He held onto the bars, but didn’t eat them yet.

“He let you get chocolate?” Carry asked.

“Hell no. They were in my backpack when he took me. The first chance I got I hid them where I knew he wouldn’t look. They may be a little melted, but they’ll have to do.”

Steven opened one up and began eating it. “They’re fine. Either of you two want one?” Steven offered.

“No. Keep them. The only thing we may have for a while is peanut butter and jelly.” Tyler sat down for a few minutes, but then abruptly stood up.

“What is it?” Carry asked.

“Shh… Listen. That’s Brutus. He’s back with Leah.”

“So what do we do?” Steven asked.

“Sit down. Hide the chocolate.” Tyler instructed.

Steven slid the chocolate bars underneath the cot and shoved the wrappers in his pockets. They could hear Brutus barking. They listened to Robert’s familiar thudding footsteps and light ones that they assumed to be Leah’s. All eyes were on the door when Robert opened it.

When Tyler saw his sister being shoved he wanted so much to kill Robert, but he didn’t budge.

“This is your new little friend. Get any ideas and it’ll be her brains that get splattered all over the wall.” Robert shoved her in and shut the door behind him.

Tyler ran to help his sister. He undid her hands. He could see the rope burns from where she had tried to pry her wrists loose. They hugged each other without saying a word. “Are you okay?” Tyler finally asked.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Look at you. You look like you got hit with a Mack truck.” Leah said.

They stood up and he introduced Leah to the boys. “This is my brother Carry, and that’s our friend Steven. Guys, this is my sister Leah.”

Carry got up and shook her hand. It was like an impromptu family reunion.

Steven felt out of place as he watched them. He looked Leah up and down. She was pretty a little petite, but she had a glow about her. Her eyes shone with a naivety that would trust anyone. He also noticed the small gold diamond ring on her left hand. Married? No, maybe engaged. She didn’t have a wedding band. She was only what seventeen? Still there was something about her that screamed ‘I need to be careful.’ Did she have an ailment? Heart problems maybe. No… What was it? Then he noticed how she stood with her hands over her stomach. Could she really be pregnant? Maybe only a few months along. She still didn’t show it. He decided not to say anything, only ask questions.

“Are you married?” Steven asked. “Not meaning to pry.”

She smiled at him. Her smile was so warm. “Engaged…” She smiled again. This one the unmistakable smile of a mother to be. “And expecting.”

“Leah, you’re pregnant? How far along?” Tyler instantly looked more protective than a lion.

“About five months. I know I don’t show it much, but the doctor said it’s because of my tiny build. He said that had I eaten appropriately when I was a child I wouldn’t be so small now.”

Steven got lost in the moment and for a short time it was as if they were in someone’s living room talking to pass the time until dinner.

“Are you two identical or fraternal twins?”

“Fraternal. We used to look more similar, but the way we were treated when we were younger made us look so different.” Leah said.

“What do you mean?” Steven asked.

“Dad was real hard on us. We were his first two kids. He wanted me to be built and strong so I worked the fields. Dawn till dusk. Got fed enough to keep me alive and build some muscles. He wanted Leah to be dainty and lady-like, so he fed her very little. Soon her stomach adapted and she rarely ate. It stunted her growth. She could have grown as tall as me.” Tyler explained.

“Had I eaten more, I wouldn’t be so thin. I’m usually thinner than this. People who know me can tell that I’m pregnant, but strangers who see me, see a normal size girl. Five four isn’t exactly short for girls, but he’s right. I should have been taller.” Leah continued.

“So he wasn’t physically abusive to you? Never mind. I’m prying.” Steven said. He felt stupid for asking so many personal questions, but he wanted to understand this man, the entire family.

“Don’t worry. It’s not prying at all. He was physically abusive; he just wasn’t as bad with us. Our mom kept close watch over Leah.” Tyler said.

“Tyler kept close watch over me as well. I only recall ever getting hit once.” Leah explained.

“What about you Carry. You ain’t saying much.” Tyler said.

Carry grew red in the face. “I don’t feel like talking.”

“Why not?” Leah asked.

Carry looked at her. He felt he could confide in her, but his secrets were his to keep. He vowed he’d never tell a soul. “What he did to me is what he did to me. No one needs to know what happened. It isn’t any different from any other story.” When he looked in Leah’s eyes it was as if she could see into his soul.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk. But we’re here if you need us.” When Carry looked at her, he knew that she knew what he wasn’t saying.

How did she know? Could Steven and Tyler know? He didn’t want anyone to know. It was in the past now. It was time to forget. But he couldn’t forget. He suddenly couldn’t fight the urge to retch and ran to the bathroom to vomit.

Tyler and Steven started to go to the bathroom to check on him, but Leah stopped them. “Let me talk to him.”

The boys looked at each other and sat back down. They watched as Leah disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Tyler asked.

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, if he confides in anyone he’ll confide in her.” Steven replied.

“Why do you say that?”

“Look at her. There’s just something about her. A glow. A spark. Something that just screams trust me. She looks so naïve. When she looks into your eyes it’s as if…”

“As if she could see into your soul? She’s always looked like that. For as long as I can remember I knew she was special. She was miss nurse. She always wanted to help people. I remember a time when we were in first grade. These high school kids were picking on this second grader. No matter how hard I tried to convince her not to go, she just walked up to that guy, looked in his eyes and said, ‘You shouldn’t pick on people. It’s not nice.’ This guy could have pummeled her until she was mush. She didn’t care. You know what the scary thing was though? The guy walked away and left the kid alone. A second grader making a high school kid back down. It’s unheard of.”

“I don’t know how you did it. I’m going nuts right now. I can’t stand this waiting. I just want to do something.”

“I know. You think that Carry and I don’t feel that need, but we do. We just learned to control it. It’s hard. But after so long, you just get used to it.”

“How do you get used to something like that?”

“I guess that’s the wrong word for it. You never get used to it. The pain fades over time. Eventually he’ll hit harder when he realizes that it doesn’t hurt anymore. I had the hardest time adjusting to my foster homes. All I knew was violence and yelling. The only people I ever really connected with were Leah and Carry. I couldn’t adjust to a normal life, like yours. The foster parents cared about me. I just couldn’t adjust to the freedom. At first it was too much and I ran wild. Then they cracked down on me and we fought. I could stand up to someone for the first time and not get a lashing with a belt. I moved to several homes. Then I was with my last two families. I loved living there. I’m starting to adjust but it’s hard. I’m sure this is going to be a setback to adjusting.”

“I guess I take a lot of what I’m able to do for granted. I mean, my dad’s an okay guy. He doesn’t hit me. Never has. I always looked up to him. Kind of like how Carry looks up to you.”

“It’s not so much looking up to me as it’s a mutual respect. We take care of each other. He’s never confided everything in me.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was younger I got sent away for a while. Dad must have done something terrible to him. He was never the same.”

“Never the same?”

“Before I left he was full of light. It’s not something that rules your life, unless you let it. Two weeks later when I came back, he was quieter. He preferred to be with me. He never wanted to be alone. He must have been beaten something fierce. He made me promise never to get sent away again.”