Safe Part 2

Chapter 45-1

Safe

Part 2

 

I turned my head seeing Shane opened the door and heard him tell them that I was awake. Dad opened the door soaking wet, covered in my blood and dirt and wet manure from head to toe. He sighed with relief as he came to my side and put me in his arms. Telling me I scared the crap out of him, but I am safe now. I cried in his arms telling him. “I will never be safe as long as my parents could find me. In a dream or in real life, somehow they will find me and kill me and my brother, and nobody would care.”

Dad said. “Let me worry about that. In the meantime let’s clean ourselves up because the three of us reeked something awful.” Dad laughed. “Your mothers going to be mad, because I doubt she’ll ever get the smell out or your blood out of our clothes, without burning them in the field. After that; you and Shane can go watch some TV.”

I nodded my head saying “we do smell bad.” Dad got up from the bed and telling Mom to call the Doctor in the morning and see if she can get me in, and for heaven sake's get me something that will knock me out cold or nobody will ever get any sleep and ask what to do about my night terrors, other than strap me down or put me in straight jacket every night.

Mom nodded holding her noses telling him to scrub himself real good or she’ll never sleep in a bed with him. Dad said. “So far he hasn’t even closed eyes long enough to call it sleep.” Striped down to his boxers and throwing his ruined PJs in the trash. Telling Shane “he gets the shower first, and no school for him tomorrow. Mom might need your help to take him to the doctor.” Shane nodded Mom threw Shane a towel and pointed to the garbage can demanding he either takes them off or she’ll cut them off before he takes another step.

Shane didn’t argue just took everything off added it to Dads. She said. “You can add your brothers as well. And don’t you dare get anywhere near that tub;” giving him a towel for him and towel for me to put around our waists. Went down the hall and opened the basement door and yelled. “Shawn, get up here right now, and bring Arthur with you, you boys got floors to scrub and two bathrooms to clean before breakfast and before you go to school.”

Shawn yelled. “What the hell Mom, its three o’clock in the morning.”

Dad yelled. “Do it boy, unless you want me to tan your backside again.”

Shane and I waited until Dad was done taking a seat in the kitchen. Mom told us not to move setting my soiled sheets over our chairs before she allowed us to sit. Mom pinched her nose and quickly set our foul smelling wet clothes outside the back door and the rest my wet bedding. Shawn gasped seeing the carpet with black dirty footprints and blood smeared with clumps of mud as well as ground in dirt and straw and worst of all wet horse manure. From the back door all through the dining room and clear down the hall into my room. Yelling, “What the hell did you do mule boy that caused this mess?”

Dad opened the door with a towel around his waist and took it off and twirled it into a rat’s tail and snaps it real hard against Shawn’s butt. Shawn screamed feeling the welt, turned around and Dad slapped his face, grabbed his hair making him kneel and rubbed his face into the carpet into a small pile of wet manure yelling. “You are grounded for two months and just earned all of Eric’s and Arthur’s chores. Do it again. I’ll make it three, and add Shane’s chores as well.” It happened so fast, I barely had time to crawl under the table. Before Dad snapped the towel again across Shawn’s butt.

I knew it stung considering boxers are made with thin material; he might as well have worn nothing at all. Dad was mad, naked and very angry as he bent down and grabbed me by the ankles and pulled me out from under the table, lifted me high in the air ripping the towel from my waist. While I screamed in terror having me placed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and spanked my bare butt yelling. “If you hide from me again, I’ll spank you until you can’t sit down for a month. Now sit down until you can calm yourself.” Then sniffed the air “damn you boys stink,” went back into the bathroom and finished his shower.

There was nothing I could do, but cry as Mom laid me against her shoulders until I had no more tears left; replacing the fallen towel around my waist.

Shawn growled. “Mule boy scrub” kicking the bucket of hot soapy water over in front of Arthur’s feet. He didn’t see Dad enter the dining room; dressed and ready for work; Dad grabbed Shawn by the waist, turned him over his knee and yanked his boxers off down to his ankles and tanned his hide; right there. When he was done he laid him on the floor pined him down on his stomach so he couldn’t move. Told Arthur to go back to bed, his services are no longer required, and took a handful of manure and mud and smeared it all over Shawn’s face and his back rolled him over and did the same to his chest and slicked his hair with it.

Stood him up spanked him again, kicking his boxers to the side. Put him over his shoulders opened the girl’s room; yelled. “Take “Mule boy” and scrub him down in the tub; like the fifthly animal he is and if you don’t, I’ll be scrubbing you… Mule boy, you are now grounded for three months and earned Shane’s chores as well. Say it again and it’s the hot box. And you will be grounded for six months instead of three,” and left him in the girl's room slamming the door behind him yelled. “Eric, you better not be underneath that table or I will tan your hide. Damn it to hell I am covered in s**t again.”

I shook with fear, but I didn’t move one inch off that chair when Dad came back throwing his clothes into the laundry room and opened the door and peeled out of the driveway like a mad man without breakfast, without family prayer. Not even his lunch box as it sat on the counter.

Mom didn’t move as Shane held her in his arms shaking just as bad as I was letting her cry against him. It was almost five-thirty before I and Shane took our shower. The house stunk really, really bad; Mom argued with Shane what to do. Should she bring Arthur up and help Shawn or keep them both home to clean up this mess and risk angering Dad more? Shane shook his head said. “Mom, what Dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” I’ll just go to the store after breakfast and rent a carpet cleaner. Since me and Eric will be home anyway like we have done when Dad spent a week at the hospital. It will be our little secret. Besides you keep Arthur and Shawn home and he calls the schools and finds out you did it without his permission, he’ll take it out on all of us.”

No one spoke to Shawn as he ran naked through the dining room in tears and embarrassed having both his sister’s bathe him. With the same coarse brush, Mom once used on me and Arthur, while he quickly ran down the basement to cry alone and get ready for school. Instead, Mom and I set the table and I helped her prepare breakfast even though I was running a slight fever from standing out in the storm for nearly two hours in nothing but my boxers. Having no sleep for four days just add to it.

We did it to give Kerry and Jody time enough to bathe Jared and Jason, stopping long enough to clean and disinfect the tub first; and getting them ready for breakfast and school which left Shane to make sure that Arthur was showered and ready for school and have a quick breakfast. Plus to make sure he caught the bus on time, having to walk him to the bus stop at the end of our street. Making sure he got on, which was Shawn’s job and would be mine when I am able to go to school.

Shawn went without breakfast and didn’t come up until it was time for them all to leave. Leaving me and Mom too do the dishes and clear the table on our own because we were all running late. Mom told me I didn’t have to help her and preferred that I took a nap on the family room couch, but I declined to say it was my fault for causing this mess in the first place.

Mom disagreed, feeling my forehead and cheeks and checked my temperature stating it was 101 and climbing. Writing it down in the log book to keep track of when it spiked and what caused it. Just like the Doctor at the hospital told her to do, in case I needed to come back in. Or he would call child services, telling them that she and Dad are bad parents. And if that happened they would not just lose me and Arthur, but all her children and could sever time in jail for child endangerment.

I told Mom that after the dishes were done she could stick me in the tub and cool me. Taking a gamble that she wouldn’t try to drown me again being all alone in the house; too her, it was a big deal as she hugged me and agreed to let me help. Saying afterward she wanted me to take a nap. But the conversation ended when the phone rang. Letting her know that my private teacher would arrive to evaluate me where I stood regarding what class I would need in the following months.

Mom repeated “nine o’clock” looking at filthy smelly carpets and panicked, because it was 7: 30 now and she still needed to call the doctor to see if she could get me in before Dad comes home and house needed to be clean and dinner needed to be done. “No, I’m still here.” Mom asking; “how long will take to evaluate him?”

Restating; “3 or four hours? No. I understand. But Eric can’t do it today or even tomorrow,” he has been quite ill and we are having to take him to the doctors today providing we can. Why? He suffering from severe night terrors and hasn’t slept for nearly week…. that’s right a week? No. I understand that he’s only been home since Friday, but they haven’t given him anything for them or to help him sleep.”

Mom paced a back and forth watching the clock arguing over the phone said. “Fine, I’ll do that and it will be your fault for pushing him not mine, but if I have too, I’ll end the session and you can just come back when the doctor says you can. Yes, I will make damn sure I get a note stating it.” Mom growled. “Goodbye” and slammed down the phone. Cussing and telling me. “We’ll just finish the dishes later. I don’t have the time to bathe you in the tub, and Shane’s not here to do it. So I am trusting you that you can shower on your own, considering we're just cooling you. I want you to sit in there on the shower floor until Shane gets back so I don’t have to worry about you falling due to your fever.”

I told her she could trust me, that Shane lets me do most of it on my own anyhow. Mom hugged my shoulders and handed me clean towels and told me to leave the door open. I nodded and let her help me off with my boxers and removed the bandages off my back. I did what I was told and turned on the shower and sat on the floor letting the water cool me. She only checked on me twice, making sure I washed my hair, and so she could wash my back where I couldn’t reach. Without causing me pain and letting me rinse myself off. She told me to sit on the floor letting the water cool me. It felt so good I fell asleep leaning against the shower wall. I hadn’t noticed I had until Shane turned off the water shaking me awake. Telling me we needed to hurry before my teacher got here.

By the time he arrived at the front door Mom and Shane had just placed a small table in the living room with lots of pencils and paper and four new notebooks. I was dressed in a clean pair of shorts and clean white socks. Mom opened the door scowling at him stating that he had until 11 o’clock no longer telling him my appointment was set at 11: 30. He nodded his head and his face wrinkled smelling the bad odor. That almost brought tears to his eyes because it stunk so bad. Mom left the door opened for some fresh air and both the living room windows said. “Deal with it or come back?”

He sat down looking at my back and all my new injuries asking me how it happened. I said skateboard accident and night terrors. I knew he didn’t believe me, but he was not in my circle of trust. It was his fault not giving Mom time to put clean bandages on me so instead she put a towel around my shoulders; Mom stating again 11 o’ clock and leaned down and kissed my cheek. Shane turned on the carpet cleaner and went to work cleaning up my mess one more time. Mom came in with a plate of cookies and fresh lemonade. He didn’t stay long, the smell and the noise was too much for him. Stating it would best to do it at a more convenient time, leaving his card to have her call him when she and I were ready. Mom slammed the door the second he left the sidewalk yelled: “I told you that when you called.”