NSWF Advisory: Moderate Language, Implicit Spousal Abuse
Earth, 1988
The door slammed shut with such force that the painting on the wall fell to the ground. “This isn’t the end you bitch!”
A small blonde-haired girl peeked out from her room to look down the dim staircase. The landing was pristine, she’d cleaned it earlier this morning. Filling up the landing was a broad-shouldered man who stared through the skinny window beside the door. She heard the grunts, sputters and clanks the blue cruiser made every-time it started.
“BUG!”
Gulp. She stepped out of the bedroom, licking her lips as she glanced back at the bunk-bed before closing the door.
“BUG!” He had turned around now, dark brown eyes tracing up to her silhouette at the top of the stairs.
“Yes daddy?”
“Let’s make some pizza.”
-----
Later that night Elizabeth was tucked into the top bunk, holding onto her blue stuffed turtle. It had a pink shell and scratched googly eyes from the time she dropped it down the stairs. His name was Bravero. She wanted to call him Bravery and Hero so she had named him Bravero. The brave hero. Bravero was telling her that everything was going to be okay, even though the yelling was very scary. “They always yell,” she whispered back to Bravero. “It will stop.”
Except it didn’t.
The screaming got louder, and then she heard a very loud thud from the room across the hall. A small series of creaks told her that her mom and dad’s door was opening; then something was making a long scuffing noise against the carpet. She rolled over at the same time there was a squeak from the bed below her.
“Stay there Bug.”
Her sister slipped out from the covers and went to their baby-blue painted door. The older girl very slowly opened the door and looked down the hallway towards the back-door. She then moved swiftly to the window and peeked out from the curtains. “Shit.”
“That’s a bad word.”
“Bug, get out of bed. Right now.” The same blonde hair framed her sisters face, but it was longer and tinged pink at the ends.
“Why?”
“Just do it! Quickly!”
Elizabeth threw back the covers and climbed down the stairs and ran to the window. “What is it? What are you looking at?”
“Don’t look! Just… just grab some clothes an-”
The back door opened, heavy footsteps came up the stairs and to their room. Elizabeth felt a jolt as her sister picked her up and threw her on the bottom bed before turning around just as their dad opened the door.
“What’s going on in here?” His eyes scanned over the two girls.
“Just...having a sleep-over Dad. Bug was scared. That’s all.” Elizabeth’s view was suddenly blocked as her sister stepped in front of her.
“Alright, just, go to bed.”
-----
The morning after Elizabeth wandered into the kitchen for some cereal. She saw her dad and sister at the table. Dad looked serious with the corners of his mouth turned down and her sister’s eyes were red. “Where’s mom?”
Her dad turned to look at her and ran a weathered hand back through his black hair. “She’s gone Bug. And she’s not coming back this time.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something at the exact moment her sister stood up and whispered, “you bastard.” As her sister ran down the stairs to leave Elizabeth looked back at her dad. “She always comes back. You’ll see.” Then she put Bravero on the counter so she could pour out the milk.
The Bugs and the Bees (NSFW)
Re: The Bugs and the Bees (NSFW)
NSFW Advisory: Mature Subject Matter
“Holy Hanna.” Mary rubbed her friends back a bit as she sobbed. They’d been through some awful crap together in the past ten years but this was so crazy she didn’t know what else to say. “I mean, I don’t mean to doubt you Bee, but are you sure?”
“Yeah I’m frickin’ sure. He was dragging her on a bloody sheet.”
“But… is it possible she’s not dead? I mean, maybe he ended up taking her to the hospital?”
“No flippin’ way. I never heard the car turn on.” Snot dripped on the floor so Mary handed her friend another tissue.
“We have to tell someone. We have to tell the police.”
“But I can’t,” her friend moaned. “Dad says if I tell someone they’ll take him away and then they’ll send Bug and me into foster care and we may not get to stay together. I hear kids get eaten alive in the system. Bug can’t handle that.”
Mary bit her lip. If there was anything Bee loved most in the world it was Bug. And she had heard stories of the system. They both had. Nadja was in the system, and she kept saying she couldn’t wait till she was eighteen and out of there. Her foster parents weren’t bad, but the foster-siblings could be down-right nasty. And they were her fourth home.
“He can’t get away with this Bee. Someone’s going to find out. Your mom had friends, she worked - someone’s going to notice.”
“But mo-” there was another outburst of sobs. Bee’s eyes were red and she had snot stains over her shirt now. “Mom was a flake,” she choked. “Everyone knows that. That’s why Dad got so pissed. She cheated on him, then he got angry and beat her, and then she would run away. And it just kept happening over, and over again.”
“So… so what do you want to do? I mean, you can’t honestly say you want to stay in that house?”
“I just don’t know Mary. I just … I don’t know.”
They sat together for some time, Bee would sob and cry sporadically and Mary kept turning things over in her mind. She wanted to do what Bee asked and keep it a secret, but how did you keep something this big secret?
She heard a familiar tap on the door. “Mar? Is everything okay in there?”
“It’s okay Jo. It’s just Bee and I,” she looked at her friend. “Just girl time.”
The floorboards gave the smallest squeak as her brother walked to the kitchen to make lunch. “Maybe we can tell Jo? He’d know what to do.”
Bee looked up, puffy and tear-streaked. Despite the anguish, Mary saw the ferocity she always loved in her friend. “No! Mary you must swear to me on your father's grave that you won’t tell a single soul unless I say so.”
“I… I don’t know if I can do that Bee. It’s a pretty big secret.”
“Swear it!”
Mary licked her lips nervously, glancing towards the door where Jo had just been then looked at her friends’ brown eyes. “Okay, I swear it.”
“Holy Hanna.” Mary rubbed her friends back a bit as she sobbed. They’d been through some awful crap together in the past ten years but this was so crazy she didn’t know what else to say. “I mean, I don’t mean to doubt you Bee, but are you sure?”
“Yeah I’m frickin’ sure. He was dragging her on a bloody sheet.”
“But… is it possible she’s not dead? I mean, maybe he ended up taking her to the hospital?”
“No flippin’ way. I never heard the car turn on.” Snot dripped on the floor so Mary handed her friend another tissue.
“We have to tell someone. We have to tell the police.”
“But I can’t,” her friend moaned. “Dad says if I tell someone they’ll take him away and then they’ll send Bug and me into foster care and we may not get to stay together. I hear kids get eaten alive in the system. Bug can’t handle that.”
Mary bit her lip. If there was anything Bee loved most in the world it was Bug. And she had heard stories of the system. They both had. Nadja was in the system, and she kept saying she couldn’t wait till she was eighteen and out of there. Her foster parents weren’t bad, but the foster-siblings could be down-right nasty. And they were her fourth home.
“He can’t get away with this Bee. Someone’s going to find out. Your mom had friends, she worked - someone’s going to notice.”
“But mo-” there was another outburst of sobs. Bee’s eyes were red and she had snot stains over her shirt now. “Mom was a flake,” she choked. “Everyone knows that. That’s why Dad got so pissed. She cheated on him, then he got angry and beat her, and then she would run away. And it just kept happening over, and over again.”
“So… so what do you want to do? I mean, you can’t honestly say you want to stay in that house?”
“I just don’t know Mary. I just … I don’t know.”
They sat together for some time, Bee would sob and cry sporadically and Mary kept turning things over in her mind. She wanted to do what Bee asked and keep it a secret, but how did you keep something this big secret?
She heard a familiar tap on the door. “Mar? Is everything okay in there?”
“It’s okay Jo. It’s just Bee and I,” she looked at her friend. “Just girl time.”
The floorboards gave the smallest squeak as her brother walked to the kitchen to make lunch. “Maybe we can tell Jo? He’d know what to do.”
Bee looked up, puffy and tear-streaked. Despite the anguish, Mary saw the ferocity she always loved in her friend. “No! Mary you must swear to me on your father's grave that you won’t tell a single soul unless I say so.”
“I… I don’t know if I can do that Bee. It’s a pretty big secret.”
“Swear it!”
Mary licked her lips nervously, glancing towards the door where Jo had just been then looked at her friends’ brown eyes. “Okay, I swear it.”
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