My Butterfly | Paul X Bolton

Chapter Three

Sunnyvale Institution - Day

April 15. Today I get to mete my father his name is Jason and he is crazy. I hope he lets me call him dad

Candice tightly grips Bolton's hand as the pair follow Dr. Redfield down a corridor. Bolton's enthusiasm is dampened by the sounds of distant screams and bloodcurdling laughter.

"Dad lives here?"

Dr. Redfield responds with "Not in this wing, actually no. Now your father may seem sleepy to you, just because of his medicine, okay?"

"okay?"

They walk to the end of the corridor and come to a visitors chamber Dr. Redfield leads Bolton inside. Candice begins to follow but the doctor gestures that she stay outside.

Bolton takes a seat at a long rectangular table. His eyes are fixated on the door on the other side of the room. Finally a dark figure can be seen through the opaque glass.

Jason, 30 and haggard looking enters the room. His eyes want to sparkle at seeing his son for the first time but the tranquilizers have dulled the effect.

Bolton's eyes fixate on the leg-restraints and handcuffs that hinder Jason's movement, finally Jason sits.

"It's okay. I won't bite you've seen pictures of me right?"

"uh-huh mom says I have your eyes and your --

-

Boltons comes to in another unfamiliar place. Rather than seeing his father across a table he's looking up at a ceiling. Blocking his view of the ceiling is Jason, whose face is now monstrous with rage, and whose cuffed hands are wrapped around Bolton's throat, chocking the life out of him.

Suddenly orderlies tackle Jason from both sides and wedge a baton under his jaw to wrench him away. Candice frantically struggles to rescue Bolton from Jason's clutches

"He has to die! you don't understand! It's the only way to stop it!" Jason grumbles wrestling the baton from under his chin, hits an orderly in the kneecap and comes for Bolton with the baton.

One of the orderly acts quickly, beating Jason with his baton. As Jason makes another desperate grab for Bolton, the orderly is forced to bash him in the skull, down for the count.

Candice hugs Bolton who is in shock "I'm sorry Bolton, I'm sorry" An alarm sounds and Candice tries to cover Boltons eyes but through her fingers he can see a quick blur of a pool of blood spreading from Jason's head.

-

Dressed in black, Candice and Bolton watch Jason's casket being lowered into the ground. Candice's tears soak through her veil a few feet back Paul stand behind Bolton 

Bolton watches the coffin descend, disappearing from sight. Paul steps up to Bolton and takes his hand a moment passes as he softly whispers in Boltons ear "your better off anyway" A rumble of thunder, Bolton looks up at the brooding dark clouds

Grey skies pass as Candice drives the children home. Bolton stares at the passing tombstones that flutter by like a white picket fence. The flickering strobe effect that intensifies into a white blur is hypnotic.

Langley's house - Day - 1995

Bolton, Paul, Tommy and Philip are now thirteen. Bolton exhales cigarette smoke, taps his ash. Bolton closes his journal and coolly ignites a strike-anywhere match with his thumb and lights Paul's cigarette. Everyone but Philip is smoking in the basement.