A Father's Love

A Father's Love-Chapter 4

Craig was home a week later, at nearly ten at night. He was pale, but managed to smile at us before collapsing on his bed in exhaustion. I glanced at Alex who grinned at me before glancing away. I got up and sat next to Craig. I took his hand and slowly massaged it.

"Hey." He said weakly.

"Don't talk. Roll onto your stomach, I'll rub your back." He nodded and slowly managed to rest on his stomach. "Does it hurt?" I asked as he grunted.

"Not really."

I set one hand on his shoulder, taking a deep breath before I began to rub it gently. He buried his face into the pillow, a small smile widening on his face. I pressed my thumb into the crevice of his shoulder blade, causing him to yelp.

"You okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah, you're just good at this."

I flushed and concentrated my right hand on its ministrations. I switched to his other shoulder and found a hard knot buried beneath the other shoulder blade. I positioned his arm into an upright position, making his shoulder blade jut out. "Don't move that arm." I said, trying to make my voice sound domintating. He nodded and I dug one finger under the space.

"Ouch!" He hissed.

"Sorry." I whispered. "I can't do it very well with your shirt on."

He twisted to look at me. "Then take it off." He stated.

I glanced around the room. The rest of the boys had already stopped smirking at us and were reading or playing card games. Oddly enough, dad had almost forced us into the habit of playing poker. Saturday was poker day and dad would join in. If we won the hand or set, we'd win whatever was on the table. As the year went on, this began to include our personal items, such as iPods, watches, nail polish, and balls of various types, to our pleasure. Unfourtnately, the only way to get good at poker against our dad, was to practice constantly, until we were all good at bluffing, cheating, and winning. Alex grinned as he sweapt the chips in his direction.

Craig looked at me, hesitation in his face. "What?" He asked.

I closed my eyes. I didn't answer him, but waited until he had tucked a finger under my chin to look up at him. "I...I don't know if we can."

Craig's eyebrows drew together. "Don't think that because that man has tried to ruin our lives that we can't defy him. I'd rather do it and die doing what I believe in, than sitting impatiently waiting for the uninevitable."

"What do you mean?"

"Take my shirt off for me." I shook my head. "Do it!" He said angrily.

"But I don't want to get in trouble."

"Are you afraid of what he'll think? The worst he can do is..." He trailed off.

"I'm afraid of what the worst he can do is."

Craig's eyes lowered to my arm, still hugging my body with a cast and sling. "That's right, he had hurt you."

"You haven't been hurt by him yet! You don't understand what happens when you actually do defy him. I do!"

"But you didn't defy him! He acted without cause." He stared into my eyes and I was almost positive he could actually see into my soul.

"Anything I do wrong could trigger an outburst. I can't put any of us through another one."

"How many has he had? Two?"

"Four."

"Four? What happened when?"