Dancing With The Devil

Chapter 26

      I glare at my dad as menacingly as I can as he gently strokes my face. He doesn't seem to even notice my glare, and he smiles down at me. I look over at Caleb from my peripheral. A piece of duct tape covers his mouth, and his arms are tightly tied behind his back. He is still shirtless and laying on his stomach. Caleb's glare looks like he's mentally killing my dad.
       My dad leans down, and kisses my cheek. I try to move my head, but my body doesn't respond and stays completely still. I wince slightly when his lips touch my skin. My dad seems to notice this, and pulls back, frowning. "Is there something wrong?"
"Other than the fact that I can't fucking move, everything's just lovely." My dad scowls and glares at me. "Watch your language Jace."
"Fuck you," I say sharply. My head snaps to the side, and my cheek stings. Angry tears well in my eyes as I glare at my dad. He glares right back at me. "I said to watch. Your. Mouth." He shifts my body so that he's cradling me in his arms, once again.
He sits there, cradling me, and stroking my hair. I try to force my body to move, but my bones feel like lead. Soon, my dad gets tired of holding me, and sets me down on the floor. The concrete is cold against my naked skin, and I shiver. My dad stands up walks over towards Mason's body. He bends down and digs in the front pockets of Mason's pants. He finds what he's looking for, and takes out the knife that clicks open. He puts it in his own pocket and smiles at me. "We wouldn't want you to get any ideas now, would we?"
I look over at Caleb, and he looks back at me. My dad glances at me, then Caleb. He walks over towards him, and I already know what he's about to do. "Leave him alone," I yell at my dad. He pays my no heed, and continues walking to Caleb. Without warning, his foot goes forward. Caleb's head goes back from the force of the kick. My dad's foot moves from Caleb's head to his stomach. He kicks him again and again, and I can only watch. I want to run and help Caleb, but I can't.
      Soon, his fists pound on Caleb too. His assault is brutal. Kick after kick. Punch after punch. I have to watch as my dad practically beats Caleb's face in. Suddenly, he rips the tape off of Caleb's mouth, allowing his pain-filled groans to come forth. "Stop!" I scream so loud that my throat hurts. It seems to snap my dad out of the trance that held him.
      "Caleb is your son! What the fuck is wrong with you? He's your son, and you attack him as if he's some stranger on the street! You're fucking crazy!" My dad's eyes are almost red as he stares at me. It makes me want to do nothing more than climb into a hole and die. But I stand my ground, and stare right back at him.
      "This thing," he spits out the word 'thing' like it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. "Is not my son. He is something that should have never been born. He was a mistake." Caleb's shoulders shake. Tears run down his cheeks as he looks at my dad. Regardless of everything, Caleb is still a product of my dad. To hear his call him a mistake, it must completely break him. "You are a monster," I whisper. My dad doesn't look at either of us anymore. Instead, he stares at the ground. Suddenly, he turns sharply on his heel, and leaves the room. The door slams loudly behind him, and then I hear the lock on the door being set into place.
      Me and Caleb sit in the room in total silence. The smell of Mason's rotting flesh is vulgar, and it makes me want to puke. But neither of us comment on it. I stare intently at the floor. I don't want to look at Caleb right now. I can't take seeing his saddened face, and knowing that I had a part in the reason why he's upset in the first place. I want to apologize for dragging him into this, but I know that apologizing would mean nothing right now. I caused for Caleb to be raped by the same man that molested him as a child. I brought all of his past nightmares back into his life, including my dad. They probably hadn't spoken in years, but I came and forced them to interact. I'm just bad luck for everyone.
      "Stop it," Caleb says suddenly. I look up at him and gasp. His face is bruised and bloody. Black and blue cover, what was once, his pale face. His left eye is almost swollen shut. "Stop blaming this on yourself." I go back to looking at the floor.
      "Yes it is. If I hadn't came along, you'd be living happily right now. You wouldn't have to see Mason or dad. I'm bad luck.
      Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Caleb move. He stands up, wincing at every move he makes. Regardless, he continues. Soon, he's on his feet, and begins to move towards me. Once he's in front of me, he sits cross-legged on the floor. Despite how painful it looks, Caleb smiles at me. "You're not bad luck. I would have had to face dad eventually. And besides, you're my little brother. I don't care how much pain I'd have to go through, I'd do whatever it takes to protect you."
       His words bring tears to my eyes. His arms move, but are tightly bound in the rope, holding them captive. Instead he just sits right next to me. We both sit in silence, and despite our situation, it's a silence that I don't mind.

      ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

      I look down at my hand intently. My fingers curl slowly and I sigh. This is the first time, in what seems like forever, I've been able to move a part of my body. I look over at Caleb, who lays on the floor, fast asleep.
     "Caleb," I whisper. I don't know when my dad will come back, so I need Caleb to wake up now. "Caleb, wake up." He shifts, and I whisper his name again. His eyes flutter open and he looks at me. Hazel eyes stare at mine questionably. Rather than saying anything, I try to make my fingers move again. It takes awhile, but eventually, they curl. Caleb's eyes widen, and he smiles. I smile back.
     Then his smile disappears, his face looking forlorn. "You can't let him notice. If you do, then he'll just inject you with more of that stuff." I nod. "I know. But right now, I just want my body to start moving again."
     My eyes drift over to Mason's body. If I'm not careful, then I'll end up just like him. I'm not as scared of getting raped again. I've had to suffer through that for most of my life. Now, I'm scared for mine and Caleb's life. My dad was prepared to end my life before. So what to stop him from wanting to do it again? I look past Mason and at my discarded and torn clothes. My breath hitches as I suddenly remover the razor that I hid in my pocket. How could I be so stupid to forget that I literally had some type of a weapon?
     Caleb follows my gaze to the pile of clothes. "You thinking of a plan?" I shake my head. "Not exactly a plan. I just remembered that I had a razor in my pocket. Think you could get it?"
    Caleb frowns. "Why did you bring a razor?" His eyes drift to my arms. He stares at my cuts, and I try to move them out of his sight. For obvious reasons, I can't. "It doesn't matter Caleb. It's a weapon, and we can use it." He sighs and looks back at the discarded clothes. He struggles to stand up, but eventually, he makes it to his feet. He shuffles towards the clothes as I watch the door. "Caleb hurry. I don't know when he'll be back," I whisper.
    Caleb nods and bends down next to my pants. "Which pocket?" He asks. "The front pocket," I say. He nods and turns around so that his hands have access to the pockets. His hands blindly grab at them until they grip the pockets firmly. His fingers reach inside, and even from here, I can tell that he's trying to be careful not to cut his fingers on the razor.
     His eyes light up, and I know that he's got it. I begin to hear the sound of feet coming towards the door. My eyes widen and I whisper-yell at Caleb, "He's coming!" Caleb stands up and quickly limps back towards the space where dad left him. The sound of the lock opening almost makes me panic as I look at Caleb. He seems to begin to panic too, and moves faster. He goes to where Mason threw his pants and lifts them up. He drops the razor on the ground and quickly throws the pair of pants on top of them. The door opens, and Caleb throws himself on the ground, making me and him wince.
      My dad walks in the room smirking.