Just Try It

Chapter 6- No One Knows

Sunday, February 12 10:15am

Swisher Street

Korbin and Jamie turned from Moe at the park entrance. That only made sense since they lived in the opposite direction. Moe didn't mind. They had given him a lot to think about. The idea that he might someday be good enough for Sondra was tempting, but there were things about him that Jamie and Korbin didn't know. Sondra deserved someone that was without secrets in their past. 

He had known Sondra since he had arrived at Danica's home nine years ago as a messed up little boy. Sondra had been the bright light that kept him going whenever things got hard. She had been ready to help and include him from the very first day. She had never blamed or insulted him, and had helped Danica get used to sharing her space with her new cousin.

For a long time, he had thought everything that had gone wrong was his fault. His mom had told him that over and over, and little kids think that they are the center of the world anyways. Aunt Joanna had repeated over and over that none of what happened was his fault. Sometimes he even believed her.

It had just been his mom and him for his first few years. He hadn't even know that his mom had a brother. The only "uncles" he knew were his mom's boyfriends, but none stuck around too long. Then, she hooked up with Kevin. Moe had thought he would disappear like the rest, but his mom had gotten pregnant. Instead of disappearing, Kevin had moved in with them.

Kevin had been okay at first, but soon after he moved in Moe had learned to not make noises while Kevin was sleeping off a hangover. At first, he would just yell if Moe forgot, but then he began to slap Moe when his mom wasn't around. The first time Kevin hit Moe in front of his mom, Kevin had apologized, but Moe knew he didn't mean it. After a few more times, dear old mom stopped expecting an apology. Instead, she just told Moe to make sure he stayed quiet. That had been around the time that Kevin had started hitting her too. After the baby came, everyone was happy and Kevin hadn't drunk as much...for awhile. Moe had discovered the wonders of cuddling his baby brother, Bobby. He had never known anything could be so small, or so perfect. He was happy to help, and hadn't even minded the dirty diapers, too much.

When Kevin lost his job again, his mom had to work more to meet the bills. Kevin had started drinking more, and it became Moe's job to watch Bobby more and more.

Cuddling, bathing, changing diapers, and feeding a baby was tiring, but he didn't mind and could usually quiet Bobby down quickly.  He even got to the point that he could anticipate what Bobby would need and Bobby almost never cried.  That was until Bobby began teething. Nothing Moe did could stop him from crying. On one of those days, Kevin stumbled out in a stupor and demanded Moe shut the baby up before he did it for him.

Moe had seen Kevin like that before and had learned early to leave the apartment for awhile. Moe had looked at the door, but there was no way he could get Bobby out of his bouncer and out the door quickly. So, he had planted himself in front of Bobby, and refused to move. Kevin took off his belt and whipped Moe's back until it was a bloody mess. Moe had finally collapsed on the floor in a bloody heap. The last thing he had seen before losing consciousness was Kevin walking toward a still screaming Bobby.

When Moe woke up he was laying on a soft bed. The first thing he noticed was the quiet. The second was that his back was on fire. It throbbed constantly, and the pain was sharp and stabbing when he tried to turn to look over at Bobby's area. From his spot he couldn't see how his mom had managed to quiet Bobby, but when he tried to sit up the pain arched across his back so painfully that he lost consciousness again.

The next time he woke up Moe was amazed at how Bobby was still sleeping, but he knew better than to move more than an inch at a time. Instead of moving he tried to use his ears instead. Forty-five minutes later he still didn't hear his Bobby, but he heard the rumble of Kevin demanding beer after beer. When him mom came in and saw Moe was awake, he heard her repeatedly begging him not to tell.

At first, he thought that she meant he shouldn't tell how Kevin had beaten him, but that hadn't make any sense. He hadn't told any of the other times. Why would she be begging him to not tell now?

After another hour he still didn't hear Bobby, and slowly dragged himself out of the bed, and to Bobby's crib. It was only when he looked in that he had understood. Tears had clogged his throat. Even today he wasn't sure how the 911 responder had been able to understand him once he had crawled to the phone.

Moe shifted his shoulders and dragged himself back to the present. He reminded himself that his life was completely different now, even if he still carried the scars on his back. The captain, Terrance, always wore a shirt, and people usually assumed that he was copying Terrence instead of hiding scars beneath the Under Armor shirt. He had lied about having sensitive skin since he was little. No one even raised an eyebrow after all of these years, even though his dusky skin tanned well on his face and arms. No one, outside of his cousins, knew he had scars. Just the way that no one knew he had ever had a baby brother. It was just easier to not talk about it.

He had been thinking about his past a lot lately. He knew why. It was almost his brother's birthday.

This year there was another reason to remember though.

Kevin was coming up for parole, and his mom, who had left him alone since her own release from jail, had contacted him. Her messages were all asking him to not attend the hearing. He hadn't bothered to return her calls, but he had made plans to miss school that day. He squared his shoulders and decided to focus on fixing it with Sondra. He would deal with the rest when he had to, but right now Sondra deserved his attention.

Hope you liked learning about Moe's troubled past. He has overcome most if the results, but there are still quirks that surface. If you get a moment, please let me know what you think. I even like just hearing about typos. It helps me make my story as good as possible. You could also just tap that little star, or follow. Any would make me very happy.