ALICE

Chapter Seventeen

"What the fudge?!" An infuriated yell wakes me up. I choose to believe that Dad really did say fudge and not a similar, ruder word. "What the h Artemis?!"

I sit up, groggy. I yawn, stretch, and rub my eyes. "What-what do you mean? What are to talking about?" I'm beyond confused.

"I think you know!" No, I don't, actually. Sorry, Dad.

"What is it, Lawrence? What's got your boxers in a twist?" Mom asks from Jade's bed. They must've been talking after Mom re-gauzed Jade's back and had fallen asleep.

Dad rolls his eyes at the expression. "One of the girls -I and the rest of the Light assume that it was Artemis- told the League that Red Arrow was a clone and the League removed all control abilities from his mind."

"What?" Mom asks sounding surprised. She must not actually be, though, as I have no doubt that Jade told her.

"What makes you think that it was Arty, not me?" Jade asks.

Dad rolls his eyes again. "She's the goody two shoes of ya."

My sister nods. "Fair."

"Exactly," Dad says, and pulls a knife from his belt. He walks over to me and cuts a long, nasty gash in my arm. He does it again on my leg, then my cheek, then my back, which hurts the most.

"I never said it was her!" Jade yelps after he cuts my back. Wow, Jade. Way to be fast to take the blame. "It wasn't her! It was me!"

Dad chuckles. "Yeah, right."

"It was! I swear on my life it was me!" Wow, on her life? I was expecting Dad's or Mom's or mine, not Jade herself's. Jade was usually too selfish for that.

Dad realizes that she's telling the truth. He walks over to her angrily, and cuts her arm the same way he did mine. Then an evil smirk crosses his face. He walks back over to me.

I have just enough time to think, 'What the heck is he about to do?' Before he grabs me and yanks me off the bed. He throws me to the floor and kneels down next to me and starts alternating between cutting me and hitting me.

"What the h?!" Jade screeches. "It was me, not her!"

"I know," Dad says. "I've just noticed that this particular method is the best punishment."

The torture continues for a more minutes before Mom, my sweet loving mother (god, I'm so lucky to have her), decided that enough is enough. "Stop it, Lawrence! Stop it right now!"

"Yeah, no. I'm sorry, Baby. You know how much I love you, but this is something that I just can't let slide. I'm sorry. Jade needs to be punished."

"No, she doesn't!" Mom objects. "She was under a truth spell casted my Zatara himself! She couldn't help it! She wouldn't've said anything to the League on the topic if she hadn't!" Wow, sometimes I forget how clever Mom is. She didn't lie a single time, and yet she was deceitful. Jade had told Roy. But, technically, Roy wasn't League. Not yet, anyway. My sister truly would not have told the League that information without the spell.

"Well, I'm really sorry Baby, but there needs to be a punishment." No, you're not sorry, or you would've at least stopped torturing me while you were talking.

"Come on, Lawrence, please. I'll do anything. How about you leave the girls be and we can go have some fun? How does that sound? Just leave them alone."

My dad's eyes soften a little. Mom must be desperate to make that offer. "Paula-" He starts to say, but Mom cuts him off.

"Please, Lawrence! I'm begging you, just stop!"

Dad stops torturing me and stands up. "Thanks, Babe," Mom says.

Dad shakes his head. "This is the last time that I stop giving those girls what they deserve simply because you beg me." Mom smiles. We all know it probably won't be, as he's said it before. "I'm going to get something to drink. You patch up that b that we call a daughter."

Mom rolls her eyes and nods. Dad leaves the room and this scene of my life is over.