Family

Chapter 10

I go to bed and lay down. My eyes close and I sleep. But it don't last long. I wake up to the door opening. I get up and walk to the stairs. Kate at the door. She trying to leave. "Kate stop," I whisper but she ain't gonna hear me. I walk up the stairs after her. I hope Pa ain't gonna hear her. "Kate where ya?" No answer jus' footsteps echoing mine. I walk to the living room to get to the door. Pa there. He sleeping in his reading chair. Kate trying to be silent but she hit the table next to Pa with her hand. His eyes open fast.

Kate trying to escape 'fore he see her, but she didn't get very far. Pa see her and she hide under the rug in the living room. He take a chair and swing it o'er his shoulder and threw it a top her. The legs, then, broke on her back. She shout 'cause the pain.

Then, Pa pull her from the rug and carried her down the stairs to the small room.

I run back down the stairs 'fore Pa see I not in bed. All the noise wake the others. They standing from their bed. I join 'em, and watch as he force her to go in. She shout "no," but that don't stop him. She already hurting and he still hurt her more, pushing her through the small door.

"Ya bitch," he yelling. She fighting him.

"Please, stop," she crying, "please." Us five jus' watch this. I wanna help her, but I don't want Pa be mad at me. I ain't done nothin' wrong. But her crying make me sad. My eyes fill with tears. Claire crying next to me. I put my hand on her shoulder and she look up at me. Her eyebrows raise and her tears falling. I don't want Claire to see this. Mack right. She too young to see this. She too young to understand any o' this. I wish I coulda hid her away from this. Sam too. He ain't crying, but he only a year older than Claire. And three too young to watch their Pa hurt their new sis.

"Ya gonna learn," Pa told her when her lock her in the room.

Pa turn to us and jus' stare for awhile. Then, he start walking back up the stairs. We hear Kate crying in the small room. I start walking o'er to the door. Mack grab my arm, "ya know ya can't," he say to me.

"I did for ya. I do it for her, now." He take his hand off and let me walk to the door. I put lower my body and my knees to the floor. "Kate?"

"Hello?" She scare. Her voice don't know why this happening.

"Are ya okay?"

"What do you think?"

"Ya not okay."

"I'm stuck in this room. It's dark and hot."

"I know."

Her voice change, "have you been in here before?"

"Yea."

"Why?"

"What time?"

"You been in here more than once?"

"Yea."

"Will you tell me?"

"Ya ain't gonna wanna hear it."

"Why not?"

"It sad." She don't say nothin', but I know she thinking. She thinking 'bout what happening to her. She thinking 'bout what happened to me.

"Did they have to be in here?"

"E'eryone but Claire."

"Why does he put us in here?"

"When ya do something bad, he put ya in here to learn what ya did wrong."

"But how does he know I have learned?"

"Ya mus' tell him the next time he come down."

"Tell him what?"

"Tell him ya won't do it again."

"But I wanna do it again. And this time I wanna succeed."

"No Kate." My voice was a whisper 'fore, but now it louder. Loud enough Mack looking at me. "Ya can't. Not anymore. Ya try it once and ya done. I can't let ya."

"Why not?"

"'Cause Claire and Sam seen enough of this. Ya ain't gonna understand this unless ya listen to me now. It jus'gonna get worse for ya if ya try again. Ya gotta accept this where ya are now. No more Mom and Dad. Jus' Ma and Pa and Mack and Claire and Megan and Sam and Me. Ya gotta accept it, Kate, or ya ain't gonna like it."

"I'm never going to like it."

"But ya gotta accept it."

"Never."

"Ya gotta or ya gonna be in there e'eryday." She jus' cry more. I walk away and let her think.

Us five try to fall back to sleep. It take a while for me and Mack. Claire jus' fall right to sleep when it quiet. Megan and Sam fall asleep in the same bed. I wish they jus' sleep through it. But I can't make time go back. I jus' gotta help 'em move on from this.