Crazy Little Things

27 - Uncle Edward

(Sadie's POV)

Tara and I talked about my childhood at our session, and it got me thinking about a lot of things. We met Noah, and him telling us about his abuse reminded me of ours. I try and block that out.

At least I made some new friends, and that has to count for something. But all this is reminding me of one of the worst times in my life.

When and Ash and I were ten, we were sent to spend the weekend with our aunt and uncle. They could handle two of us, while Miles and Cole went to our aunt and uncles on our other side. Gavin was sent with our grandparents, and by this time, Liam and Dylan were old enough to stay home on their own.

It was fine the first few hours since our uncle wasn't there, but he came home with alcohol on his breath. Aunt Marcy tried to hide us but it didn't work.

He tied me to the bed post while he hit Ash right in front of my face, then switched roles. It all hurt, but we knew we had to hide it. It was obvious we were sent to be with them because Mom and Dad needed some time to themselves, and we didn't want to take that away.

Besides, we had each other. And everything stopped two years ago when we were 13 and deemed old enough to stay home alone.

"Sadie," Liam says, breaking me from my trance. "What's up? You okay?" I nod. "What are you thinking about?" He pulls into the driveway.

"Nothing, just...stuff," I reply. He nods, but I know he doesn't believe it.

I talk to Ash when we get inside. Who else could I tell about this? We're the only ones who know.

"Ash?" I say, coming into his room. He smiles and ushers me in. "I keep thinking about something since we went to that party."

"Uncle Edward?"

"Yes," I whisper.

"Me too. Just don't say anything, especially to Tara. If we tell her she'll tell Liam. Random school kids is one thing but family is another," he tells me.

I nod in agreement. "I'm just—I don't even know what's wrong, this hasn't bothered me in a while."

"You still have your scars?"

"Yeah, you?" He nods.

The door opens to reveal Gavin. He looks perplexed, which is unusual compared to his usual neutral expression.

"I've put myself in a tough spot," he says. He comes in and sits at Ash's desk. "I decided to eavesdrop, but you obviously don't want me to share what I've heard."

I look to my twin, who looks just as nervous as I feel. He doesn't know exactly what happened, so maybe it'll be okay.

"Did Uncle Edward hit you guys?"

Well fuck.

"Uh—no, no, he didn't hit us," Ash stammers. Nice one, real convincing.

Gavin cocks an eyebrow. "Then what scars were you talking about?"

"From when I fell out of a tree," I say.

"And from all those accidents with my friends," Ash adds.

He nods. "I think you're lying. I think I'm right."

"Well that's nothing new," Ash says. I snicker.

"I'll ask again. Did Uncle Edward hit you guys?"

I let Ash take the lead, but he seems to be doing the same with me, and our silence answers his question.

"Yeah, okay, okay. It's not a big deal, you have no reason to go over there anymore. Uh, I'm gonna go...tell Liam," he says.

"You can't!" Ash says.