Scars | ✔

Chapter 7

Clem slowly opened her eyes, the events of the night before become a distant memory. She heard faint yelling, but the ringing in her ears drowned it out. She held her head and sat up, letting the events of last night slowly flooding back in. She wanted to say something; to yell for Marshall, but her lips were dry, and her throat was sore.

Clem blinked a few times to regain her vision, due to it being all blurred. Once her vision has returned, she looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. Suddenly, Clem noticed a tall figure with a small boy. The boy seemed familiar, but it wasn't..

"Marshall?" Clem asked. The tall figure and the boy looked in her direction. That's when Clem noticed a few other people. Oh god. She could never forget those faces.

Timothy.

Ajax.

Cole.

Damon.

Zane.

Jett.

Hugo.

And oh god. The boy was crying. Tears streaming down his face. He looked hurt. Clem knew who it was; but she wished it wasn't him.

"Clem.." The boy muttered through the tears. As in an instant, Damon yanked Clem by the arms to her feet. He dragged her over to Timothy and shoved her into him. Clem stepped back and noticed TJ. He was crossing his arms. He glared at Clem in a way that chilled her spine. She knew TJ had something to do with this.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Timothy asked in a yell, stirring whatever animals slept close by.

"We.. we just.." Clem tried to say something, but her now flowing tears prevented her from doing so. Suddenly, Clem felt something cold hit her cheek. It stung, and she could hear Marshall yelling. She closed her eyes in pain, and held her cheek.

Once she opened her eyes, she saw Timothy holding a metal bar, being about the size of your forearm. Clem held her cheek in pain as she glanced at Marshall.

"Pa! What'd ya do that for?! You hurt her!" Marshall yelled in frustration.

"Oh? You didn't want me to hurt yer girlfriend?" Timothy asked, forcing a laugh.

"What?? Pa, she ain't my girlfriend! She's like my little sister, Pa!"

"Why do you protect her so much then, son? You can just let me handle her, and you'll turn out just fine! Not a sore has to appear, but yet you still try to protect her!"

"Because, Pa! She's my family, and we always protect family! Even if it means getting hurt yourself."

"Well, I think yer better stay outta this. Maybe ya'll shoulda thought twice before tryna run away. Haven't ya learned by now?" Timothy forcefully grabbed his son's chin to make him look him in his eyes. "The kids never win." Timothy let go as Marshall yanked his head away, glaring his father down.

"Then maybe.. you shouldn't be mean to us! You should have never killed my REAL parents and took me.. and.. and I think you don't deserve to have kids!" Clem yelled out of anger. Timothy clenched his teeth together and hit her with the metal bar again. Clem fell to the ground, whimpering and holding her face.

Marshall tried to kneel down and help Clem, but Timothy shoved him out of the way.

"You best stay back boy."

"Pa!-"

"HADN'T THIS USELESS GIRL USED HER MOUTH, SHE WOULDN'T BE ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW!" Timothy screamed in anger. Clem, despite the pain, glared at him.

"You're the useless one." Clem told him. Marshall glanced up at his father out of fear and back down to Clem.

"You best keep quiet fore I cut out your tongue, ya hear me, girl?" Clem quickly nodded. Timothy shook his head in disgust before turning to walk back towards the old house.

"Grab the girl and boy." Timothy spoke to Damon. Damon nodded before roughly taking both of their arms and dragging them with him.

. . .

"Look what I found, Tay." Timothy said as Damon pushed the kids to the ground.

"Oh thank god! I was worried something happened to them. Where had my babies gone?" Tayla asked worriedly, checking the kids over for injury's. She stopped at Clem's cheek, and started to rub it.

"We aren't your 'babies' you crazy lady!" Clem yelled, earning herself a slap on the cheek by Tayla.

"That's no way to talk to your mother." Tayla said, standing up and placing her hands on her hips.

"You aren't my mother! You stole my from my real mom!" Clem yelled, standing up and staring up into Tayla's eyes. Tayla grew angry, grabbing a rope off of the counter.

"You know what to do." Tayla muttered to Timothy, handing him the rope.

"No! Don't hurt her!" Marshall yelled, jumping in front of Clem.

"Not just her. You too, you disrespectful boy." Timothy growled, grabbing both of their arms and yanking them up the stairs.

"Please!... Please!" Clem tried to pull her wrist away, only to fail.

Timothy threw them both in the dusty room. He locked the door and pulled two chairs over. He grabbed Clem first, sitting her in the chair. She tried to get away, and Marshall tried to help her, but he got shoved to the ground.

"Wait your turn." Timothy said, tying Clem to the chair. He then grabbed Marshall, doing the same to him.

"You're lucky I don't just kill you here. Instead, I'm going to make your life a living hell. You two've made a huge mistake." Timothy explained, making both kids flinch at his choice of words.

Timothy left the room. Clem glanced at Marshall, who was crying alongside her.

"Marshall... I'm so sorry I dragged you into this. I'm really, really, really, really-" As Clem tried to speak, Marshall forced her a smile.

"No. Don't be sorry. I told you Ma and Pa were crazy. Just.. don't worry about it, okay? None of this is your fault. I promise." Marshall said, trying his best to reassure her just as he did when she first arrived. Except this time, Clem knew it was her fault. Marshall could have been happy hadn't it been for her. Clem knew everything was her fault. She just wanted everything to end. She wanted to see her parents again. She them alive. She hoped; prayed that this was all a dream.

Except she knew it wasn't.

After a bit of silence, Clem looked back at Marshall. He was looking at his lap. Like he was deep in thought.

"Marshall? How did he find out?" Clem asked quietly.

"Huh? Oh. Uh. It was... TJ."

"TJ?" Clem asked in shock. Marshall nodded sadly. "I knew he had something to do with it." Clem muttered under her breath.

"This is how it went.. I think. TJ left at dawn to go hunt for Pa. His orders. Anyway, uh.. TJ found us on the ground.. we had blacked out from exhaustion an TJ found us. He thought we were dead, so he ran to find Pa. Pa and his pals found us, and I.. woke up. He threatened to kill you so I had to tell em what had happened and why we were out there," Marshall spoke softly. He must have felt guilty for telling Timothy their plan. "I'm sorry, Clem. I didn't.. I couldn't let him put a bullet through yer skull. You.. mean so much." Marshall said, letting the tears flow down his eyes.

"Marshall-" Before Clem could finish, the bedroom door flung open. Timothy was standing there, bearing weapons of all kinds on his back, in his hands, and in his jean pockets.

"Ready to have some fun, my dear children?"