Pleasure doing Bussiness (Whip 3) ✔️ SAMPLE

Chapter 7

MICHAEL

Autumn, 1988

"One, two, three, four...fifty-one, fifty-two, shit!" I curse, as my younger brother runs into me, making me stumble into the desk, the little shiny stones falling out of my hands and mixing with the ones I'm yet to count.

"Language, child!" mother yells from the kitchen, glaring at me as she prepares the dough with practiced ease.

"Sorry, mother." I whisper shamefully, praying that she'll let my slip of the tongue go. I'm not really in the mood for a beating, not that I ever am, but today has been particularly awful and the thought of a whooping on top of everything else is excruciating.

She glares for a second longer before turning back to the counter without a word, making me let out a sigh of relief.

I quickly collect all of the stones and put them in my backpack before hurrying out in case she changes her mind.

I go around the house and then follow the little dirt path toward the woods, which leads to my favorite place.

Well, it's Ronnie's and mine, but since I haven't seen him for the last couple of days, I decide to go without the older boy.

I follow the path for a few minutes, searching for the tree that hides our special place from prying eyes.

It's a regular tree, nothing extraordinary about it, except for the two small initials carved into its bark.

I remember the day we did it. I've done something wrong; I'm not even sure what it was anymore, but I definitely remember the beating I got for it. I'd been crying behind my house, rubbing my sore butt when Ronnie appeared.

Once I told him why I was upset, Ronnie had taken my hand in his and told me to follow him because he wanted to show me something.

He had led me to what is now our place, a fairytale hidden in the woods, with its crystal-clear river and fireflies lighting the dark space.

We stayed there until nightfall and it was the best day of my life.

Ronnie had carved our initials into the tree that day and told me that no matter what happened, this would always be our place.

I'm starting to get worried that I've missed it when I see our tree a few steps ahead. I guess that the track to the place seems quicker when I have company.

I hitch my backpack higher on my shoulders, kind of regretting the number of stones I've stashed into it, and start to move the branches that keep our place hidden from view when I hear a strange noise coming from the inside.

I stop in my tracks, suddenly afraid, especially when I hear the same noise again, this time louder.

"Oh God, please." the words follow it, and as soon as I hear them, I freeze.

It's Ronnie. I could recognize his voice anywhere, and the fear grows stronger.

Is he in trouble? He sounds like he's in trouble.

My hands shake as I reach for the last branch, feeling completely terrified but still unwilling to run away and leave my only friend alone.

The branch makes a loud noise as it moves, and I pause, fearing that I'm about to be discovered and that whoever is keeping my friend there would take me too, but the strange sounds continue and after a few seconds, I force my eyes to open.

I see Ronnie lying on the ground, another boy on top of him. They are both naked and moving strangely and I frown, not really understanding what's happening as a curious warmth fills my stomach.