Before The Mask

Chapter Five

"Wake up." The woman's tone was venomous. The ten year-old boy was jolted awake as cold water splashed his bruised face. He had been strapped to the chair  for nearly 8 hours. Dried blood caked his skin in splatters and lines like an abstract painting. His skin ached and stung where there were various cuts, burns, bruises and welts. The tightening pain from his broken ribs made his head spin violently.

Wolf was thankful for the periodic breaks his mother would take when she grew tired from the physical exertion of torturing her son. She would leave him bound to the chair and head to the living room to watch her favorite TV shows and eat her favorite snack of chocolate covered raisins. She would return to the spare bedroom when she either came up with new ideas to inflict upon him or when the urge to cause him suffering was renewed. Wolf took the short times of her absence to let his mind and body rest. His hands had become cold, wrists rubbed raw from the tight restraints. He shifted uncomfortably and stared at the bare, white wall ahead of him.

There was a single window in the middle of the wall. If it weren't for the closed blinds, Wolf would have been able to see out at the houses across the street. If it weren't for the closed blinds someone passing by would have been able to see him, a broken and battered ten-year-old boy, tied to that care. The window's presence mocked him. It reminded him that there would be no one to help him, no one to save him and no one would know what was happening to him in that house. Staring at that window, hearing the joggers pass by and the children playing in the street while his mother relentlessly abused him merely added to his mental torture. He knew he could never yell for help either. Such an act would be quickly and painfully stopped by his mother. Outside of those walls people went about their days normally, unknowing of the hell that was taking place within the modest looking house.

Wolf was prepared for what was to come when his mother returned to the spare bedroom. He glared at her with hatred as she walked purposefully slowly across the room. He could hear the carpet fibers compressing beneath her feet. He could see her twisted expression of anticipation. He could smell her sickening scent that he recognized so well. He could feel her dark presence draw closer; and he loathed every bit of it. At some point while she was watching TV she noticed his backpack was not in the house which indicated he left it at school. This alone warranted a severely harsh punishment in her eyes. She spent nearly an hour deciding on what to do to him as punishment.

The woman leaned in close to Wolf's face, nearly touching her nose against his. He turned his face away from her in disgust. He could feel her hot breath against his ear as she leaned forward even closer. Wolf couldn't deny the instinct to scowl exaggeratedly, growling quietly as he did so. His sharp upper canine tooth became visible from behind his curled lip.

"Let's play a game." She whispered in his ear.

Wolf's heart rate quickly picked up in speed. He could just feel her cruel smile next to his ear. He remained silent, clenching his jaws and bracing himself.

"I spy with my little eye..." She trailed off. Wolf kept his head turned away from her, staring at the far right wall but out of the corner of his eye he could see something shiny in her hand down at her side. She continued. "Something fat." Wolf resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I spy with my little eye..." She paused again. "Something stupid." His mother repeated this several more times.

" I spy with my little eye... Something worthless."

"...Something ugly."

"...Something Disgusting."

She pouted and lightly dragged her finger in small circles around Wolf's throat. "Can you guess what it is, sweetie?" Wolf stayed silent yet he already knew the answer. "It's you." Sher tone was unapologetic and blunt. "You should really answer me when I talk to you. If I didn't know any better I'd think you're ignoring me. That would hurt my feelings." She let out a snobbish chuckle.