“You shouldn’t touch stuff that isn’t yours, asshole,” I said back tohim.
“Asshole?” Chad laughed and walked toward me. “I think it’s your asshole that you should be worried about.” He reached out and patted the hot spot on the side of my face. “Asshole.”
I hated him with every breath I took. Dad returned, shaking out a wet hand towel. Then he pulled the ends tight and began to twirl it.Fuck.
“Den, Ryan!” Dadshouted.
“Den, pussy,” Chad whispered and shoved me away fromhim.
I walked ahead of my dad, and in the background, my mom yelled for him to hurry up because dinner wasready.
“It won’t take me long to sort himout.”
* * *
Iwasn’t hungry.I tried not to move because I was hurting everywhere. My clothes even hurt. I could feel the welts growing. They felt so tight that I thought they’d burstopen.
My parents fought and yelled during dinner about the car. I pulled my shirt away from my body when I reached for thesalt.
“Oh, and this little shit,” Mom started and slapped my sore chest. “Show your father what you got in the mail,” sheencouraged.
I got up from the table and handed my dad the packet from USC. He frowned and thumbed through it and laughed then tossed it toChad.
“Your little pussy brother got a scholarship for baseball. Much better than you ever did,Chad.”
“Can I go?” Iasked.
“What are you going to do after the two years, Ryan? It’s a two-year scholarship. Your mother and I have no money forshit.”
“I’ll get a job. Two if I have to.” I was energized by the chance that I could possibly go. “Please.”
“You’ll have to live here, Ryan. You can’t afford to live on campus,” my dadsaid.
No! I needed away! They couldn’t force me to stay after I graduated high school in a fewweeks.
“Please.”
“No, Ryan! You can go to the fucking school and play ball, that’s fine. But you are not movingout!”
I wasn’t going to fight about it. At least he’d let me accept thescholarship.
“Not now, Ryan!” my mom yelled and slapped myarm.
I couldn’t take much more of their shit. My body wasn’t even mine anymore. While I did my homework, screams and sounds of skin being slapped echoed through the vents to my room. I prayed they’d stay out there and leave me the fuckalone.
Eventually, my dad made his way to my room. In one hand, he held a bottle of beer, and the other hand he held his folded belt and a few wet towels. Fuck. I stood and shook my head at him. Nomore.
“Please,” I begged. “Dad, the welts are bad already.” I pulled my shirt off so he could see what he had done to me before dinner. I turned around so he could see my backtoo.
I tried reasoning with him as he shut the door and set the bottle down on my desk. He couldn’t be reasoned with when he was likethat.
* * *
“Ryan, sweetheart.”I jerked awake and lookedaround.
I was in my first-period class, and the students were filing out. I had fallen asleep. My teacher had a concerned look on herface.
“Ryan, are youalright?”
