“If you knew he wouldn’t last more than a few minutes, you shouldn’t have invited so many ofus.”
“Yeah, Liz, if you knew he couldn’t go the distance you should only have one or two peopleover.”
“My invite did not guarantee cum! Didn’t you enjoy cutting him and making him cry?” my momasked.
Heat from embarrassment blanketed my ears. I sat down carefully on the couch and bent over to quickly tie my shoes. I stood and ignored the pain that I had started to feel in bad places. I headed toward the door, but Marie grabbed my arm to stopme.
“What?” I spun around and barked at her. I had to get away fromhere.
“Ry, come home with me. Chad wouldlove—”
I shook my head and closed my eyes hoping it would stop the freight train of words that formed a visual of what promised to be a good time forChad.
“No, stop it, Marie,” I hissed. I sniffled again, and the foul taste in my mouth filled my senses. “Please, stop,” I begged and slumped against thewall.
“Ry, stop being so dramatic. The newest thing in homemade porn are ‘then and now’ videos,” shewhispered.
Then and nows? I stared at her blankly. I had no energy left. I felt filthy and completely drained of energy, and I was trying to figure out if I had been bleeding as much as it felt. I felt soaked and cold. Marie took my silence as an invitation to explain whatever the fuck the videowas.
“It’s where a video that was done years ago is recreated or reenacted. Same people, same positions,” she rattled on. “Chad could get a lot for one of those with you. We’ve done some, but you know how guy videossell.”
“You guys are sick,” I said under my breath as I walked toward the frontdoor.
“Yeah, but Ry, you like it. You’ve always liked it,” she called out afterme.
I didn’t andhadn’t.
“Chad!” My mom’s angry tone sliced right through me as I neared the door. I knew she was talking to me despite her calling me my brother’s name. She caught up to me and stared at me with her hands on her hips. “How dare you come over here and come so fast!” She slapped me and reached for my chest with her fingernails in the ready position to do their damage. I grabbed her wrists and stared at her. She seemed stunned for a moment, but then her lips curled into a disgustingsmile.
“You wait until your father gets home, Chad. You’re going to getit.”
What was she talking about? I let go of her wrist slowly to make sure she wasn’t going to start hitting or scratchingme.
“You’re in so much trouble, Chad!” My mom’s lips trembled as she paced erratically in the entryway. She looked like she was high on something. I glanced sideways at Marie to try to get an indication if she was seeing what I was seeing. Marie wasn’t looking at me, but the expression on her face told me that she was as lost as Iwas.
“Chad!” Mom screamed at me and pointed to my dad’s den. “You get your ass in your father’s den, and you wait until he gets home fromwork!”
All of the women had joined us in the entryway now and watched my mom unravel to the point where she looked like alunatic.
“You’re going to get it, youngman!”
My mom pushed through the small crowd and went to the kitchen. Everyone could hear her as she rummaged around and opened drawers before she slammed them shut. We could hear her talking to herself over the running water. She hurried towards us with a handful of wetdishrags.
The sight of the rags made my stomach hurt as memories of being whipped with wet towels rushedin.
“Liz, what are you doing?” Marie askedcalmly.
“Getting things ready for when Brad getshome.”
Mom laid the wet dish towels vertically along the desk in my dad’s den. Often, if my brother and I had been in a lot of trouble when we were little, she made us sit in our dad’s den until he got home from work. She’d fuck with our heads by setting out whatever weapon she felt would be fit for thepunishment.
“Get in here, Chad!” she screamed atme.
When I shook my head at her, she pounded the desk with her fist before she picked up a dishrag. She raised it in the air and then brought it down on the desk. The impact caused the excess water to splash around. It was as if she hadn’t even wrung them out; the rags weresoaked.
The nail party women wanted no part of this, and they all quickly left. Marie and I remained in the entryway staring into my dad’s den as my mom went off herrocker.
“Get in here, Chad!” she repeated. “Your father will be homesoon.”
