Abandoned Angel by Kayden Lee

to see his dad raise a hand to his quiet mother. In his eyes, she was weak. He understood that she could do nothing about the beatings he received, but he silently blamed her for them just the same. She never stopped his father from handing out the abuse, though occasionally, when she attempted to intervene, she took abuse right along with him. Rusty left their home when he was seventeen, and had only been back to the farmhouse a handful of times since then. Not liking the connection that Angelina seemed to have made with Rusty’s mother on his last visit home, he began to refuse his mother’s calls. When Maxine finally accepted that Rusty did not want anything to do with her, she quit trying to reach him. Rusty, feeling confident and in control, told Angelina that the old bat had died, and that the aged house had been sold to the neighbors and torn down. Angelina never understood how Rusty could be so cold to his own family, but as far as Rusty knew, she bought the story. Even if the bikers let Angelina survive, she would have no reason to look for Justin there.
    Justin’s light brown hair and suspicious eyes reminded Rusty of the way Angelina looked at him when she declared she would not visit him in jail. In his mind, she had betrayed him, and she would suffer for it. He had sworn that he would never abuse his own child, as he had been beaten , and took pride in the fact that he had never laid a hand on Justin. He fought hard with himself not to do it now. Justin’s constant whining in the back seat made Rusty want to reach around and slap his puffy faced son hard across his pouting mouth, and make him grow up a bit.
    Not now, Rusty reminded himself. He could punish Justin later if he needed to. For now, he needed to be patient and earn the boys trust. He needed to hurry and get to the place where he had grown up, miserable as it was. Rusty wanted to start over, without that traitorous wife by his side. He would find someone better than her - someone who would be obedient to him. Until then, his mother could dote on the snotty nosed kid, taking care of him as necessary.
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    It was late in the afternoon. The group of motorcycles had been riding hard for most of the day. The sun set high in the clouds and Angelina was no longer cold on the back seat of the bike. She had not been for some time. The hot sun beat down on her bruised face, warming her exhausted body deep inside. She had grown accustomed to the cacti and dirt, and the occasional batch of trees that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. The afternoon was amazingly peaceful as they drove, following behind the other bikers. The shades of color, the stillness of the air and the natural beauty, calmed her. Angelina needed to feel calm in order to keep herself from panicking. Tears flooded her eyes as she pictured Rusty standing there on her broken porch, rifle in hand, ready to take control of his family. She was grateful that he had sent Justin into the living room to watch his favorite cartoon while he ate. Angelina wasn’t sure if her little boy had seen any of the abuse Rusty inflicted, but she hoped not. She prayed that the pill Rusty smashed into his drink knocked him out before Rusty put either of them in the truck. Otherwise, Justin would have been terrified by the sight of his mother in an unconscious state .
    When her stomach growled, she remembered that she had not eaten since lunch the day before. She had somehow managed to allow herself to feel a calm comfort for the last hour or so. Before that, it was despair. Deep, snarling despair over what was happening to her son. She kept telling herself that Rusty would not hurt Justin, he had never hurt him, and he would not do it now. The aching was there just the same. Rusty was different after jail time, his eyes gave his anger away. As much as she tried to convince herself that he would not hurt their son, she truly did not know.
    Angela recalled the shocked look on her husband’s face when she had