yeah,” I nod. “Kind of feels that way, doesn’t it?”
She squeals as loud as she can considering we’re in a library and I’m trapped in another Chemical X cuddle. I swear I’m getting better at returning them. My arms almost find their place without me forcing them there.
“So, Karl?” She prompts, pulling me down to the desk whilst she busies herself at a computer.
“ Like I said, it’s not what you think,” I explain with a sigh, wondering where I should start. I take a deep breath and I’ve got Becky’s full attention as I begin.
“ We were next door neighbours when we were kids. I used to play with them all the time. Mostly with Karl, but with Ian, Rick, and Danny as well. Matt was there quite a bit but I barely recognise him now.”
I pick up a pencil off the desk and begin winding it through my fingers so I’ve got something to do with my hands.
“Karl and I were best friends. We did everything together. I still have the rock he painted for my eighth birthday. It’s ugly as hell but I loved the stupid thing.
My mum got cancer when I was nine. She got so bad we thought she’d lost the battle. The Carters fed and cloth ed me when she was at her worst, kept me out of the way because she slept a lot. I never felt like a burden because they were so welcoming but it was a tough time and I definitely needed them.
After about six months of my mum being bed-ridden, her boyfriend at the time started causing problems. He’d visit me at night and I didn’t like it. At first it wasn’t so bad but it got worse every time.
I didn’t sleep much and Karl obviously noticed because we spent so much time together. I told him I was having nightmares so , every evening, he’d come check my room for me. I think it was his way of trying to prove to me that there was nothing to be scared of.
I couldn’t tell him what was really happening. My mum’s boyfriend told me that it was my job to pick up the slack whilst my mum was bed-ridden. He said if I told her anything , she’d be upset and get more ill and then she’d definitely die.
Even if he hadn’t said that, I couldn’t have told anyone anyway. I felt disgusting. Like I was rotting from the inside out. Diseased. ”
I can tell Becky is struggling with my story but it needs a background so I put the pencil down and grab her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
“It went on for a year, until I was almost eleven. He got more aggressive and more violent to the point that I was getting really ill towards the end. My mum was finally getting better and I wasn’t about to jeopardise it. I figured that if I could just hold out until she was well, I could tell her and she could take me away.
One night, he came into my room drunk. I could tell because he stank of whiskey. The times he’d been drunk before had always been the wor st because he was really rough.
When Karl checked my room, he always made sure the window was unlocked. Our houses were semi-detached and he could crawl across the tree outside and get to the ledge outside my window if he really wanted to. He said all I had to do was scream and he’d come chase my nightmares away.
Of course, I never screamed because if I made any noise, the sick freak choked me.
He had my nightie off and was pinning me down to the bed when I heard something tumbling into my bedroom. It was Karl. To this day, I don’t know why he decided to crawl over that night but he took one look at what was happening and launched himself at the guy.
Karl’s bigger now than he was but he wasn’t a wimp by any means. His dad’s in the army and he teaches them all martial arts. They all worked out tonnes and they could all handle themselves in a fight.
My mum’s boyfriend was much bigger than I was, but he wasn’t that much bigger than Karl. It didn’t matter though. Karl was like a machine. He pummelled the guy. He was on the floor unconscious in a matter of minutes and I was screaming. Not because I was scared but
She squeals as loud as she can considering we’re in a library and I’m trapped in another Chemical X cuddle. I swear I’m getting better at returning them. My arms almost find their place without me forcing them there.
“So, Karl?” She prompts, pulling me down to the desk whilst she busies herself at a computer.
“ Like I said, it’s not what you think,” I explain with a sigh, wondering where I should start. I take a deep breath and I’ve got Becky’s full attention as I begin.
“ We were next door neighbours when we were kids. I used to play with them all the time. Mostly with Karl, but with Ian, Rick, and Danny as well. Matt was there quite a bit but I barely recognise him now.”
I pick up a pencil off the desk and begin winding it through my fingers so I’ve got something to do with my hands.
“Karl and I were best friends. We did everything together. I still have the rock he painted for my eighth birthday. It’s ugly as hell but I loved the stupid thing.
My mum got cancer when I was nine. She got so bad we thought she’d lost the battle. The Carters fed and cloth ed me when she was at her worst, kept me out of the way because she slept a lot. I never felt like a burden because they were so welcoming but it was a tough time and I definitely needed them.
After about six months of my mum being bed-ridden, her boyfriend at the time started causing problems. He’d visit me at night and I didn’t like it. At first it wasn’t so bad but it got worse every time.
I didn’t sleep much and Karl obviously noticed because we spent so much time together. I told him I was having nightmares so , every evening, he’d come check my room for me. I think it was his way of trying to prove to me that there was nothing to be scared of.
I couldn’t tell him what was really happening. My mum’s boyfriend told me that it was my job to pick up the slack whilst my mum was bed-ridden. He said if I told her anything , she’d be upset and get more ill and then she’d definitely die.
Even if he hadn’t said that, I couldn’t have told anyone anyway. I felt disgusting. Like I was rotting from the inside out. Diseased. ”
I can tell Becky is struggling with my story but it needs a background so I put the pencil down and grab her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
“It went on for a year, until I was almost eleven. He got more aggressive and more violent to the point that I was getting really ill towards the end. My mum was finally getting better and I wasn’t about to jeopardise it. I figured that if I could just hold out until she was well, I could tell her and she could take me away.
One night, he came into my room drunk. I could tell because he stank of whiskey. The times he’d been drunk before had always been the wor st because he was really rough.
When Karl checked my room, he always made sure the window was unlocked. Our houses were semi-detached and he could crawl across the tree outside and get to the ledge outside my window if he really wanted to. He said all I had to do was scream and he’d come chase my nightmares away.
Of course, I never screamed because if I made any noise, the sick freak choked me.
He had my nightie off and was pinning me down to the bed when I heard something tumbling into my bedroom. It was Karl. To this day, I don’t know why he decided to crawl over that night but he took one look at what was happening and launched himself at the guy.
Karl’s bigger now than he was but he wasn’t a wimp by any means. His dad’s in the army and he teaches them all martial arts. They all worked out tonnes and they could all handle themselves in a fight.
My mum’s boyfriend was much bigger than I was, but he wasn’t that much bigger than Karl. It didn’t matter though. Karl was like a machine. He pummelled the guy. He was on the floor unconscious in a matter of minutes and I was screaming. Not because I was scared but
Similar Books
