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He rises and meets us, reaching out and taking my hand. He brings it to his lips and kisses the back of it like he’s greeting someone precious. Bile rises up in my throat, but I do my best to swallow it down. I empty my mind of all thoughts… save one.
Just get through tonight.
It repeats over and over in my head as if it’s being screamed and I hold onto it, because that’s all I can do.
“Ryan you look very nice tonight. You will eat beside me,” my brother declares.
“Want to eat beside Rory,” Ryan argues bravely, even though his voice trembles.
“I’ll be just across the table,” I whisper quietly. Then, I look at my brother, because I can feel his anger gather around us like a storm cloud waiting for the perfect moment to release. “He’s just nervous, King. He needs time to get to know you.”
King frowns, but doesn’t say anything. We take our places. King at the head of the table, Ryan to his left and for some reason I’m three chairs down from King’s right. The three chairs between us don’t have people sitting in them, there are no place settings, they are just empty. This is King sending a message that I don’t belong at his table. I’m merely being tolerated because of Ryan. I could deal with that, I’d rejoice in it—if it wasn’t for worrying about Ryan.
“Ryan, how do you like your new bedroom?” he asks. Ryan has a room attached to mine that looks like something out of a magazine, staged for the perfect little boy. It’s cold. It’s impersonal and Ryan hates it. Instead, he slips in and sleeps with me every night. He hides under the mounds of covers and holds onto me. I’m grateful for that, because I find those moments holding him, are the only ones that make me feel strong enough to get us free. Those moments give me reason to face my brother’s wrath and finally, those moments remind me that Ryan and my child are innocent and need me to be stronger.
“Answer my brother, Ryan,” I caution him, when Ryan looks at him mutinously. I’m trying to put out a spark before the whole thing catches fire.
Who knew I’d be the cause of the whole inferno?
“You do not interfere when I’m talking to my son, Rory!” King growls, his façade of control cracking at once. His hand comes down slamming against the glass of the table. It’s a miracle that it doesn’t shatter. I flinch at the noise, emitting a gasp before I can stop myself.
“You’re not my father!” Ryan screams. “You’re a monster and I hate you! I want my daddy!” he cries.
Panic thrusts through my body like the speed of a bullet. This is bad and I know it’s going to be bad. I had no idea just how bad it is until King stands up and stomps over to Ryan. His hand wraps around Ryan’s arm and he pulls him up so roughly that Ryan cries out in pain. King backhands Ryan just as I make it to them.
“King! No!”
“I won’t have the boy talking back to me! He’ll learn or by God, I’ll make it so he can’t mouth off to me again!” He goes to slap Ryan again, and I twist to reach between them. His hit connects with my arm and though I don’t stop him completely, I do enough that he turns loose of Ryan and twists my arm.
“No!” I cry.
“Do not try to get between me and my child, Rory!” He growls.
“I’m not your child!” Ryan cries, his body trembling.
“You little—”
“King, he’s just a baby. He doesn’t understand. He just needs some time. You can’t hurt him. If you hurt him he’ll never fully accept you,” I cry, desperate to keep him from hurting Ryan.
“He has to be punished, Rory. I will not allow such insolence. This is what happens when he’s allowed to live with trash,” King growls and his hands go to his pants. He undoes the buckle of his belt, a large wide strapped leather belt, with an almost deadly looking silver buckle.
My heart stops.
“King you can’t. Please give him another chance.”
King watches me closely. His eyes go from me to Ryan’s and then a smile comes over his face. It’s a smile I don’t like and one that scares the hell out of me and turns my blood cold—all at the same time.
“Rory…” Ryan whimpers, his voice quivering. King has let him go and he moves to me. I shuffle him behind my body. I feel his hands bite into my dress, pulling on it. I feel his body shaking against mine. It seems to tremble out of time with my own.
“Someone has to be punished, Rory. Otherwise the boy won’t learn,” King says coldly, but it’s the glint in his eyes that truly chills me.
