AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She walked into the bathroom and towel-dried her straight dark hair and brushed it to a high shine then pinched some color into her cheeks. It was going to be too warm f
or makeup and she didn't want to wonder if her eyeliner was smudging, making her look like a raccoon. Sometimes simple was best. She had just enough time to throw on her clothes and grab her keys. Running out the door, she took a moment to glance in the mirror. Something told her tonight would change her life.
****
Dave entered the gate to his old childhood home, feeling like a stone was around his neck. He was twenty-two years old, a war veteran and built like a tank, so why should an old man intimidate him? He was over six feet tall with broad shoulders and a hard body earned from combat. Henry was just a supervisor at the local steel plant. He was a desk jockey, not exactly the same strapping asshole who would drink and use Dave as a punching bag. But he felt like the same ten-year-old boy who would look up into the cold eyes of a man intent on inflicting pain.
Shaking his head, Dave knocked on the door, dreading the first contact. He didn't wait long. Before Dave's arm made it to his side, the front door opened and Henry stood there with that same smirk that put Dave's teeth on edge. "Well, looks like you finally took the time to stop by. What took you so long, boy? Been gone for years and now you think you can pop up just like that?" Dave stared at the man, realizing he was taller than the old bastard. "I hope you don't think you're staying here, David."
A woman's gasp sounded behind Henry.
"Of course, he's staying here, Henry. He's our son." Leigh's voice, so frail and full of emotion, gave Dave the strength to keep his mouth shut and his fists to himself. He shifted his line of vision behind Henry to his mom. She had aged in the last few years. Her chestnut hair had thick streaks of silver, her eyes dull from defeat. Living with an asshole could suck the life out of anyone, and it appeared his mother wasn't any different.
"Mom, I've missed you." Moving past Henry, he dropped his duffle bag and pulled his mom into his embrace. Holding his mother for the first time in three years put his well checked emotions into overdrive. She was so small and fragile, much more than he remembered. She still smelled the same though, like cookies and sunshine. "I missed you," he repeated. "I hope you're okay."
"Why should you give a shit if she's okay or not? You've not seen her in over three years. If you cared about her then you'd have come sooner." Henry's voice held censure making Dave's own guilt slice deeply to the surface. It grated on his nerves that the old bastard was right.
"Henry, Dave was fighting in a war, it's not like he could just come home anytime he wanted." Leigh's voice was muffled against Dave's chest, tears wetting his shirt. The guilt just kept rolling over him, making him edgy and looking for a fight.
"Bullshit, Leigh. The boy got leave in those years, he just chose to not come home." The knowing look on Henry's face and the shaking woman in his arms made Dave's voice come out harsh and angrier than he intended.
"Shut up, Henry. When's the last time you actually went to war with something besides the bottom of a whisky bottle?" Henry's body stiffened, and with his face hot with outrage, he stepped up to Dave, fists clenched.
"Listen boy, keep a civil tone. I can still…" The sentence went unfinished. Dave turned and grabbed the old man's shirt front, at the same time putting his mother behind his own bigger body.
"You can still what, old man? Beat me? I think you and I both know that isn't going to happen. Not now and not ever again." Dave looked down, actually had to look down to see into the eyes of the man who tormented him during his youth. He didn't have to raise his head to stare eye to eye with the monster. The realization of his own size and power, along with his mother's shaking body behind him, gave Dave the strength to drop his hand to his side and smile at his old tormentor. He gave Henry a slight push to put distance between them.
"You know what. I was going to get a room in town but I think I'll stay here for a while." He smiled looking down into his mother's eyes, seeing her joy. "I have some leave saved up from the last three years," he looked at Henry, smiling, "so I think I'll just take my things up to my old room." He kissed his mom on the forehead and bent to pick up his duffel bag. He didn't even look back as he climbed the steps two at a time to his old room.
He threw his duffle bag on the small twin bed and closed the door, leaning on the solid wood. How many times had that door been his only protection against the fists of that cold bastard? How many times had he listened to that man curse and call him names through the thick slab? Memories assailed him, throwing him back to those days of his childhood. The yelling, the smell of whisky, the feel of thick meaty fists pounding on his body. The taste of fear and blood. His mom crying in the background as Henry raged at his stepson for things real or imagined.
If Dave got a "B" in school he was stupid and would never amount to anything. If Dave didn't clean his room and he was an ungrateful piece of shit who didn't take care of the things Henry worked hard to provide. Dave laughed at that. Henry never gave him anything but bruises and pain. Both mental and physical pain.
Moving from the door to the bed, Dave sat down and was surprised to find tears on his face. Why did he come back here? What made him decide to revisit the pain and humiliation of the man that was Henry Blythe? The man who liked to hurt anything that reminded him of his wife's past. Dave didn't even remember his own father, only Henry, the man who worked at the steel plant. Years of lifting heavy pallets and moving large objects had honed Henry into a strapping man with big arms until a back injury sidelined him. He’d kept a job at the plant but he’d taken the job of supervisor where no physical labor was required. Years of doing menial labor had turned him into an angry, bitter man who liked to drink. Alcohol made him mean and he liked to hurt his wife's son.
Dave stood up, opened his duffel bag and poured the contents on the bed, rifling to find something to wear to Gary's house. Screw Henry Blythe. He needed to blow off some steam or he'd kill the motherfucker. Grabbing a pair of jeans and an Army t-shirt, Dave flung open the door and went to the bathroom to shower and shave before heading out. He'd make it up to his mom later and try to take her with him when he went back to the base.
****
Gary walked outside to check on the guests. A few people had already shown up to the cookout. His sister's best friend, Sadie, was there helping Meghan set up for the party. They had brought out paper plates and plastic forks, setting them on the table beside the grill. Chips and a cooler of ice were in the shade along with a few cases of beer. Gary was staring at Sadie's long legs when Meghan slapped him on the arm to get his attention. "You keep looking at her like that and Sarah will have your balls on a platter." Gary took the beer Meghan held out, popped the top and took a long drink.
"Yeah, well it's not my fault. I thought she'd wear something more, you know," he made an up and down gesture with his free hand, "covered up." He was used to Sadie wearing jeans and t-shirts, not tight, sleeveless dresses. Meghan laughed when Sadie bent over, putting beer in the cooler. Her skirt rode up the back of her legs. Gary’s eyes nearly rolled back into his head.
"Yeah, well I think she looks great. It's not like you haven't seen a woman's shoulders and legs before, dumbass." Meghan punched her brother’s arm when Sadie moved to set out the condiments for the burgers and hot dogs Gary would be grilling soon.
"No, it's not. But I haven't seen any that looks like hers either. Except for magazines." Gary wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at his sister and saw her grin back. "But you're right, if Sarah sees me looking at her at all I'm in deep shit, but what a sight to see before I die." He winked and went back inside to answer the front door at the sound of the knock.
Gary dared a glance back to Meghan’s old college roommate, knowing she had put on that dress for Dave. The deep violet and white complemented her skin and eyes. Sadie's long dark hair was loose and flowed around her bare shoulders, held out of her face by a pretty headband. Sadie's light complexion was bare and her dark blue eyes were makeup-free. Her natural beauty and grace surrounded her, making her beautiful but approachable. The tight fit of the bodice of the dress accentuated her trim waist a
nd generous curves. The hem of her dress fell to just above her knees showing off her shapely calves. Her pretty pedicured toes peeked out of her strappy sandals. Dave would be a fool to not notice that sexy woman.
****
The cookout was in full swing as Dave walked up to the house where music poured out of the speakers hidden somewhere in the bushes. The sun was low in the sky but not set, giving a faint glow to the dozen or so partygoers. The smell of burgers reminded him that he hadn't eaten since he left the base that morning. The sound of a beer can opening drew his attention to a group of people chatting next to the patio. He caught a glimpse of long auburn hair and grinned. Meghan had certainly grown up. Fair skin and freckles smattered across her nose, big brown eyes and a ready smile, she was always who he fantasized about. He knew her face as well as he knew his own.
He spent hours at her and Gary's parents’ house to get away from his own home. He would spend nights with Gary, reading mechanical magazines, camping out in the back yard, climbing trees and pretending to not notice how Gary's sister was growing up and filling out. He'd watched her as she changed before his eyes from annoying kid sister to a gangly pre-teenage girl to a knockout with big breasts and luscious pink lips.
He could remember the first time he saw her in a bikini, laying out in the backyard. He'd spent countless hours after that daydreaming about her. Now she was all woman, and Dave wanted to finally see what that bikini hid from his view. Too bad he had only a few weeks of leave. He wanted to relearn her and take his time but he might have to hurry things along a bit.
