Chapter 10:
Him
This wasn't fun anymore. Almost a full
twenty-four hours had passed by and Joe had kept his promise not to bring me
any food. It's strange how you take things like eating for granted. I had
developed a headache halfway through my....well...let's call it a starvation
process. That's the drama queen in me. I also developed a bad case of the
"Why ME's" You know what I'm talking about. When you feel so
pathetically sorry for yourself that you just about scream WHY ME!! at the top
of your lungs. Kevin coined the phrase when I would go into bouts of whining about
the dumbest things.
"Oh here comes the why ME's!" He
would say and that would crack me up and make me forget what the problem was. I
was so easily distracted in my younger days. Funny thing is now that I have
every reason to whine, I'm not. I did cry though.
I cried because I thought of my family. I miss them so much. Mom and Dad must
be so worried about me. My sisters probably haven't been sleeping well. I bet
nobody has. then I thought about the guys. Did they blame themselves? I hope
not. I can't believe we let so many petty differences come between us. When I
get out of here, I will never let small things get in my way ever again. Life
is too short. The question is IF..
I cried mostly because I don't want to die. I am only 22 years old. I have so
much more to live for. So much more to accomplish. Can these two people who at
one time called me friend, take that away from me. just like that? I've always
wondered what it would feel like to die. I know there's a bright light and
people you know would guide you through until you reached the pearly gates. I'd
get to see my aunt again. I wonder if Howie's sister and AJ's grandma would be
there waiting for me. I didn't know Caroline that well. She seemed nice. I just
don't want to hurt. Make it fast and painless. One thing was for sure, if they
did actually kill me, I would haunt their asses for eternity!
I sat in a ball and rocked back and forth in my bathroom. Thinking the most
morbid thoughts. Tears streaming down my eyes. Thinking about all the years of
therapy I would need to get over this. God and I thought I was messed up now! I
couldn't help but laugh at myself.
Then I heard the door...
I jumped off the floor wiped my weepy eyes and walked calmly into the bedroom.
I was not about to let Joe see me vulnerable. he needed to think I was strong.
I NEEDED to be strong. I got excited by the smell that was wafting down the
stairs as Joe got closer. pizza! Sure enough when Joe reached the bottom of the
stairs he had a pizza and a six pack of beer in his hands.
"Hi young man, I bet you're starving huh?" I wanted to grab the pizza
out of his hand but my brain refused to let my hands carry that thought
through.
"I'm a little hungry, I guess I could eat some pizza" He looked at me
with a smug smile. He knew I was bluffing.
"Well, maybe I'll save this for later than" he said and started
walking back up the stairs. He walked slowly at first expecting me to beg him
to stop. When I didn't he came back down laughing.
"Wow kid, I have to say you're a tough guy aren't you?" he ruffled my
hair. I tried not to vomit on him. He placed the pizza and beer down on the
table and summoned me over to eat.
"I brought you a pepperoni with extra cheese. I thought we could play some
cards and have a man's night. What do you say Nick?" I looked at him and
smiled when I saw how excited he was anticipating my answer. Like I was gonna
say no to a lunatic.
"Do I have a choice?" He seemed disappointed. This pleased me.
"I guess if you want me to leave I will. I just thought you might be
feeling a little lonely."
"Naw,that's okay you can stay I said grabbing a beer and downing it"
"Easy there buddy. Don't drink it to fast!"
"Joe, I think you above everyone else should know that I am more than
capable of holding my liquor." I burped and grabbed another. This one I
was gonna nurse. I had to get Joe drunk. Maybe I could get out of there than.
We drank and ate pizza, all the while playing poker. He had finished off three
of the beers and I had drank two emptying the third out when he went to use my
bathroom. He ran upstairs and got another six pack which he proceeded to finish
off. He was getting plastered and my plan was beginning to work!
"Hey Joe"
"yes little buddy"
"before Trish called yesterday, you had mentioned a him"
"A who?"
"A him. You asked me if she told me about him. I said no and you told me
you would. So who is him?" I was really hoping the state that Joe was
currently in, he wouldn't really remember the conversation. I was right.
"Oh I did? Okay well you must mean Jacob. Our little brother. he was
him." He raised a beer up to the ceiling.
"I miss you little buddy" He said before chugging it.
"What happened to him?" I asked a little curious.
"Mom killed him." He seemed so broken up about it.
"Damn bitch wasn't even my real mother, did you know she fucking kidnapped
me when I was five. Fucking kidnapped me from my own family."
"I'm sorry to hear that"
"Yeah she kidnapped Trish too. Same with Jacob. We were their scab family.
They were awful people Nick. the worst. I FUCKING HATE YOU BOTH!!!" he
shouted at the ground. I was scared. I started to back away from the table. He
looked over and calmed down.
"Nick I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to say that
loud enough so that they could here me in hell" I scooted back towards the
table still a little leary but mostly mad at myself for letting Joe see that I
was afraid.
"Why did they kill him Joe?" I wasn't sure I really wanted to know
the answer to that question but still I had to ask.
"Because he got too old for them. He didn't look like a little kid anymore
and HIS parents were searching high and low for him. So they killed him on his
tenth birthday. He blew out his candles and she blew off his head! HA" he
started to laugh hysterically. He calmed himself down andtook another sip of
his beer.
"He would have been a few years older than you Nick" I nodded.
"Ah well life's a bitch I guess. They got what they deserved," he
moved to the couch and laid down, resting his head on the arm.
"How did you do it?"
"What? You mean how did I guess the bitch and her repulsive husband?"
I nodded again.
"I stabbed him and slowly strangled her. I made her watch herself dying in
the mirror. I wanted to make sure she saw me smiling. They're buried in the
back.
I didn't know what to say. I was carrying on a conversation with a cold blooded
murderer. Sharing a laugh and a beer. Would God forgive me I wonder. if not I
guess I would be meeting his parents soon enough. I suddenly felt nauseous and
ran to the bathroom and puked my guts out.
I heard snoring as I left the bathroom. I tip toed over to where Joe was laying
and saw he was sound asleep. I slowly put my hand in his pocket pulling out the
key to my freedom. My heart began to race and every bone in my body told me to
run for my life. I had to stay calm though. This could be my only chance. I
slowly trotted up the steps and unlocked the door.
"Sweet dreams sick mother fucker" I whispered as I quickly closed the
door behind me, locking Joe in my prison…
***