Hello, my name is Ty. Ty Gordon Steppe, if you want to get into details. I am now fifteen. I live here in Boston with my older brother, Allen, and his wife Sara. I didn't always live here in this nice neighborhood. I used to live with my drunken father.
I didn't like him much. I know it is wrong to admit that now, but he was always upset, always verbally abusive. More often then not, he was physically abusive. That always got to me. 'Specially when he'd throw punches at my mother. The only place he'd let us go was to church and he always went with us there. I never got a chance to go to school, although Mother always tried to teach me things.
Sometimes Allen would sneak out. I never wanted him to go. I was always afraid he'd never come back. My father would yell at me and Mother until he returned. Then he'd yell at Allen, sometimes he'd even whip him.
On one of these occasions, Father came home from the bar totally drunk, raving mad. Must 'a' had a tussle with someone at the bar. He immediately demanded to know where Allen was. We couldn't tell him 'cause we didn't know. My mother tried to stop him from being so mad but he just pushed her away. Some how he got it into his head that I was the one that caused him to leave.
Then he asked me, "You there, boy, you know something and you're not telling me. Now where's your brother?"
"I don't know, sir," I replied.
"Don't lie to me."
"I do not know where my brother is, sir," I repeated.
"You stubborn pig! You just keep that up for five seconds longer, and don't dare move, boy, 'cause I'm going to get my belt," he said and left the room.
I knew better then to disobey him now, so stood there listening to my mother cry.
"Ty, Ty, Ty, aren't you going to do something?" I heard Mother whimper.
"What can I do, Ma?" I cried.
"Come here, poor boy, come here." So she took me up in her arms and held me there until my father returned.
"Okay, put him down so I can tell him who's boss around here," Father said.
"I will not!" Mother protested.
"Let the boy go, Martha! He needs a good sound whipping to show him to respect me!" my father yelled.
"Even when you're drunk?!" said Mother.
Then Father shoved her off me and threw her against the wall. I ran at my father, fists flying. He lashed the belt and hit me square on the back. I let out a holler. He lifted the belt to hit me again and I cowered down on the ground with my trembling hands struggling to protect my face. He struck me again and I felt like cursing, but I wouldn't dare, in front of my mother. Allen had once, and he got himself into a worse scrape then the one I was in.
I heard my mother yelling for him to stop, but he kept beating me. Finally he wore out and lashed me once more before storming out the door.
"Ty! Are you alright?" Mother said and crawled over to me. I climbed into her arms, and started crying uncontrollably. "Oh, Ty, I'm so sorry your father gets like that. I wish I could do something to keep him from beating on you two boys. It's just that the liquor gets in his system and…"
"Ma, please," I managed to gasp.
She touched my back. I winced and let out a whimper. "Oh, my poor baby, that must hurt. Let me take care of it."
She was right, it did hurt. I could feel the welts along my back. She took me up and made me put on a new pair of pants. Then she put some sort of salve on it that she said that would make it better. I didn't think anything would make it better then; it hurt so badly.
Then my brother came in.
"You will never guess what I just found!" I heard him call cheerfully. He walked into the room. Mother jumped up and pulled him back out. "What happened to him, and to you, too, your arm's scratched."
She took his face in her hands and said, "Oh Allen, you think you would learn."
A pause and then, "Yes, Ma?"
"Allen, your father was so angry and drunk, and when he came back to find you gone he brought it down hard on your brother."
"You mean Father did that 'cause 'a' me?"
"No, Allen, he's just a raving drunk man that needed something to get rid of his anger, and Ty just happened to be the first thing he saw."
"Are you sure, Mother?"
"You boys are treated worse than dogs."
"Yes, Ma?" Allen said, but that was the end of the conversation. Mother walked back to where I was lying and continued to rub down my back with that stuff.
Allen soon came in and put his hand on Mother's shoulder. "You need a rest, Ma," he said. She tried to protest but he just said, "Go on ahead, I'll take care of Ty-boy." Mother just sighed and went to the other room.
"You sure got that one good, huh Ty?" he asked me, meaning the whipping I got.
"Yeah."
"How could he have done anything so bad to you, when I was the one that ran away?"
"I don't know. Like Mother said, he was raving. I just happened to be in the way."
"Yeah, but still-"
"Aw, it'll be okay."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, you just better watch out 'cause yours is comin'."
He laughed and I lied back down. I closed my eyes and he began to massage my bare back with his strong hands. "That better?" he asked. I nodded without getting up.
"I've got something to tell you, bro, and you've got to promise not to tell any soul 'till after, okay?"
"It depends."
"Just promise me you won't tell anybody."
"Okay, I promise."
"I met a girl."
I sat up, "A girl? Really, Allen, you made me promise not to tell anybody you've met a girl?"
"No, not just that, I think I might marry her."
I just stared at him.
"Close your mouth, bro, it makes you look like a fool," he said, and I did.
"How long you known this girl?"
"A while, I met her at church once. That's why I've been runin'."
"You've been runin' for a girl?"
He nodded slowly. Oh great! I thought, just what I wanted to hear. It was as if I was getting beaten all over again.
"Everything okay, with that, Ty?" he asked.
I looked at him again. He was serious. "You really love her?" I asked and he nodded. "This'd mean you'd be leaving us."
"It wouldn't be that bad, Ty."
"But what about Father?"
"I'm not sure, I figure he'll think I've gone off and died. He might beat you again, though. But maybe if I break the news to him tonight, while he's sober, he won't take any of it out on you. I plan to go tomorrow though, no matter what."
"You can't leave me here in this state, with my back smartin'! He'd kill me if I couldn't defend myself!"
"Fine then, if you want it that way, bro, I'll wait 'till later, but next time I go, I won't be coming back," he said. I sighed and lied down again, the pain was still killing me. "Remember you promised, Ty, you can't tell anyone, not even Mother."
"I won't, Allen," I replied and closed my eyes.
Allen sat down the blanket he had picked up off the floor, and started massaging my back again. I loved my brother, even if he did cause Father to flog me.