Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J. E. belong to J. E. All other characters are a figment of my imagination and any resemblance to real persons is strictly coincidental.
While reading a story co-authored by Margaret and Melissa,I read part of a chapter that started me thinking. So thank you Margaret and Melissa for helping me come up with the basic idea. This story has a lot of Joe Morelli in it, but the story is not a Cupcake. If you aren't a Joe fan you may not like the story. There is a Babe presence in the story though.
Warning: Violent subject matter.
Chapter 1: The Sins of The Past
I looked down into the living room from my vantage point on the stairs. I heard him come in and I knew he was drunk. My mom was sitting on the sofa and I watched as he stormed in and demanded she fix him a meal. Mom got up but he said she wasn't moving fast enough and he hit her. She fell back against the sofa, crying out in pain from the blow. I raced down the stairs to help her but before I could reach her he turned on me and started hitting and kicking and punching me. It was all I could do to draw breath into my lungs. The pain was unbearable but I tried not to make a sound. If I did it would only get worse because he would say I was being a sissy. I did my best to block it out and waited till he finished. It seemed like hours later that mom was covering my body with hers and sobbing. I vaguely heard her saying, "Please don't die Joey. Please don't die."
I don't remember anything after that until I open my eyes to see the sun shining through the window. Mom is there by my bed, sitting in a chair with her head resting on my bed. She's sleeping, or at least I hope she's just sleeping. This isn't the first time this has happened and I'm sure it won't be the last. I wonder why we stay, but the last time I asked mom that question she had such a look of fear in her eyes that it made me feel funny inside. I wondered what would happen once I started kindergarten next year. I vaguely remember dad beating on Anthony a couple years ago before he started school. Then once Anthony started school, dad turned his fists to me. I got a funny feeling inside when I thought about dad turning his fists on my 1 year old sister Mary. I couldn't let him do that. She wouldn't be able to handle it. I had some time to plan. I had to find a way of making sure he never hurt Mary in the same way he had hurt Anthony and myself.
It was nearly three weeks before I was totally healed. I stayed in the house as much as I could. I didn't want mom to have to deal with all the gossip. That didn't keep the worst of them away though. They showed up at the door wanting to come in and talk. They heard loud noises and just wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Sure they did. They just wanted the scoop on what had happened so they could spread it all over town. I made sure to stay in my room so mom wouldn't have to answer their questions.
It was a couple days later when grandma Bella came to visit. Dad was home in time for supper and he was extra polite in front of grandma Bella. I wondered about that and when she'd left I asked mom about it. Mom said that dad was afraid of his mother. Said she had the ability to put the eye on people. It gave me an idea. I suggested mom ask grandma Bella to come live with us. Grandma was always saying she hated not seeing us as much as she wanted, and I thought she would be able to protect Mary. Mom gave me a sad look and said she was sorry she couldn't do more to protect me. I shook my head and told her I could take care of myself. I just wanted to make sure Mary was protected because I would be starting school next year and didn't want dad hurting her. Mom agreed and gave grandma a call.
Grandma Bella was all moved in a couple days later. I think she'd known the last time she was there what dad had been doing. Things started changing after that. Dad still drank, but on those numerous occasions he didn't come home until he was sober. He was sporadic in our lives, and as far as I was concerned, that wasn't a bad thing. There are all kinds of abuse though. I didn't learn till years later how far reaching my dad's forms of abuse were. My name is Joseph Anthony Morelli and this is my life.
Although the beatings stopped once grandma Bella moved in with us, the taunts and bullying only got worse. He always made sure grandma was nowhere around when he did that. He'd tell me I wasn't a man because I hadn't fingered a girl yet and how all girls liked it rough. He said any man worth anything would nail his girl young and let the whole world know about it. Over and over I'd hear the same things. I knew he was feeding Anthony the same lines. He always had beer around and kept trying to get us to drink with him. I never touched the stuff, but Anthony did. It got to the point where Anthony couldn't get through a day without drinking. Dad was making him into a copy of himself.
About the time I turned 8, dad started telling Anthony it was time for him to finally finger his first girl. Dad had the girl already picked out. 6 year old Stephanie Plum. My heart dropped. I couldn't let that happen. Steph was a cute little girl with lots of spirit, and I didn't want my brother taking anything from her, because I knew Anthony liked being rough with girls. He had already gotten drunk a few times and slapped around the hookers dad would take us to see. I knew I had to work fast so I made my plans and two days later I led Steph to my dad's garage to show her a new game.
Stephanie was a bright, beautiful little girl with a curious nature. She was at an age where she was curious about her own body as well as mine. I was as gentle as I could be, and made sure she got as much pleasure from what I was doing as possible. I fell a little in love with her that day. She got a little mad when after I got done; I wouldn't let her be the train. I shrugged and told her it didn't work that way. When I led her from the garage, dad was standing there with a pleased look on his face and told me he was proud of me. I felt sick at the thought he was proud of me. I looked at Stephanie and told her I'd see her partway home. I didn't want her getting hurt. Anthony gave her a look and went to step forward but my dad grabbed him and said she was mine. I'd branded her right. I prayed Steph hadn't heard, or if she did, that she wouldn't understand his meaning.
When I was in high school I met a beautiful girl named Terry Gilman. I started seeing her and we went steady throughout high school. I felt good about myself when I was with her. I really felt like I loved her. There was a lot of gossip. Everyone in the Burg was making comments about me screwing Terry, and what would Vito say when he found out. How no self-respecting man would have anything to do with her because she was mob through and through. As much as I hated to, I found myself breaking it off with her after graduation. I told her I was joining the navy and wanted to make something of myself when I got back. I told her I couldn't allow her family ties to interfere with my future. She just smiled sadly and told me she knew it was only a matter of time before it ended. She wished me a happy life.
It was ten years after the incident in the garage that I had my next run in with Steph. Anthony was talking about finding a girl to settle down with. He said something about Stephanie being a real looker and maybe he would give her a ride. I had in-listed in the navy and would be leaving shortly. I was down because I'd just broken up with Terry, and I was looking for a way to protect Stephanie from Anthony. I walked into the Tasty Pastry just before closing and she was working behind the counter. She looked so beautiful and I had all these feelings inside I didn't know how to deal with. I waited till she waited on her last customer and locked the door so no one else would enter.
Stephanie grinned and said, "Thanks. Can you switch the sign to off too so no one else tries to come in?"
I grin at her and do as she asks. I walk over to the counter and ask if I can get a chocolate chip cannoli. She bags one up and I pay for it. I look into her eyes and my eyes darken with a sudden bolt of desire. Her eyes widen and I can see I'm having an effect on her. I lean close and her cheeks get red and her breathing gets choppy like she's out of breath. I capture her mouth with mine and let all my passion loose. I know she's a virgin and that excites me more. She's out of her depth. My passion enfolds her and she is unable to resist. I give her as much pleasure as she gives me. When it's over I'm ashamed that I let this happen here. She was a virgin and the least I owed her was a room with a bed. She deserves better than I could ever give her. I figure the only thing I can give her now is my protection. I only know one way to do that. With one last glance at her, I dress and walk away, leaving her to clean up the mess. On my way out of town I make several stops. I hope this is enough to keep her out of Anthony's sights. They only thing left for me to do for her is to walk out of her life.