I decided that I wanted to do some Falling Skies Ipod Shuffle and listening to some random songs on youtube to get rid of my writer's block. The stories are going to be mostly about the Mason family.
Never Again
He's drunk again, it's time to fight
He must have done something wrong tonight
"Where are you at, boy?" his drunken voice sounded into the room. It's always tempting to Ben to slip out the window, but he knows he can't. Ben grabs Matt, opens the window, and slides him out before responding.
"The neighbors said they heard you yelling last night," he said, leaning in towards Ben's face. "I had to lie and say you were having nightmares again."
"I'm sorry," Ben squeaked. A hand lashes out and before Ben can even brace himself the blow lands and a metallic taste explodes in his mouth. Blood.
The living room becomes a boxing ring
It's time to run when you see him
Clenching his hands
He's just a boy
Never Again
Punches, kicks, and slaps rain down on his body and Ben forces himself to be silent as tears well up in his eyes, one of which is beginning to swell shut. A pocket knife appears from his pocket and plunges into his side. Uncle Wen laughs as he rips it out then stomps out, tripping drunkenly and landing on Ben's wrist before he leaves.
I hear him scream, from down the hall
Amazing he can even talk at all
He cries to me, Go back to bed
I'm terrified that he'll wind up
Dead in his hands, He's just a boy
Never Again
"Ben?" Matt whispered, terrified. He had heard Ben scream as he wondered the halls and had dashed in as soon as Uncle Wen left.
"Go to bed," Ben barely manages to get out. "I'm fine, just go to bed."
Matt numbly walked towards his bed, curling under the covers without bothering to take off his shoes, watching Ben with wide eyes as Ben pulls his shirt off with a wince and pressed it to his back.
Been there before, but not like this
Seen it before, but not like this
Never before have I ever
Seen it this bad
He's just a boy
Never Again
Ben hurt everywhere, just like always. His wrist throbbed, his back stung, his eye throbbed. He kept Matt out of the room as much as possible, ignoring the fact that his dad didn't want Matt around Pope. Pope could be no worse than Uncle Wen. Ben on the other hand remains in the room nearly always. If Uncle Wen gets drunk and wants someone to hit he needs to be there so he won't go track down Matt, not to mention black eyes and busted lips would draw questions. So Ben eagerly awaited when his brother and father would return from a mission in two weeks.
Just tell the nurse, you slipped and fell
It starts to sting as it starts to swell
She looks at you, she wants the truth
It's right out there in the waiting room
With those hands
Lookin just as sweet as he can
Never Again
"What did you do to your wrist?" Anne exclaimed. Matt had finally given Ben the ultimatum, go see Anne for his wrist, which was three times its normal side and a blackish shade of purple or else Matt would tell Weaver what Uncle Wen did, which Ben had made him promise to keep secret.
"I fell," Ben lied. Anne gave him a look that obviously said she didn't believe him.
"I know that if you don't want to tell me you're not going to, but when you're dad and brother get back they're going to kill who ever broke your wrist," Anne said, delivering her diagnoses in the same sentence as the information.
He's in our room right now, Ben's thoughts cried as Anne began to wrap his wrist.
Seen it before, but not like this
Been there before, but not like this
Never before have I ever
Seen it this bad
He's just a boy
Never Again
"Why can't I just tell Anne?" Matt asked. "She can keep him from hurting you."
"Uncle Wen is in charge of taking care of us when Dad and Hal are gone, like they are now," Ben said. "It's nobody's business what he does."
But as Matt sat in the hallway that night, listening to Ben's cries he buried his head in his knees, crying silently. Ben started screaming and Matt couldn't take it anymore.
Father's a name you haven't earned yet
You're just a child with a temper
Haven't you heard "Don't hit a child"?
Kickin' your ass would be a pleasure
"Leave him alone!" Matt screamed. Uncle Wen laughed humorously.
"Shut up, brat," he said. "When my brother is out you will treat me like I am you're father."
"You're just like a little kid!" Matt screamed, beyond words. "You can't do anything and you just take it all out of everyone else." Uncle Wen snarled and responded by kicking Ben in the ribs. Ben whimpered miserably, tears streaming down his face, and curled in on himself.
He's drunk again, it's time to fight
Same old shit, just on a different night
He grabs the gun, he's had enough
Tonight he'll find out how fucking
Tough is this man
Pulls the trigger as fast as he can
Never Again
No! Matt's mind screamed at him. You can't just sit by while he hurt Ben anymore! His gaze came to rest on a pistol that Hal or his dad had forgotten on the nightstand. Matt seized the gun, small hands duplicating what he had seen the adults and older kids do as his index finger wrapped around the trigger and he quickly pulled it. Uncle Wen dropped to the ground.
Seen it before, but not like this
Been there before, but not like this
Never before have I ever
Seen it this bad
He's just a boy
Never Again
"How is he?" Tom asked, panicked as he and Hal tore into the school. Weaver had radioed with some terrifying news and the father and son had speed back immediantly. Tom went to Anne while Hal went to Matt who was sitting by Ben's bedside.
"He's been in and out of consciousness for the past few days," Anne said. "His wrist was broken before, but both of his legs are broken, his arm's snapped, his shoulder was dislocated, and his collar bone was broken. Several of his ribs are fractured and one is broken. He's malnourished and had lost around twenty to thirty-five percent of the blood in his body." Tom scrubbed his face with his hands, staring at his middle son looking so fragile.
"How'd this happen?" he finally asked.
"Matt hasn't spoken much since it happened, but we think Wen started beating Matt pretty soon after you found him," Anne admitted. "Ben would put Matt out the window and would tell him not to come back into the room until he left whenever he was drunk to keep Matt safe. Wen told people that Ben was having nightmares so people wouldn't question all the screaming and crying at night… God, why didn't I see it when Matt drug him in here with a broken wrist and his face all swollen up?"
"And the night… it happened?" Tom asked.
"Matt was sitting in the hallway… and he snapped. He went in and started yelling at Wen. Wen kept hitting Ben and Matt shot him," Anne said. "People heard and came running. Wen was dead and Ben was messed up bad."
Numbly, Tom went to hold his son who was regaining consciousness slightly. "I'm sorry, Dad," he muttered.
"It's alright Benny… just work on getting better, okay?" Tom said. Ben nodded and reached out, clamping down on his dad's hand with his unbandaged hand.
"It's never going to happen again," Tom whispered to himself, to quietly for anyone to hear as Ben slept on.