Chapter 8
Sam sat there against the wall, breathing heavily. Bobby Mercer scared the Hell out of him. He'd always been afraid of him. I mean, who wasn't afraid of the Mercers?
The thing that scared Sam the most now, was; what will Paul say when he gets home? The fact that Jack was gone, the fact that Bobby Mercer took him, the fact that it was Sam's fault that Jack was gone. He gulped.
He walked downstairs to survey the scene that had just occurred. He looked around the room; there was the chain on the heating pipe, the pocketknife on the floor...pocketknife? Sam never brought out a pocketknife. He cocked his head in confusion. Then it dawned on him. It wasn't his fault Jack got away. It was Tyler's.
Sam was furious! He stormed up the stairs and stormed into Tyler's bedroom.
Tyler was staring out the window with his head down. He had seen the whole thing go down from his window.
"Tyler!" Sam yelled making him jump. Tyler looked over at his brother innocently.
"Yes?"
Sam's hands turned to fists as he stared at him.
Tyler looked to the ground. Sam had his hands into fists. Now he was scared Sam would punch him.
"Why did you give Jack that knife?" He snapped.
"Because, I don't like what you and dad do to him. It's mean."
Sam sighed. "Look Tyler. Sometimes the only way to get the horse to run faster is to whip him. Jack's the same way. He jus-"
"Liar! Sometimes you and dad beat him because you're bored! I've heard you say it! In fact, when you were beating him this past time, you said you were "going to have some fun", you waited for Jack to slip up. You're a sadistic little bastard and you, know it!"
Okay that hurt. That stung bad. Sam took a step back.
"Tyler," Sam whispered.
"Get out." he demanded.
"But Ty-"
"Just go okay! Get out of here. I don't want to be around you right now! GOO!"
Sam slumped his shoulders and quietly left the room. He started walking down the hallway and stopped when he heard Tyler faintly crying. He sighed and kept moving. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch. "I'm in so much trouble." He muttered.
The door swung open and Paul stepped inside. "Sam! Come here and take these groceries!"
Sam gulped. He was going to go downstairs, find out Jack wasn't there, and now Sam has to cover for his little brother, again.
'Fuck his stupidity.' Sam thought angrily.
He walked over and took the grocery bags from his father and set them on the counter. Meanwhile Paul started to make his way to the basement door. Sam's heart skipped.
"Uh, dad? Where are you going?" Sam called.
"To beat Jack again. He hasn't gotten any all day." Paul replied.
Sam ran over and blocked the door. "Uh, it's okay. I already did it for ya. I used fire and everything. Made him bleed real badly." Sam said with enthusiasm. Paul studied Sam's face and shrugged.
"You sure you got him good?"
"Yep, no need to worry. You work to hard dad." Sam said as he patted his dad on the arm. Paul smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Atta boy. What do you want for supper? Where's your brother?"
"Upstairs." came the quick reply. Paul noticed how quick he answered that and studied Sam's face. Sam just stood there like an idiot with a stupid grin on his face. A stupid grin that basically said "no, I'm not trying to hide anything at all, why do you ask?"
Paul studied him for a moment longer and then shrugged. "Tyler! Get your ass down here!"
Tyler came stumbling down the stairs looking nervous. He tripped over his own foot and landed at his father's feet. Slowly Tyler looked up at Paul. He began to stutter, most was un-comprehendible, but a few words were made out. "...sorry dad...I didn't mean for him to...it's just I...gone."
Paul looked confused. "Who's gone Tyler?"
Tyler stiffened. He didn't know Paul hadn't figured it out yet. He thought he'd been called downstairs BECAUSE Paul found out. Tyler looked over at Sam who just stood there in horror. He looked back up at Paul, then at the floor again.
He whispered.
"Speak up boy I can't hear you."
"Jack, dad. Jack's gone."
Paul looked shocked. He walked over and swung the basement door open and went downstairs to make sure he wasn't lying. But right now, Tyler wished he WAS lying.
Tyler looked up at Sam.
Sam knelt down in front of his little brother. He put his hand in his shoulder. "It's okay Tyler. I know you didn't mean for Jack to escape. You just wanted for him to be able to defend himself."
Tyler nodded. He wished for anything to happen so he wouldn't have to face his dad.
They had had Jack since he was five. Four years they had him. Four years Paul got Jack to do whatever he wanted; he was used as a sex slave whenever Paul's buddies came over, they used him like a punching bag at times. They burned him, cut him, and choked him until his voice went raw and hoarse. Any torturous thing they could think of, they did it. Paul had even gotten Jack hooked on drugs about 4 months ago, just so he could watch him go through the withdrawal. In the beginning, Jack only got hit once and he immediately obeyed Paul, which told Tyler that Paul wasn't the only one who ever did this to Jack. Just thinking about it made him feel sick to his stomach. It was horrible to watch. So many times Paul made him watch, hoping he would learn something so he could be like Sam and participate. But all that ever did was make Tyler realize how much he DIDN'T want to participate. How much he just wanted it to stop.
Now, it finally had. Tyler decided he would accept any punishment his dad was going to give him. Because Jack was free. And right now, that's all Tyler really wanted.
Paul's footsteps interrupted Tyler's thoughts. Sam stood up from where he was kneeling and turned to face his dad. Paul walked over to them and smiled. This was odd, considering the circumstance. He looked down and helped Tyler to his feet. He gave his youngest a big hug. Tyler was really weirded out now. He looked at his dad in confusion.
"Dad is everything alright?" Sam asked, also confused. Paul smiled again.
"Yep. Everything's fine. Because I know how we're going to get Jack back."
Tyler looked horrified and looked at the window.
"Jack." he whispered.
End of Chapter 8
