Kyle's POV
After feeling more positive about telling my brothers about my childhood after my counselling session a few days before, I knew I needed to tell them today. If I didn't, I know I would chicken out again and they deserve to know, they are my brothers after all.
Walking back up the path after taking Bruno for a walk down on the beach, I thought I heard another voice that usually makes an appearance every now and then. Walking through the front door, I faintly nodded as I was right - Cheryl Braxton was here.
"And here he is!" She loudly announces. "How are you?"
I can't work out if she's being sarcastic or not. Why would she care how I am? It's not like I'm any sort of responsibility to her, or even an brief thought.
"Well? It's only a question." She says, clearly getting impatient.
"I'm good." Is all I can reply, glancing at Brax, who merely shrugs his shoulders.
"Well you're looking a lot better by what I've been told."
Great, something else she can now use against me. I bet it's up there with kidnapping Casey, she did wish me dead the first time I met her. She was probably cursing me when she knew I survived the blood loss.
"Your brothers tell me you've come really far in your recovery?"
"Uh…" I trail off. Did she say 'your brothers' or am I hearing things? "Yeah, I guess so." I mutter, since when did Cheryl ever see me as their brother?
"Mum, he doesn't need you hounding him." Brax says.
"Am I not allowed to make conversation with him?" Cheryl asks her eldest son. "He is technically my stepson after all."
What is happening? She called me her stepson, something definitely has to be wrong! Maybe I walked into the wrong house, or… I don't even know. This is getting too weird!
"Stepson?" Heath repeats, shaking his head in bemusement.
"Yeah, my stepson. You got a problem with that?" She glares.
Nah, the bolshy Cheryl is back now. But since when did I get the privilege to be called something that makes us family? Is it even a privilege when it kind of is a fact?
"It's just that you've always called Kyle the spawn of satan." Heath lightly shrugs.
"Yeah, cause he is. So are you three but you're my babies. Your father was the worst man to walk this planet and Casey did us a favour putting him six foot under."
"Mum!" Brax moans, clearly not wanting her to praise Casey's actions.
"It's the truth!" She shakes her head. "I need to go, I'll see you soon." She says, pulling Casey in for a hug.
"Bye mum." Brax and Heath say as she leaves.
"What was all that about?" I ask.
"I have no idea." Heath says. "I best head home, I've got some stuff to sort out."
"Can it wait a bit? I've got some stuff to tell you all." I say, needing to do this now.
"What about?" Casey asks.
"My childhood, and the stuff you've wanted to know about." I reply as we all sit around the dining table. "The reason I've never told you about it before, is because I was abused… a lot. I didn't want to be treated differently when you found out. And I don't want you to get angry, cause nothing can be done about it now."
Flashback - normal POV
It was school holidays for a 14 year old Kyle and he was annoyed that it came about so soon. He had made a lot of plans with his friends over the break, so he could spend as little time as possible at his current residence, Riverside Children's Home. He was about to head out the front door, when the carer he hated most stepped out in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jerry asks.
"To meet up with my friends." Kyle replies, trying to move past him, but fails.
"You're not going anywhere." Jerry firmly says.
"You can't stop me!" Kyle glares.
"Yes I can. Now go to your room and think about that attitude of yours." He huffs, shoving Kyle back towards the stairs.
"No, I'm meeting my friends!"
"I said you're not going anywhere!" Jerry shouts, grabbing Kyle and lifting him up with force.
"Get off me!" Kyle moans, kicking back at the elder, with no avail. "You're hurting me, get off!"
"Shut it!" Jerry hisses, covering Kyle's mouth with his hand before dragging him upstairs to his room.
"You can't keep me in here!" Kyle moans as he's thrown to the ground with a thud.
"You are to stay in here and think about your actions you horrible child!" Jerry shakes his head.
"I haven't done anything." Kyle says, a fist connecting to the side of his face.
"No wonder no one will foster you, you're a disgrace."
"And you're evil!" Kyle hisses at him, his eyes widening in fear at the pain he was about to feel as Jerry shuts the door and clenches his fists into tight balls.
End of Flashback
Kyle's POV
"He beat me so bad I didn't leave my room in 4 days because I didn't want anyone else to find out, not that I could move much anyway, it was too painful." I mutter, remembering that particular time like it was yesterday. "He did it a lot. Even if I just looked at him the wrong way, he'd punish me. Then he started spinning lies to the other workers about me and they turned on me too. Every time my social worker came to visit they told her I was out with friends or on a school excursion just so she wouldn't find out."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Casey asks.
"I didn't want you to change towards me, act different or whatever. I don't want you to treat me like an underprivileged person like everyone else did when they found out." I slightly huff, and I didn't mean to. "As soon as people have heard I was abused as a child, they instantly change. They treat me like a vulnerable, fragile person and I'm not."
"Okay, we get that." Heath nods, clearly understanding it.
"Was the abuse just physical and mental?" Brax asks, and I know what he's getting at. Was I ever raped.
"It only happened twice with a temp worker." I reply, getting a small nod in reply as he tries to process it.
"What only happened twice?" Casey frowns, clearly not having caught on, but me and Brax kept quiet as he eventually understood.
"What happened to this Jerry guy and all the others that abused you?" Heath asks.
"Jerry was later sent to prison for being in possession of and dealing Class A drugs to minors and I don't know about the others. The home was shut down just after I turned 18 and it's unlikely any of them got jobs in other kids homes. They didn't even have the right qualifications to work in my one." I reply. "I'm only telling you all this because I want you to know that I trust you. I don't want you to remember it every time we talk or for it to be brought up again. I've got past it, and it doesn't affect me anymore, I want it to stay that way." I firmly say, needing to get that message across.
"Okay." They all nod, looking a little relieved.
"Good to have you back with us bro, but don't think you can boss me around all the time." Heath smirks, putting me more at ease.
"I've already learnt to never boss you around." I scoff.
"Keep it that way." Heath grins.
"Yeah, I will." I roll my eyes.
"I need to head into work, want a lift in?" Brax asks me, then I remember that I agreed to do some paperwork for him.
"Sure." I nod.
"I better head off too, see ya later." Heath says before walking out.
"Why's he being so secretive lately?" I ask as we walk out, Casey heading to meet Denny from her shift.
"He's not." Brax shrugs, saying bye to Casey before we get in the ute, opening the window for Bruno to get some air.
