The boys watched Zach walk over to where the men stood. At first the teen seemed almost relaxed, but quickly his body language stiffened as his father spoke. Then Zach got in his father's car and they were gone.
"That didn't look like it went well," Alex sighed.
He looked over at Clay, who was pale but stoic. Justin, on the other hand, was flushed and jittery.
After another 10 minutes passed, a battered Ford pulled off the road and a stocky, tattooed man got out.
"Oh, shit. It's my mom's boyfriend," Justin whispered.
He rolled his window down so he could hear what the men were saying.
"Are you Mr. Massey?" Officer Standall asked.
"Yeah, I'm Seth. Here to get Justin."
"Ok, thanks for coming down. I told your wife that the reason I pulled the car over was that it was going 90 in a 40 and none of the kids had their seat belts on."
"Hmmph," the tattooed man grunted. "Thanks for callin'. …I'll handle mine from here."
The officer nodded and waved for Justin to get out of the car.
The boys looked back at Justin, who frowned as he opened the door. "Pray for me," he whispered jokingly.
Alex laughed, while Clay sat silently watching the boy walk away.
As soon as Justin was in reach, Seth clamped a heavy hand down on the boy's shoulder.
"Well, boy, you got some 'splainin' to do," the man said. "Get in."
Seth shook Officer Standall's hand and then turned to find Justin still standing by the car.
"Boy, I said, 'Get in,'" the man snarled. Quickly, the teen got in the backseat of the car.
Once they were on the road, Seth began shouting. "What the hell is this? You gettin' stopped by the cops? Cops callin' my house?"
"Your house?" Justin repeated sarcastically.
"Boy, you better watch that smart mouth! I can't do business if I got cops around askin' questions!"
"Maybe you should find a new place to do business then," the teen shot back.
Suddenly the car swerved off the side of the road and Seth slammed on the brakes. He leaned over the seat, grabbing Justin's left arm and jerking him forward. The boy, shocked, tried to protect his face with his hands. Seth smacked his open hand down on any part of the boy's body he could reach.
"You got any more smart comments, boy?" Seth yelled, still spanking the boy's back and butt.
"N- no more," Justin stammered.
Seth shoved the boy back against the seat. "One more word outta you and I will pull over and beat your ass."
The teen nodded and said nothing.
When they finally got back to the apartment, Seth again grabbed Justin's arm. The boy tried to jerk away, but felt the man tighten his grip and heard him mutter, "You wanna do this here… 'cause people in this neighborhood don't call the cops."
"No," Justin whispered. He allowed himself to be directed upstairs to the apartment. Once inside, his mother stepped out of her bedroom, only wearing a long t-shirt. She was crying and looked wasted. The teen also felt like crying as she reached out to hug him. But Seth pushed her aside and continued to drag the boy to his bedroom. The man shoved Justin inside and closed the door behind him.
"Your mother's crying right now because you're screwing up. You're tearing her apart. Are you satisfied with that?" Seth spat.
The boy said nothing. He knew what was coming and watched as his mother's boyfriend took off his belt.
"Get your pants down and bend over. Hands on the side table," the man commanded.
Justin felt ill. One time, he had fought being whipped by Seth, only to receive a severe beating. Now he knew it was safer to submit. His shaking hands unsnapped, unzipped, and pushed his loose jeans down. He leaned over and grabbed the nightstand. In this position, with his butt sticking out, he felt especially vulnerable, embarrassed and stupid. But he also recognized that this position meant that most of the lashes actually landed on his backside, sometimes his legs. But never his back, which was good. That was much more painful.
Seth snapped the belt across the boy's behind with a sharp crack. Justin gritted his teeth, wincing. Again the belt lashed him. He sniffled and leaned his head against his left arm, trying to hide his reactions from Seth. Another smack caused the teen to flinch slightly. He shamed himself for showing weakness in front of this man. The belt thudded with a resounding crack and left a stinging stripe. The boy inhaled sharply, groaning quietly. With each of the next smacks, Justin grimaced and whimpered, slowly losing the battle to stay quiet. When the tenth blow hit, the boy begged, "Stop. I got it. No cops." Seth was not persuaded and whipped the boy seven more times. Justin's tears fell freely now. By the time the last lash was delivered, the teen was weeping quietly and repeating, "Please, no more."
The boy could hear his mom begging on the other side of the door for her boyfriend to stop.
After Seth put his belt back on, he pulled Justin upright and turned him so they were eye to eye. The boy struggled to move with his pants still manacling his legs.
"Any more cops or nosy teachers or concerned guidance counselors and I will beat your bare ass bloody. Got it, sport?"
"Got it," the boy murmured.
Seth unlocked the door and Justin saw his mom push passed the man to get to him. She held the boy and they both cried quietly, clinging to one another.
"That's it," Seth declared. "Amber, leave the boy alone. He's never gonna learn if you keep babyin' him. Let's go." The man reached over and grabbed her arm.
"Hey, take your hands off her!" Justin yelled.
Seth pushed passed Amber and grabbed the boy's left arm, dragging him a few awkward steps. The man propped his foot up on the bed frame and jerked the teen over his uplifted knee.
Justin's legs dangled as he begged the man for mercy. "Sorry. Sorry. Please..."
"I told you, boy. I am done with your smart mouth," Seth bellowed. He jerked Justin's boxers down, baring the boy's behind. Amber stood frozen, watching the scene unfold.
Seth slapped his open hand down on the boy's backside. Among the few stripes left by the belt, handprints now showed on the pink skin, quickly turning red. The man delivered ten smacks and then set the boy down.
"Any more smart comments and you can expect more of the same," Seth declared.
The teen nodded as he pulled his boxers up.
"Justin," his mom whispered. "You rest. I'll come check on you later." She kissed his cheek and followed Seth out of the room.
As soon as he closed and locked the door, Justin grabbed his pillow, pressed it over his face, and screamed as loud as he dared. Then he stretched out on the bed and cried himself to sleep.
Clay, Clay, Clay. He's next.
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