Sorry for the late post! I made this one extra long to make up for it.
Chapter 4 – Darkness Cometh
It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. He hurt everywhere. That's all Maurice knew at the moment. He looked around but he couldn't see anything. His first thought was his dad had damaged his eyes with his punches. He began to feel around slowly and realized he was locked inside the linen closet. He found the door knob and tried to open it, but the door was jammed from the other side. The light switch of course was outside in the hallway. He tried to yell but his throat was scratchy, all that came out was a whispery voice much lower than he meant it to be. But it must have been loud enough, because he instantly heard his father's voice. "Be quiet for once. You'll be in there for a while."
Maurice gently pulled his legs up to him and buried his face in his arms on top of his knees and wept. After an hour, Maurice had cried his self to sleep.
***************
It was morning when the door to the closet opened. It was his mother. "Come on Baby, he's gone to work." Maurice gently eased out squinting as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light of morning. His body was stiff and sore from staying all night in that closet. His mother led him into the bathroom where she had a tub full of warm water. "Maurice, take off your clothes and ease into the water. It will help take the soreness out. I've left out some jogging pants for you. Go straight to your room when you are finished and I will put something on your back."
"Okay." Maurice whispered.
The bath stung on some of his open wounds, but for the most part it did feel good. 'Mom was right!' Maurice thought to himself. 'I guess she has had lots of practice.'
He got out of the bath and was drying off when he caught a look of himself in the mirror. His left eye was bruised and swollen and had been cut right at the brow. His left cheek was a deep shade of purple, and his lip was split and swollen to twice the normal size. He turned slightly and winced as he caught a look at his back. The belt had left angry looking welts that criss-crossed his back and shoulders. He eased on his jogging pants, and headed to his room. His mom was there with her medicine bag. "Lay down on the bed face down so I can put this cream on your welts. It will take away the stinging and help the bruises to fade quickly."
He did as his mother instructed and within minutes of her massaging the cream on his back, Maurice fell asleep.
*****************
Maurice woke what seemed like only a couple of hours later, which ended up being a few hours later. His mom had placed a blanket over him while he slept and now he felt so warm and comfortable he could almost forget last night. A door slam brought him back to reality. He started to jump up but the soreness and stiffness of his body protested greatly, so instead he just slid off the side of the bed. He made his way to the chair in his room to retrieve the t-shirt he had left when he noticed his back again. The cream and the rest had definitely helped. Only the worst welts were left.
He headed to the kitchen where he could already hear his father demanding to know what was for supper. 'Great I must have slept all day' He paused in the doorway to the kitchen waiting for his mother and father to notice him. His mother was the first. "You should have stayed in bed, Maurice."
"I'm fine now, mom" Maurice whispered, "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I'm sorry I got into trouble at school." 'Maybe if I suck up to Dad he will consider last night my punishment.'
"Go to your room and I will be there shortly to discuss your punishment."
'Well there goes that idea', Maurice thought as he headed back to his room.
***************
He walked into his room and sat on the bed pulling his knees to his chest, waiting for the inevitable. It was only a few minutes when his dad came in and shut the door. This is going to be bad, Maurice thought.
"Well Maurice, I have thought long and hard about what your punishment should be, and I have come to what I think is fair." His dad started. "Since you seem to like getting beaten up…" Maurice involuntarily cringed. "I have decided that every night after supper you will get 25 lashes from the belt from me. Well that isn't so bad, maybe I can make it. Then, since you just love the linen closet you will stay there every night. This will go on for your entire ten day punishment. Okay I changed my mind. This is bad. And your brother has been warned to stay away from you so you won't get any help from him. If you take your punishment willingly, I may, I said MAY, go easy on you and stop on Sunday."
Yeah, that's so he can belt me harder and have a couple more days for me to recover. Maurice thought. "But Dad it's dark in the closet, really dark. Can't you keep the light on in there, please?"
His dad began laughing, "Ooh, the little tough guy is scared of the dark?"
Maurice shook his head. "I'm not scared, it's just it's so small I can't move at all, and it being dark, it is hard to know where everything is."
"Maybe I should banish you to the linen closet more often. It sounds like you really are starting to like it." His dad continued laughing. "Supper will be ready in about two hours, stay in here until I call for you."
***************
It was actually about two and a half hours when his mother finally called him for supper. As Maurice made his way to the table he noticed his mom, dad and Mikey already seated at the table. Maurice sat across from Mikey in his normal chair, and looked over at Mikey, who was looking everywhere else except at Maurice.
"Mikey is instructed not to make eye contact or to speak with you until your punishment is over. So don't try to start any conversations." His dad stormed.
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Maurice didn't have much of an appetite despite missing breakfast and lunch. His upcoming punishment seemed to dim his hunger, so he just mainly pushed his food around his plate. His mother looked as if she was going to say something, but a glare from Maurice's dad silenced her quickly. As soon as everyone was finished his dad boomed, "Mikey you can go to your room, your brother can clean up the dishes." Maurice went ahead and gathered the dirtied dishes and headed into the kitchen.
He had just finished the last dish when felt a hand on his arm. He looked up and saw his dad's evil grin. "Guess what time it is." He then pulled Maurice into the living room while stripping his shirt off. He threw Maurice up over the back of the couch and started pulling off his belt. "Now I do believe I owe you 25 lashes tonight. Just a reminder for tomorrow, don't wear a shirt to supper. It'll make it easier for me." He said laughing. What's so funny about that? The first lash came down quickly, surprising Maurice making him cry out. "Shut up, this is only the beginning." By the end of the twenty-five lashes Maurice was in tears. His dad dragged him by the arm to the linen closet and went to shove him in.
"Please dad not the closet" Maurice pleaded. "I'll take the beatings but please don't put me in that small closet."
"Quit your whining brat and get in there" he said shoving Maurice in.
Maurice immediately curled himself up as carefully as possible in a fetal position in the small closet. After one last look his dad shut the door. Maurice heard a chair being pressed up against the door blocking his way out. Then he was truly alone. After just a few minutes, the dark seemed to haunt Maurice. His back was hurting terribly and it just made him that much more frightened, and he started to shake. Maurice was unsure whether it was from the pain or the fact that he was locked in this closet, without a way of getting out. He finally had to admit to himself. He was afraid of this closet and especially the dark. Maurice finally shut his eyes and cried himself to sleep for the second night in a row.
***************
Tell me what you think!
Chapter 4 – Darkness Cometh
It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. He hurt everywhere. That's all Maurice knew at the moment. He looked around but he couldn't see anything. His first thought was his dad had damaged his eyes with his punches. He began to feel around slowly and realized he was locked inside the linen closet. He found the door knob and tried to open it, but the door was jammed from the other side. The light switch of course was outside in the hallway. He tried to yell but his throat was scratchy, all that came out was a whispery voice much lower than he meant it to be. But it must have been loud enough, because he instantly heard his father's voice. "Be quiet for once. You'll be in there for a while."
Maurice gently pulled his legs up to him and buried his face in his arms on top of his knees and wept. After an hour, Maurice had cried his self to sleep.
***************
It was morning when the door to the closet opened. It was his mother. "Come on Baby, he's gone to work." Maurice gently eased out squinting as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light of morning. His body was stiff and sore from staying all night in that closet. His mother led him into the bathroom where she had a tub full of warm water. "Maurice, take off your clothes and ease into the water. It will help take the soreness out. I've left out some jogging pants for you. Go straight to your room when you are finished and I will put something on your back."
"Okay." Maurice whispered.
The bath stung on some of his open wounds, but for the most part it did feel good. 'Mom was right!' Maurice thought to himself. 'I guess she has had lots of practice.'
He got out of the bath and was drying off when he caught a look of himself in the mirror. His left eye was bruised and swollen and had been cut right at the brow. His left cheek was a deep shade of purple, and his lip was split and swollen to twice the normal size. He turned slightly and winced as he caught a look at his back. The belt had left angry looking welts that criss-crossed his back and shoulders. He eased on his jogging pants, and headed to his room. His mom was there with her medicine bag. "Lay down on the bed face down so I can put this cream on your welts. It will take away the stinging and help the bruises to fade quickly."
He did as his mother instructed and within minutes of her massaging the cream on his back, Maurice fell asleep.
*****************
Maurice woke what seemed like only a couple of hours later, which ended up being a few hours later. His mom had placed a blanket over him while he slept and now he felt so warm and comfortable he could almost forget last night. A door slam brought him back to reality. He started to jump up but the soreness and stiffness of his body protested greatly, so instead he just slid off the side of the bed. He made his way to the chair in his room to retrieve the t-shirt he had left when he noticed his back again. The cream and the rest had definitely helped. Only the worst welts were left.
He headed to the kitchen where he could already hear his father demanding to know what was for supper. 'Great I must have slept all day' He paused in the doorway to the kitchen waiting for his mother and father to notice him. His mother was the first. "You should have stayed in bed, Maurice."
"I'm fine now, mom" Maurice whispered, "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I'm sorry I got into trouble at school." 'Maybe if I suck up to Dad he will consider last night my punishment.'
"Go to your room and I will be there shortly to discuss your punishment."
'Well there goes that idea', Maurice thought as he headed back to his room.
***************
He walked into his room and sat on the bed pulling his knees to his chest, waiting for the inevitable. It was only a few minutes when his dad came in and shut the door. This is going to be bad, Maurice thought.
"Well Maurice, I have thought long and hard about what your punishment should be, and I have come to what I think is fair." His dad started. "Since you seem to like getting beaten up…" Maurice involuntarily cringed. "I have decided that every night after supper you will get 25 lashes from the belt from me. Well that isn't so bad, maybe I can make it. Then, since you just love the linen closet you will stay there every night. This will go on for your entire ten day punishment. Okay I changed my mind. This is bad. And your brother has been warned to stay away from you so you won't get any help from him. If you take your punishment willingly, I may, I said MAY, go easy on you and stop on Sunday."
Yeah, that's so he can belt me harder and have a couple more days for me to recover. Maurice thought. "But Dad it's dark in the closet, really dark. Can't you keep the light on in there, please?"
His dad began laughing, "Ooh, the little tough guy is scared of the dark?"
Maurice shook his head. "I'm not scared, it's just it's so small I can't move at all, and it being dark, it is hard to know where everything is."
"Maybe I should banish you to the linen closet more often. It sounds like you really are starting to like it." His dad continued laughing. "Supper will be ready in about two hours, stay in here until I call for you."
***************
It was actually about two and a half hours when his mother finally called him for supper. As Maurice made his way to the table he noticed his mom, dad and Mikey already seated at the table. Maurice sat across from Mikey in his normal chair, and looked over at Mikey, who was looking everywhere else except at Maurice.
"Mikey is instructed not to make eye contact or to speak with you until your punishment is over. So don't try to start any conversations." His dad stormed.
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Maurice didn't have much of an appetite despite missing breakfast and lunch. His upcoming punishment seemed to dim his hunger, so he just mainly pushed his food around his plate. His mother looked as if she was going to say something, but a glare from Maurice's dad silenced her quickly. As soon as everyone was finished his dad boomed, "Mikey you can go to your room, your brother can clean up the dishes." Maurice went ahead and gathered the dirtied dishes and headed into the kitchen.
He had just finished the last dish when felt a hand on his arm. He looked up and saw his dad's evil grin. "Guess what time it is." He then pulled Maurice into the living room while stripping his shirt off. He threw Maurice up over the back of the couch and started pulling off his belt. "Now I do believe I owe you 25 lashes tonight. Just a reminder for tomorrow, don't wear a shirt to supper. It'll make it easier for me." He said laughing. What's so funny about that? The first lash came down quickly, surprising Maurice making him cry out. "Shut up, this is only the beginning." By the end of the twenty-five lashes Maurice was in tears. His dad dragged him by the arm to the linen closet and went to shove him in.
"Please dad not the closet" Maurice pleaded. "I'll take the beatings but please don't put me in that small closet."
"Quit your whining brat and get in there" he said shoving Maurice in.
Maurice immediately curled himself up as carefully as possible in a fetal position in the small closet. After one last look his dad shut the door. Maurice heard a chair being pressed up against the door blocking his way out. Then he was truly alone. After just a few minutes, the dark seemed to haunt Maurice. His back was hurting terribly and it just made him that much more frightened, and he started to shake. Maurice was unsure whether it was from the pain or the fact that he was locked in this closet, without a way of getting out. He finally had to admit to himself. He was afraid of this closet and especially the dark. Maurice finally shut his eyes and cried himself to sleep for the second night in a row.
***************
Tell me what you think!