Chapter 16
(Processing the maelstrom of emotions surging through his mind, Clark sits staring into the glowing embers of the dieing fire. Night has since fallen, and the others are fast asleep in their rooms. Clark sits up and places a fresh log in, careful to avoid getting too close to the flames. It cackles as it catches and casts placid hues about the room. Rubbing his hands together before the spreading warmth, Clark bites at his lower lip.)
Clark (Whispering): "What am I supposed to do?"
(He speaks softly to the fire, some part deep down inside of him yearning for it to answer. He sighs when it simply pops. Beside him, on the adjacent couch, Roby is once again sitting. Stacey is curled up warmly against his side, a blanket pulled close about her. Roby smiles, reading his book as he idly strokes her back. Clark looks at them, sitting back contemplatively. Roby stops rubbing Stacey's back to turn the page. His concentration momentarily broken, he looks up at Clark.)
Roby: "Everything alright, Clark?"
Clark (Breaking his eyes away and intently staring at the fire): "Yeah. Everything's alright."
Roby: "Okay."
(He returns to his book. Several minutes pass. Clark once again glances over at Roby as he stretches, yawning tiredly. Roby's shirt lifts slightly as he does. Clark's eye catches on something, but Roby lowers his arms and settles back down. Interested, Clark focuses his vision. A layer of Roby's shirt fades away, and Clark sees a long, jagged scar stretching from his spinal column to just above his left hip. Clark lets his concentration slip and looks back at the fire. Waiting, Clark taps his fingertips together. Roby eventually turns the page.)
Clark: "Have you ever been in any accidents?"
Roby (Yawning again, his eyes watering slightly): "What do you mean?"
Clark: "Skiing?"
Roby (Nodding): "Yeah, once. A couple of years ago when I was Nordic skiing, a guy accidentally jabbed me in the leg during a mass start. It hurt, and I was bleeding pretty badly, but it healed quickly. Why do you ask?"
Clark: "Oh, uh. When you yawned, I saw that scar on your side."
(He gestures.)
Roby (Shifting slightly, moving Stacey's head to rest against his arm): "Oh."
(Clark waits for him to answer.)
Roby (His voice gaining a small measure of spite): "That scar in particular was no accident..."
(Clark waits for him to continue as he carefully places a piece of paper in his book before closing it. He takes a deep breath, wrapping his arms around Stacey. She groans slightly in her sleep, moving her head to rest against his chest. Roby stares fixedly at her, gathering his words. After a long time, he continues.)
Roby: "Our father found Stacey inadequate. He wanted another boy, one to make up for my ill will towards him. He got her, instead."
(His voice steams with carefully controlled rage.)
Roby: "When she was only five, he came at her, yelling something about 'getting his worth out of a worthless child'. I got in his way."
Clark (Gasping slightly): "Weren't you really young?"
Roby: "Only twelve. But I was strong enough... enough to get her away from him. He chased after us. When he caught us, he brought us back to the house and locked us in our rooms."
(His eyes flare up, reflecting the fire in an apt representation of his anger held just behind them.)
Roby: "He came to my room first. I fought back, tried as hard as I could... but he was too strong..."
(He shudders slightly.)
Roby: "And he made sure I'd have this scar to remember him by..."
Clark: "You're talking like he's gone?"
Roby (Nodding): "Stacey managed to get out her window, run to a neighbor's, and phone the police while he was beating me. I haven't seen him since, and I don't want to."
Clark: "I can't even imagine..."
Roby: "It's done with, though. He's gone, out of our lives forever..."
(Stacey stirs in her sleep, shifting slightly. Roby gently rocks her back and forth, a tear rolling down his cheek.)
Roby: "Sure did make me love her all the more, though."
(Clark stands and walks over beside him. He puts his hand on Roby's shoulder, squeezing gently.)
Clark: "Come on, it's an early morning tomorrow."
Roby: "Yeah, you're right. Here, can you hold this for me?"
(He holds up the book. Clark takes it, stepping back. Roby gathers Stacey up in his arms before standing. Silently, they make their way around the couches and to the rooms. Clark goes to the right, into their room, and Roby to the left, into the girl's room. Setting her down on her bed, Roby tucks her in, careful not to wake her. When he is done, he brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. She smiles in her sleep. Smiling back, his eyes gone soft from their previous anger, he leans over and kisses her on the forehead. She settles deeper into her blankets as he turns to leave.)
Stacey (Her voice slightly muffled by the plush pillow): "Roby?"
(He stops, turning back to face her.)
Roby: "Yeah?"
Stacey: "Night."
Roby (Smiling): "Night, Stace."
(He turns once more and leaves the room, silently closing the door behind him. Light shines in through the closed window, tracing the trail downward of the dust stirred by Roby's passing. Sighing, Stacey turns over in her blankets and falls back asleep...)
