15

After a few days of silence and merely doing what Luda Mae told of me, the day had finally come where other members of the Hewitt Clan were going to stop by for their family reunion. I didn't know what to think of this day because I didn't know much of the other family around the county. It was pretty hot today, and Thomas had used almost all of the…meat he had saved for this occasion. My stomach no longer turned when I ate the food, and I didn't even vomit anymore when I ate the food. I was sitting in the basement on a stool watching as he slammed his large carving knife down on some woman's chest cavity. They were all like pieces of meat to him. I was in a simple white dress, my hair pinned up by Luda Mae into some neat 1950's bun. I didn't want to get my slippers dirty and so I just kept them on the small rails beneath the stool.

Thomas wasn't dressed up or even trying to be social. He just remained down here the entire time.

"You should come up and see your family." I replied, and he just grunted lowly in protest. I sighed with mild annoyance. He took a meat cleaver and began to bang down on the chest. "They are your family, and they love you. They don't care about your appearance if that's what you are worried about." I noticed he was slamming the cleaver down with more aggression now, and so I shook my head at his stubbornness. I got off the stool and moved toward the door.

"Fine. I will go and see your family." I replied moving up the stairs.

"Our family." he corrected, and I paused and looked down for a moment before moving back up the stairs. Ever since the police came, I could not deny that I had been distant from the family. I was filled with too many emotions about my brother. He was the only one I could think of who would send the police to find me. No one else knew I would be driving through the town. It was apparent, that if they did not find me, then Anton would come looking for me. I wished the family had a phone. I even secretly looked for one when no one was around, but I didn't find anything. No one seemed to notice how withdrawn I was being, but I made sure to keep the right amount of emotion and conversation with them so they would not notice how upset I truly was. But Luda Mae knew. She saw right through me.

Yesterday

I was helping her mash some potatoes in a bowl. The family was coming over tomorrow, and Luda Mae was talking her mouth off about who all was coming.

"My sister brother and her family are comin' and a few friends of theirs are too. Oh I can't wait to see how much their children have grown." she explained. I however was in my own world worried about just everything now. I was prepared to give up my freedom for this family, but I would not allow them hurt my brother.

"Tati? Tati, did you hear me?" Luda Mae lightly snapped. I shook my head of my thoughts and looked up at her.

"Ma'am?" I asked and she gave me a mild reprimanding look.

"I know that face. You're worried, ain't ya?" she asked. I just shook my head mildly.

"No. I'm fine." I replied and she was now pealing the long green leaves off of a cob of corn. For a wasteland of a county finding fresh food made me curious of why this place was deserted. If they had family all over the place and a small town, run down as it is, things still look functional.

"Don't go lyin' to me now. I know you are worried your brother may come 'round here. But everything is fine. Just fine. Charlie won't hurt that boy. He's just as family as you are." she said and lightly patted my shoulder. I wanted to believe her, but then again, she was all too passive when Charlie decided I had to stay. In all honestly, Luda Mae was passive about everything even in my youth. I knew if somehow Ant came around here looking for me and got caught up in this mess, Charlie wouldn't allow him to leave alive.

I opened the door of the basement and left out it, wiping myself down and maintaining my composure. I could hear laughing and hollering. Luda Mae was coming out of the kitchen with a big pot of something. It was covered with a lid, but I had an idea that it could have been human stew. I swallowed some and followed her out into the living room where the room was filled with people that I did not know. Charlie was standing with some old, large bellied, long bearded men and they were laughing with beers in their hands. There were old women and young people talking and had plates in their hands with all kinds of stuff that I did not recognize. I could only deduce that it was the stew. Everyone looked like they just got off from working a long day on the farm. Over all and dresses were all I could see. So, it wasn't hard to notice that I was standing there in the door way out of place. Old women looked their noses down on me, and a lot of them just looked down right confused at why I was here.

"Hey Charlie when did'ya get a maid!" a gorilla of a man asked. Charlie snorted.

"You idiot, she's not a maid! She's family." he said to the man who looked from Charlie to me and then Charlie again.

"What? Who's her momma?" he asked. Charlie just scoffed.

"Don't worry about all that!" he said.

"Tati, could you help me bring out these pies please?" I heard Luda Mae calling. She just saved me. Too many people were staring at me with sneers and I was not in the mood. I moved into the kitchen to see two other women were helping as well. They were in dresses, one was older than the other and I didn't really pay attention to them since I didn't know them. I saw two pie on the table, and so I picked them up.

"Um who are you?" the young blonde asked with the natural beauty but her snobbish attitude beat her to it. I shot a glare.

"Someone who knows to mind her own business." I muttered and the girl gawked. The older woman who looked just like this young broad glared at me.

"Hey watch your mouth, you colored brat." she snapped, her thick southern tone spilling out and Luda Mae glared even harder than me.

"Hey! You keep your bougie shit outside this house. Tatianna is our family and you are our guest. We's family and if you can't say anything nice Leanne or Mary Jo, you can take a plate and head home." she scolded. I just sneered at the two and they looked down at me disgusted before walking back into the living room. Luda Mae shook her head. "I don't know why they are even here. Leanne's husband, Ned, my mother's cousin, and son Tom, are doctors at the hospital. Only ones around and they walk around like they know everything. You pay them no mind, Tati. Now go take those pies out please." I sighed heavily annoyed but nodded and took the deserts out into the living room.

I wondered if they wanted to eat anything since my hands touched it. I sat the pies down on a small table with other food and large footsteps could be heard from behind me and I looked over my shoulder and saw Thomas standing shyly in the doorway… with a black tie around his neck, his head down some and his eyes looking up shyly. I couldn't help but smile at the fact he was here and dressed up somewhat. His shirt was still dirty as well as his pants were stained with blood. Thomas looked around the room until his eyes found me, and he just shrugged his shoulders as he gave a quick wave. I smiled more and waved back. Charlie and his buds cheered at him and opened their arms for him to join them and he just moved over to them and I watched as now some of the older women and their adult children swarm him a bit just talking to him.

They all seemed genuinely happy to see him. Suddenly Mary Jo pranced up to him and gave a seductive smile.

"Oh, Thomas you have gotten so big and strong over the years." she said taking hold of his forearm and giggling almost innocently. My smile slowly fell into a mild bitter glare. Something would need to be done about her and I knew exactly what to do.