Chapter Two-Hundred and Twenty-Four
Clarissa placed a huge gift in front of Cody, smiling as he opened it to show the homemade weighted blanket she'd made for him. "I thought it might help with the nightmares." She stated, letting Amelia hand him the next gift. "Happy birthday, Peanut."
Cody opened the little box that Amelia gave him, grinning as he pulled out the new woodworking knifes. "Thanks guys!" He cheered, standing up to give them all hugs. He squeezed his arms around Clarissa first, followed by the rest of the gang. "I've never had such a good birthday."
John chuckled, squeezing Claire's hand as she bounced Johanna on her lap. "Happy birthday, Dumbass." He jumped as the front door opened, looking around the corner to see that Phoebe was standing at the door with Lily and a bag of her belongings.
Amelia looked between the two, noticing how similar they looked. "Is she your sister?" She asked, remembering how John had talked in his sleep for the last few nights.
He nodded, clumsily standing to limp over to his sister with Dominic, Jade, and Claire by his side. "Phoebe, this is our cousin, Dom and his girlfriend Jade, and this is my fiancée, Claire." He held his hand out to her, offering her some comfort in the house of chaos. "Welcome to the Breakfast Clubhouse." He smiled.
Phoebe unpacked her bag, placing her clothes in the drawers of her dresser and propping the tape that John had given her against the little player that she'd found in the trash after he'd given it to her. "I'm scared…" She whispered to herself, jumping as John's deep voice spoke behind her.
"I know." He stated, limping inside of her room and taking a seat on her bed. "It's not easy, facing your worst nightmares." He dropped his gaze to his hands, working up the courage to tell her. "I'm proud of you for facing them now… I didn't face Beverly and Jacob until last April… and I should have turned them in years ago." He took a breath, letting his hands go to the zipper on his hoodie and pull it down until he was bare from the hips up. "Abuse isn't okay… it almost killed me and I'm glad you got out before it got this bad."
Phoebe's eyes widened as she looked at the mangled scars on her brother's skin, tentatively reaching a hand out to touch the worst of them. "Daddy only hit me once in a while…" She whispered, running her fingers over his shoulders and down his side only to jump away when she saw the letters branded onto his ribs. "Did they do this?" She asked, touching the word.
He nodded, baring his past to her and letting her feel each and every scar she could see on his body. "Yep… I was fourteen, Jacob got mad at me for steeling one of his beer, he tied my hands together and took me to the garage where he hoisted me off of the ground and branded me like a side of beef." He swallowed, pushing the pain back.
She crawled around him on her bed, studying the other scars over his back she noticed that there were plenty of raised lines crisscrossing over his shoulders, ribs, and hips, recognizing the wounds from her homework assignment of the civil war. "Were… were you whipped?" She asked, watching as muscles hidden under his skin rippled with strength that Jacob had obviously tried to break from his will years ago.
He nodded, the bite of the chain returning with a force more powerful than a storm. "Eleven years… all because Beverly was a fucking whore." He covered his mouth as the words left his lips, having forgotten that Phoebe was only a child despite how grown-up she acted. "Sorry…"
She shrugged, pulling at her sleeve to show John one of her puny scars. "Momma hit me with a milk bottle once." She stated, letting him take her wrist in his hand and tenderly kiss her skin.
He looked at her mussed braids, picking up her hairbrush and pulling the rubber bands from her hair to redo it. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you." He sighed, brushing out her hair before he wove it into a neat braid down her back.