Yeah... So I was really inspired by my first reviewer and got all pumped up and decided to upload early. I said to myself, "Even though my end of year exams start on June 04, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself during my short holiday (Labour Day in Jamaica was on Saturday, so most schools were out from Friday - Wednesday). Besides, I didn't feel to inclined to stress myself today.

Here is the fruit of my labour. Enjoy!

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

RETRIBUTION

Soft moonlight shone through the windows of Joseph's room. Everything had gone perfectly – Mr. and Mrs Gehabich had allowed Joseph to take care of Alice for as long as necessary. The only punishment they gave to him was a temporary ban from the Science Club at his school.

Joseph lay down on his side, holding his little sister close to him. She clutched his smooth cotton shirt and silently shed tears. He slid his hand up from her back to rest on one of her arms.

"Alice, did I hurt you badly?"

Alice's breath hitched in her throat. They had been lying silent for over half an hour and she didn't dare to break that silence. Is this a trick question? He'd probably get angry if I lied to him, so it's best if I'm truthful. "Yes Joseph. I was hurt really badly."

Joseph squeezed his eyes shut as if he were trying to rid himself of the horrid memory. He removed his hand from her shoulder and clutched his head. "I-I didn't mean to."

Alice slowly opened her eyes. She was shocked to see her supposedly sadistic sibling clutching his head in anguish. He bit down on his lower lip and trembled sporadically.

He's acting like this because he hurt me? But, I don't understand. Isn't he supposed to be happy? In any case, I hate seeing him like this. He's still my brother, and I still love him. Maybe I can make him feel better. Remembering what he told her before, Alice slipped out of her nightgown and sat up. The moonlight illuminated her features and her bruised, swollen, and somewhat scarred skin. She took one of his hands in hers and rubbed it over her injuries.

"Joseph. Open your eyes," she commanded in a silky smooth voice. "This is what you did to me."

The young man obeyed, and immediately froze. His eyes frantically took in the gravity of the damage and his brain linked whatever mixed up emotions it could to them. He took in a sharp breath in a desperate attempt not to break down, but failed miserably.

Broken, he buried his face into the sheets as Alice continued to force his hands over every scrape, every swell, every cut and every scab, but still contained some measure of control over his feelings of grief.

"You're sick, brother. I'm your only sister. Do you want to lose me, like how we lost Anya?" Alice narrowed her eyes at him, hoping that her strategy worked.

Joseph's sobbing stopped abruptly. He coughed, and began to wheeze.

"Do you remember, Joe, how she pleaded with Grandfather to keep us alive? That's how I've been pleading with you for the past month. I've trusted you to the very end, just like she did, but you're just another disgusting bastard."

Ever so slowly, Joseph's breath evened out. As Alice continued cursing him, and pushing past failures into his face, his lips twisted with a small smile. He rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes, listening to his sister, pleased with every hurtful word that escaped her lips. When she began crying again, he felt terrible. Humiliation, sadness, guilt and shame swirled around inside him, but a shroud of happiness covered it all.

He pulled Alice back to his chest once more. "Thank you."

She remained silent.

"I won't be going easy on you tomorrow, though."

Around seven the next morning, Joseph rose from his bed. He stretched, stifled a yawn with his hand, and went for his cell phone on the computer desk. After dialling a number, he sat down in the computer chair and swivelled it around for a bit.

"Morning Lulu. It's Joe."

"…"

"We won't be in today, so I was wondering if you could email Alice's and my notes later."

"…"

"Nothing really. We just had a little fight. I kinda went overboard and hit her hard on the head, so Mom and Dad are forcing me to stay home and watch her."

"…"

"I know, right. And that reminds me, could you send what's going on in the Science club today. I got banned from it for a week."

"…"

"Yeah. The struggle. Thanks, much."

Joseph put down the phone and drummed his fingers on the table for a while, satisfied that he could manipulate one more person successfully. After a while, he went over to his dresser and pulled out a box of condoms from one of the drawers. After placing them carefully in a basket, he went over to his closet and opened a large wooden chest. He stared contemplatively at the things he had inside – knives, rope, chains, an ice pick, needles, a hammer and other stuff, all neatly arranged inside. He grinned sickly as he removed the chain and hammer and put them in the basket with the condoms.

After cleaning himself up, he went downstairs to check on his parents. They were just about to step out the door.

"You would leave without saying goodbye?" He pouted.

Mr. Gehabich scratched his head and cracked a smile. "We left a note."

Joseph shook his head and hugged his mother gently. She looked up at him and pinched his cheek. "Be good, okay."

Rolling his slate eyes, he walked over to his father who ruffled his hair. "Later," he said, waving goodbye to his son and pulling his wife out the door. "Come on Carrie. If we don't hurry, we'll be late."

When the door closed, Joseph smirked to himself and made his way into the kitchen slowly, wondering how Alice would feel once she realized that it was only a matter of time until she would be in more pain.

Alice shifted uncomfortably in the bed. So this is the excuse he's using. Slowly, she got up and made her side of the bed. When she stood up, her whole body ached. She walked up to the dresser and viewed her injuries. While she was looking over herself, something shiny caught her eye. The glint had come from a basket that was rested neatly on the dresser's surface. She made her way over it, but hesitated to look inside. A chain, a hammer and-and a pack of condoms. Alice's eyes widened in fear. She crumpled to the ground when she realized those would be used on her. No. Please, no. I've only just begun to recover from yesterday.

Desperately, Alice searched for a telephone to call for help. She had slipped hers into her bra the night before. Shoot, he must have taken it while I was asleep. She searched for his, but he had brought it downstairs with him. Her hands trembling, Alice tried to pry the window open, but it was firmly locked, and Joseph ensured that he had a key made and he kept it with him at all times.

Alice clutched her shoulders and sank to the floor. She trembled violently as she allowed the tears to flow, and her uneven breathing filled the room. "I-I can't take this anymore. He won't hurt me again, right? I-I need someone's help. Lucas', Runo's, Julie's, even Mother's or Father's.-"

She was cut off by the opening of the door. Joseph's slim figure blocked the doorway. A sick smirk on his lips and a plate in his hands, he slowly moved towards her, taking in her condition. Mn. As expected. She looked into the basket and is freaking out.

Alice looked up at him and staggered to her feet. She put her hands in front of her and moved backwards. "Stay away. D-don't come near me!"

Ignoring her weak command, he kept advancing forward until she stumbled onto the bed. He nonchalantly sat beside her and shoved the plate of food into her hands. She looked at it and turned her head away. "I don't have an appetite," she muttered hesitantly. Joseph simply shrugged his shoulders and exited the room.

For the rest of the morning, Alice tried her best to clear her mind. She went out into the backyard garden to tend to her mother's flowers even though the gardener had come the day before. Joseph sat on the balcony upstairs, watching her every move. She was completely unaware that he was there. He entertained himself by putting himself in her position and trying to imagine what was running through her head, and what emotions and expressions she would show later on. Eventually, he got tired of waiting and made his way down to her.

Joseph suddenly held on to Alice's arm tightly. He smiled at her as he gently pulled her away from the flowers she was admiring. He tugged her through the door, through the main hall, up the stairs, and finally into his room. As he made his way to the basket on the dresser, Alice's eyes widened in disbelief. Is he really going to do this? I-I'm not ready for this! It's disgusting...

Anticipating her behaviour, Joseph tightened his grip on her arm. She began to whimper, and she tugged on her hair, desperately trying to figure a way out of that situation. Meanwhile she was scanning all the possibilities, Joseph had collected the basket and entered her room.

Alice began to cry. She was helpless. Joseph had thrown her down roughly on the bed and used the chains to bind her arms to the bed head. She lowered her head in an attempt to hide her tears. Hammer in hand, Joseph sat beside her. He leaned in and whispered close to her cheeks, "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon." He then tenderly kissed away a few of her tears. Alice's strangled whimper encouraged him to move on.

Brandishing the hammer, he stared intently at Alice's marred skin. Voice trembling with fear, Alice begged, "Please, brother, don't do this to me." Her hair was damp with sweat, so it stuck to her face and neck and she felt dirty all over.

Smirking, Joseph raised the hammer, aimed for a red spot on her thigh, then struck it with great force. Alice instinctively pulled her thigh back to her and screamed out in pain. The tears increased, and Joseph's delight increased too. So did the frequency of the hits. He beat her until he was stimulated, and her voice was hoarse. Only then did he open the box of condoms and put one on.

After stripping his sister, he put his knees on either side of her and firmly grasped her shoulders. Alice shut her eyes in expectation. All her tears had dried up and she was too sore to do anything. Joseph began. Alice gasped sharply. She bit down on her lower lip, trying to suppress a scream. Eventually, she let it out though.

After the initial shock, everything that Alice experienced seemed like a dream. All she could do was take in short raspy breaths and listen to her brother's sighs of satisfaction when he looked at her face. Finally he stopped. There was blood all over the sheet and there was also blood at the corner of Alice's lips. She stared blankly at Joseph as he lay down beside her and struggled to catch his breath. He had undone the chains when she began to lose all hope and accept the fact that he really was a monster.

When he was calm again, Joseph pulled her body close to his. She didn't try to stop him. He looked down at her blank emotionless face. Instantly, he began to feel strange. He was feeling something he hadn't felt in years. Regret. His long dormant conscience woke up and now it was speaking to him.

Darn. Was that really the right thing to do? I promised to protect her and love her. I've been showing her how much I love her for one month now, haven't I? At least, that's the only way I know. I must have been hurting her.

Joseph exhaled deeply. A feeling of melancholy washed over him. He rose from the bed, removed his condom and drew his pants back on. Gingerly, he lifted his frail little sister and carried her into her bathroom. In a few minutes, he had her in a bath full of lukewarm water and was gently scrubbing every trace of his abuse from her body. He wrapped her up in a towel, dried her carefully, dressed her, and placed her on his bed inside his room.

When he returned into her room, he fully realized how much damage he'd done. The sheets were bloodstained and there were drops of blood on the bed head and the tiling. His hair was tinged with Alice's blood too. Used condoms were strewn over the floor, and Alice's clothing had been carelessly thrown aside. The chains lay on the bed in a messy pile and the hammer was back in the basket. Joseph shut his eyes and took in a few deep breaths. Never. Never again. I've ruined her life. I don't even love her in a romantic way. I-I can't hurt her anymore. I can't risk letting my sadistic impulses rule again – even if that means living in torment and depression for the rest of my life.

"Joe? Ally?" Mrs Gehabich closed her umbrella. Setting it aside, she ran a damp hand through her auburn hair. "Kristoff, hurry up and get inside."

Joseph descended the stairs slowly. His skin was terribly pale and his eyes red and puffy.

"Joseph?! What happened?" The woman rushed up to her son. She pulled him into her arms and began to stroke his head. "Talk to me sweetheart."

He just stood there, staring blankly into her face. Mrs. Gehabich's breath hitched in her throat. Never before had she seen her son so distraught and distant.

"Where is Alice?" Mr. Gehabich asked sternly, eyeing his son with some amount of distrust, but mostly with concern. Joseph looked up at him, but then he averted his gaze to the floor. His mother stiffened when he gave no reply.

Mr. Gehabich repeated his question, anxiously now. Joseph still didn't answer. For a few minutes, the only sound in the whole house was the heavy pounding of the rain on the roof and concrete driveway outside.

Mrs. Gehabich suddenly pushed him away. Face flushed with anger and distress, she slapped him on his cheek, grabbed her husband's hand and began taking the stairs two at a time. Joseph turned and stared at them.

In a sickening monotone voice, he began, "We fought again today. I ended up pushing her down the stairs after she did this to me." Joseph pushed up the long sleeves of his shirt to reveal long gashes over his veins. The skin was red raw and irritated. Closing his slate eyes, Joseph desperately tried to remind himself that he shouldn't be feeling joy by toying with his parents' emotions.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to let it get out of hand again, but don't worry. Her neck isn't broken."

Mr. Gehabich stormed down to his son. He was fuming with anger and trying desperately to contain himself. He stretched his large hand forward and tightly gripped Joseph's silky hair. He pulled his head back so he could stare into his son's blank eyes. He took in a few deep breaths and ground his teeth together.

"Do you have any idea of what you've done? You could have killed her! Are you bloody mad?!"

Mrs. Gehabich slumped onto the stair handrails. She put a hand to her face and quietly sobbed into them. "I-I don't know what to do anymore. Kristoff, what's wrong with them? Why do they keep fighting so much? Joseph, up until a month ago, you and your sister used to be so close." She clung to the hope that the two were just going through a phase. She had been praying that that was true for the past few weeks. She still tried to think that that was the case then, but when she looked at her son, standing pale and limp in his father's grip, seemingly indifferent to the whole thing, she broke apart.

Something inside her screamed at her to run. Shivers ran up and down her spine, and her fingers grew cold. A little voice in the back of her head prompted her to get her daughter out of the room, grab her husband and drive as far away from Joseph as she could. That same little voice urged her to see that his behaviour was unnatural. She was scared. Scared of her own child.

"Do you hate me now?" Joseph's voice brought about a sickening silence in the room.

Mr. Gehabich suddenly loosened his grip on his son. His eyes filled with sadness and something else – raw, untamed fear. He looked at the bruises on Joseph's neck as well as the cuts on his arms. He too felt at unease around him.

"K-Kristoff, I think we should get Alice."

He nodded and released Joseph's hair. He rushed up the stairs behind his wife, and in a few moments, they found Alice, curled up under the sheets of Joseph's bed. He lifted her from underneath the covers and cradled her in his arms. "Alice, are you feeling okay?"

The girl simply looked up and weakly curled her fists into her father's shirt. "Mrs. Gehabich put a hand to her mouth to suppress her cries. Only a few of Alice's bruises were black and blue. The rest of her skin was a bit red and blotchy, but it had been healing magnificently because earlier on, after he had finished cleaning her room, Joseph had applied a special ointment to every single cut and bruise he had given to her.

"Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart." Mr. Gehabich motioned to his wife to lead the way downstairs to the car. "We're going to spend the night elsewhere."

Alice eyes widened. "What…What about brother?" she forced out weakly.

Mr. Gehabich narrowed his chocolate-brown eyes. "You shouldn't speak, darling. It won't make you feel any better."

"Brother…"Alice persisted.

"We have to get you away from that monster, Alice. He's-he's not normal."

Alice's grip on her father's shirt tightened. They were in the main hallway now, and were making their way outside. She managed to get a glimpse of Joseph sitting on the very last step, eyes closed and head leaned against the banister. He looked strangely peaceful and at ease.

He just called brother a monster. He said he was unnatural. I-I knew that there was something wrong with him before, but I didn't try to help him. I just watched him get worse. Now mother and father are afraid of him. I want to help him now, but I want to leave him here to suffer too.

Mr. Gehabich exited the house completely ignoring the heavy downpour of rain, locked the door and got into the vehicle. Mrs. Gehabich sped off as soon as they were inside.

Joseph opened his eyes and looked out of the large window that gave a view of the driveway. The rain was pouring outside and everything looked white and hazy. His mother's car was receding in the distance. Absent minded Joseph unlocked the door from the inside and stepped onto the portico. The tiled ground was extremely slippery because of the rain blowing in. Joseph cautiously made his way further out into the spray of rain.

He slipped and fell onto the cold hard floor. His head pounded, and the cuts on his arms opened and began to bleed again. Joseph's breath became raspy and his body drained itself of all energy. He couldn't get up. He didn't want to get up. His parents had abandoned him. Wasn't this what he had really wanted all along? Peace. Tranquillity. He didn't have anyone near him to hurt, or to be hurt by.

He wanted to die. He knew that eventually, his actions would be called into question. He was too much of a coward to face the consequences. Too scared to rub salt into his emotional wounds. Joseph dragged his arm up to his face. It was bleeding profusely. Right in the veins. Good. If this continues, I won't be able to hurt Sister anymore. Just a little further.

Joseph smiled in satisfaction as his vision blurred and his body went numb.

That's all folks.

Thought: "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

~Anne Callendar