Chapter 4: Smokin' Out
Hunter opened his eyes and saw the sun come through the window. He looked down and saw his brother laying beside him. He pushed the hair out of his eyes and laid back on the bed, knowing the beating last night took a huge toll on him. He groaned silently and placed his hands behind his head, letting his eyes close again. He didn't care about the pain now, all he wanted was some peace since it was the weekend. It was the only time he and Shawn could stay away from their Father and could see their Mom. Hunter felt the bed shift and heard the sounds of moans coming from Shawn. He looked over and saw his brother's tight eyes and hard breathing. He touched his brother's forehead and rubbed it a few seconds, causing Shawn's face to loosen as his breathing turned normal. Hunter sighed and sat up in bed, looking over at the air conditioning unit. Under it was the rope he and Shawn used to sneak out of the house many times to play outside. The rope got cut in half by their Father after the beating a few nights ago.
As the sun finally came through the sky, Hunter got out of bed, careful so he wouldn't wake Shawn, and opened the door to the room. He looked down both ways of the hallway before walking down towards the bedroom where their parents slept, or rather where their Dad sleeps all night. He creeped up to the door and opened it a little before seeing the pale and sleeping figure of his Dad on the floor in front of the door. Hunter jumped back and walked silently back down the hall to check on his brother.
After a few hours, Shawn woke up and wanted to see his Mom, but Mom wasn't home. Hunter and Shawn waited for their Mom upstairs, that one sound of the door opening and the loud thud of her purse hitting the ground would make everything okay.
After a few more minutes of waiting, Hunter walked over to the door and opened it, walking down the hall and looking down the staircase to see if Mom was already home. She wasn't. Hunter sighed and walked back into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed where he and his brother would have to wait some more.
"Hunter?" Shawn whispered.
"What?" Hunter asked.
"Is Mommy okay? She's coming home, right?"
'Right. She's coming home."
"I think she's real busy."
"Me too."
12:00 Noon. Now Hunter and Shawn were worried.
Shawn opened his eyes and saw Hunter sitting in the same place he had sat in for hours. Shawn sighed and climbed over to his brother, hugging him and seeing the look in his eyes. The look Shawn knew as worry.
"She's coming, right?" Shawn asked.
"Yes, Shawn. Be patient."
"I am. I'm just worried about you."
Shawn crawled back towards the head of the bed and laid in the same spot he had been in since morning.
The boys didn't want to play. They didn't want to talk. They hadn't eaten anything. All they wanted was there Mom.
Around 1:00, Hunter got up from his place and walked around the room, Shawn staring at him from the bed. Hunter looked at the blank walls and thought about the many things swirling around his head. He and Shawn had waited since morning for their Mom, and she would usually come home early. Daddy was still asleep in the bedroom next door, so nothing could bother the two of them. Hunter had a bad feeling in his heart he couldn't explain. He looked over at Shawn playing with a few blocks on the bed, since Shawn wanted to play with them, and wondered how his brother could be patient now. As Shawn finished staking the blocks, Hunter walked over to the bed and laid down on his back, causing some of the blocks to fall over.
"Hey." Shawn whispered.
Hunter looked at the ceiling, ignoring his brother. All of the waiting was getting boring. Unlike normal kids who should be out and playing, Hunter and Shawn just stayed inside waiting for their Mom.
"I know she's coming. I know she's coming." Shawn said over and over to Hunter when Hunter didn't respond.
"Shawn," Hunter felt annoyed. "Let it go."
"Let what go?"
"Mom. She's obviously busy at work."
"No, Hunt. I know she's coming. I know she is." Shawn started to get upset.
Hunter sighed and took his brother's hand. "Maybe she'll be here tomorrow."
"But...she's never..."
"Shawn," Hunter rubbed his brother's hand. "We can't wait forever. Let's go downstairs and eat, okay?"
"Okay." Shawn sniffled.
The boys got out of bed and walked into the hallway quietly, so they wouldn't wake their Dad, and walked downstairs. They entered the kitchen and grabbed a few bits of bananas and fruit before sitting down at the table. Shawn looked back up at the staircase, a worried look on his face, but Hunter patted him on the arm and signaled him to eat.
After a few minutes, Shawn and Hunter finished up and Hunter proceeded to walk upstairs, but noticed Shawn was walking around the livingroom and couldn't help but follow him.
"Shawn," Hunter called quietly. "What are you doing?"
Shawn crouched down in front of a desk and began moving things around, looking at them and placing them back on the wooden frame. Hunter grabbed Shawn's arm and tried to get him upstairs, but Shawn pulled away and looked at Hunter.
"I'm seeing where's Mommy's number is."
"She doesn't have one."
"What about where she works?"
Hunter thought a moment and nodded his head, thinking that the work number was around somewhere. He decided to help Shawn by looking through any folder or stack of papers in sight. They were so busy they didn't realize it was getting dark outside. Shawn opened a drawer and saw a white paper inside with multiple numbers on it.
"Hunt," Shawn looked over at his brother, who was reading a paper. "I think I found it."
Hunter stopped reading and looked over at his brother, seeing Shawn take the paper out, and stood next to him as they read the paper together. They noticed a title called 'Work' and decided to give it a try.
"Shawn," Hunter walked over to the kitchen wall. "Grab the phone over here."
Shawn raced over to the phone and grabbed it, seeing the small print on the buttons.
"Uh..." Shawn began.
"Shawn?"
"I can't see those things."
"They're numbers, Shawn. Can't you read them?"
"No. It's hard to tell."
"Fine," Hunter took the phone from his brother's hands. "I'll do it."
"Do what?" A strong voice asked.
The two boys gasped when a large figure stood in front of them with a pipe in hand, the other hand closed up into a fist. Shawn cowered back and dropped the phone, where it dangled from its cord. Hunter stepped back and put a hand over Shawn's chest, protecting him.
"I asked you two a question."
Hunter gulped. "We...were just..."
"What's that in your hand, Shawn?"
Shawn whimpered and looked at Hunter, then at the figure of his Dad, whose face was full of anger.
"Well?!"
"It's a paper, sir."
"What for? What were you planning to do?"
"Call Mommy." Shawn whispered.
"We're worried about her," Hunter interrupted. "She hasn't come home."
"Is that right?" Dad touched his chin and rubbed it. "Do you know why she's not coming home?"
Shawn and Hunter shook their heads, causing their Dad to step forward, angered, causing the boys to jump back.
"What did I tell you two?! I want a 'yes' or 'no sir' in this house!"
"No, sir." Shawn and Hunter whispered.
"No," Dad said. "It's too late."
Dad walked forward and began to loosen his belt, causing Shawn to gasp and Hunter to jump back when his face was mere inches from the object. He grabbed his father's arm and pulled roughly on it so it couldn't slip between his fingers. Shawn cowered back as tears fell down his face.
"Run, Shawn!" Hunter screamed as he fought off his Dad.
Hunter held the belt tighter, feeling the stings of the tough leather in his hands, hearing Shawn's feet echo down the hall, and suddenly felt his body knock back into the wall, his Father's hands punching him countless times before he slid down and fell on the floor, the footsteps of his Father fading past him. Hunter looked up and saw him going in the same direction Shawn ran. He felt a warm substance run down his nose before managing to get on his hands and knees and catch his breath before standing and limping in the same direction, hearing noises of objects moving and loud crashes on the floor. Hunter saw his Dad moving about in the back of the house, looking for Shawn, hiding in the shadows so he wouldn't be seen.
Father left and headed towards the basement, grabbing a lantern off the counter and walking down the stairs. Hunter followed silently.
Down in the basement, Father creaked down the stairs and grabbed a matchbox on a broken table, lighting it on the wood before applying it to the lantern. The lantern made enough light to see everything.
Hunter found a way down the stairs, his body beginning to ache, and found his Father looking around the room, kicking useless junk out of the way and throwing things around. Hunter got to the last step and heard a creak under him from all the pressure of his body. He soon found his Father's eyes looking at him.
"What the hell you doing?! Trying to make a fool of me?! The both of you are the last thing I ever wanted out of your Mother! I didn't care about her, and I sure as hell don't care about you!"
"But...Dad..." Hunter was shocked, but couldn't speak another word when his Dad walked over and slapped the tears off his face.
Hunter tried to block the oncoming blows, but Father, even with the lantern in hand, was still too powerful for him to fight back. Hunter fell to the floor and grunted on impact. His Father walked over to the side of the room and grabbed something before returning to stand over Hunter.
"Burn in hell." Father spat when he lit the match on the lantern. Hunter gasped.
"No!" A voice cried.
Father fell over and the match flew into a pile of crumpled papers, setting them ablaze. Hunter flinched and got out of the way of the flames, watching his Father's body begin to burn in the pile of fire. He was screaming really loud.
Hunter looked over and saw Shawn standing behind him, watching the sight before him. The two boys stood beside one another and saw the flames grow closer towards them, setting fire to anything in sight, smoke filling the room instantly. Shawn and Hunter began coughing and ran towards the back of the basement, trying to get away.
Shawn and Hunter managed to stay clear of the smoke and flames, but the smoke came through and the boys soon began coughing again. Shawn grabbed a book and held it in his hands while Hunter looked around, the best he could, for something. Anything that could get them out. Hunter looked up and saw nothing, but when he looked down he saw a trap door and quickly grabbed Shawn to pull on it. Shawn pulled on the trap door, but it was stuck.
The boys screamed when the flames caught fire to the table next to them. Hunter looked around and saw something over in the corner. He grabbed it quickly, but the object was a little heavy for him to handle. Shawn came over and grabbed the object with Hunter and they both held it over their heads and smashed the trap door open in one swing. Hunter signaled Shawn to go first, and Shawn went down inside, crawling in the darkness. Hunter entered the trap door while dragging the object behind him, not caring to look back and close the door.
Outside, neighbors watched helplessly as the house before them went up in flames. Police screamed for the firemen to hurry up with the flames, but the flames were out of control. Paramedics waited for their turn to go in, but the flames didn't let up. All of the people on the sidewalk watched in horror at the house burning, the remains of it falling on the ground.
Among those people were Shawn and Hunter themselves, Shawn showing tears while Hunter stood holding his brother. Hunter nudged Shawn and signaled them to leave. They both walked down the sidewalk and Hunter looked back before walking down towards the fence and allowing Shawn to slide under before he could, grabbing the sledgehammer, that helped them escape, in the nearby bushes.
The two boys walked into the forest and stayed there the rest of the night, staying warm under a tree in the cold weather, Shawn crying as he placed his head on Hunter's chest. Hunter showed little bits of tears before rubbing his brother's back and said, "Shawn, it's just us now. We have to look out for each other."
"But what about Mommy?" Shawn sobbed.
"She's not here. Not anymore."
"And Daddy?"
Hunter grew angry. "May he rot in hell."