Pat had pulled the brothers aside after he ran some tests on John now that John had a form of communication.
"Have you ever noticed if John could recall things from earlier on in his life?" Pat asks.
"Like what, Doc?" Jacob asks.
"Like before you guys were taken?" Pat asks. Joseph and Jacob looked at each other, they had to think about that. "He should not be able to remember half the stuff that he does. The most he should remember is 3 onwards, John can remember…"
"John can remember what, Doc?" Jacob asks.
"The first instance of abuse done by your father," Pat answers. Jacob's stomach drops, no, he shouldn't remember that. He was a year and a half old!
"No, that's not possible," Jacob says. "He was literally a baby."
"He told you about this?" Joseph asks.
"He did," Pat says. "I had to make sure his memory was not affected, but he has extremely good memory at least from his own life experiences."
"What did he say happen?" Jacob asks.
"He was whining a lot because it was hot and he was giving your mom a hard time, wouldn't eat," Pat says. "Your father was drunk, got tired of both your mom and John. John got belted. Jacob, you came in during the middle and shielded John with your body, your father got tired and stopped. Father…"
"Had to talk Jacob down again," Joseph says. "We locked ourselves in our rooms with John. I brought in food and drinks to at least survive for a few days. John was still on the bottle at that time. He took a long time to be weaned, I think Mama wanted him to stay a baby longer. He was her last and he was so much younger than us."
"You would have been 11, right, Father?" Pat asks.
"I was," Joseph says. "Jacob was only focused on two things, John, and revenge. Father had never laid a hand on John before. John was inconsolable, he was just a baby."
"What else does he remember?" Jacob asks.
"Like I said, he remembers everything about his childhood," Pat answers. "I don't know if this injury caused it or if he has always been like this and has kept it a secret from all of us." They turn around when they hear a pained grunt and wincing. Jacob is the first to enter, immediately noticing the blood on John's arm.
"John!" Jacob shouts. John looks up.
"Feel it," John says. Pat walks over to him, grabbing John's arm gently to access the damage. "Good, right?"
"How deep did you go?" Pat asks, wiping the blood off John's arm. He notices the bloody fingernails. They were going to have to cut them.
"Far as I can," John answers.
"They don't look very deep," Pat says. "You could feel it because you penetrated the skin, John."
"So, I feel a knife too?" John asks curiously. Pat looks up at him, his eyes stern, it makes John recoil from the touch.
"Do not get any ideas, John Seed," Pat says.
"Yes, Doctor," John answers.
"Can he take a bath now?" Jacob asks. "His hair is…"
"Hey!" John shouts.
"Your hair is greasy and tangled, we really don't want you to get matted hair now do we? You want to be bald?" Joseph asks. John crinkles his nose in disgust.
"No, thank you," John says, sticking his tongue out, "Blech."
"That's what I thought," Joseph states.
"It should be safe to give him a bath," Pat says. "His feet healed pretty well."
"Do good job," John tells the doctor. Pat blushes at that.
"Ah, well, thank you, John," Pat says. Pat was a middle-aged man, probably about Joseph's age, his hair was slowly turning gray. His hair was short, like John's. His beard was neatly trimmed, he had a stethoscope around his neck. He didn't wear a white coat but a gray trench coat that went past his knees.
"Rules?" John asks, gulping down the anxiety building in his throat.
"What do you mean, John?" Joseph asks.
"Need rules for bath," John answers. "No dunk head underwater, please? Brush hair gently, no tug, if possible." John sighs but he knows that they had to do this, he hadn't had a proper bath in a while. "I request Joseph to scrub me down there. I want able to take iPad."
"Sure, I'll go get the tray you never use," Pat teases. John just rolls his eyes.
"Why don't you want to be dunked under the water?" Jacob asks, slowly helping John put his feet on the floor.
"Parents," John answers. He searches for the right word. "Drown, bathtub, needed cleansing, pass out." Joseph thoughts turn dark, he hopes that John's adoptive parents and his father are all rotting in hell, being put through the same hell they were subjected to. "Joseph, okay?" John calls, worriedly.
"Yes, John," Joseph reassures his brother. "Let's get you into the bathroom, huh?" Joseph and Jacob both grab onto John, Jacob has the iPad tucked under his right armpit. They make it to the bathroom, Joseph sets John down on the toilet. "Might as well try and go now." Jacob smiles slowly lowering John's light pants and boxers. John had been able to go regularly but he still refuses to use the bedpan. He's had a few accidents in bed but now that he has a form of communication it has gotten a lot better.
John tries to lift his arms, he sighs, his arm only twitching in response.
"It'll get better with time, John," Jacob says. "You done?" John nods. Joseph holds John's arms above his head as Jacob starts to strip John of his shirt. Joseph slips John's pants and underwear off. Joseph and Jacob both seem to be looking over John's body. Jacob gently rubs a bite on John's shoulder. "Did she do this or someone else?"
"Someone else," John responds. "She…like to scratch and give hickeys. Would dig fingernails into me when she…came. Too graphic?"
"No, John," Joseph says. "You have got to get this out now. This…caused you to think dying would be better. Don't keep it in anymore, please?" Joseph begs. Jacob started the bath, getting the water to a good temperature before returning to John. He puts his arm around John's shoulder, his other arm behind John's knees. Jacob gently picks John up, setting him in the tub carefully. Jacob seems fixated on the bite on John's shoulder.
"Who gave that to you?" Jacob asks, his stomach and chest burning with jealousy. Someone else had marked John. When he didn't want to be. Pat had handed the tray to Joseph, leaving the brothers to take care of John. Joseph puts the tray in front of John, giving him access to the iPad.
"Charlie," John says. "Young man, in his 20s."
"Was he gentle?" Jacob asks.
"Gentle?" John asks.
"Did he make it hurt, John? When he bit you?" Jacob asks.
"Yes," John says. "But didn't mind pain. At least not that pain. Only pain I not like…" John sighs. "Violent, blood down there." Jacob nods in understanding. Joseph moves the tray back so Jacob can wet John's hair with the cup. Jacob reaches up to grab the shampoo and conditioner.
"John," Jacob calls. John looks over at him. "If anyone touches you again, I want you to know how to protect yourself. You did the right thing with Paul, you couldn't move, you used what was in your means." John nods, listening intently. "But when you get stronger, you can use anything in your reach, you can even use your fingers. The first thing you can target is their eyes. Shove your fingers into their eyes if they don't retreat push in farther." Jacob explains as he lathers the shampoo into John's hair.
"The next thing you can target is their neck. A pen could even be used as a weapon." Jacob takes one of his hands, pushing his finger into John's carotid artery. "Here, John. You push with all the force that you can. And the last thing is a kick to between the legs regardless of gender. You, of course want to aim for the balls if your attacker is a male but a kick between the legs for a female can cause the most damage." John closes his eyes as his hair is rinsed thoroughly.
"I didn't know that," Joseph says. "That a kick between the legs could damage a female. I always thought you should target their breasts."
"The clitoris has more nerve endings that can be damaging," Jacob responds. "Your turn, Joe." Joseph smiles switching spots with Jacob.
"You are starting to gain a little bit of weight back," Joseph says pinching John's stomach softly. John chuckles in response to that. Joseph starts to lather the soap over John's body, making sure he gets every little crevice. John has to bite back a moan when Joseph starts to wash down there. He looks down in shame.
Joseph stops for a moment. His first instinct is to scold him but how is that fair to John? John was a human and humans for the most part were sexual beings. Joseph has not had sex in a long time, but that didn't mean he didn't wake up from a wet dream every now and then. John had been used for sex for a year and a half, doing who knows what, having who knows what done to him. He grabs John's jaw gently pulling him to look at him. John's eyes were full of tears. Joseph sighs, pulling John to him kissing him on the forehead.
"John, please don't blame yourself for feeling aroused. You are a human. You…" Joseph sighs. "You have been used for others sexual gratification for too long. As much as I preach about abstinence until the collapse, we are only human. We may slip up, we may give into sin, it will happen. But He will forgive. This must be all so confusing for you. So hard for you, it must bring back so many memories of your fornication in college and in Atlanta. The only difference is that you were willing back then. You were not willing now. It will take time to heal, take time to get back on track. I love you, John." John is shivering, so Joseph quickly washes him. John has his eyes closed as he starts to drift off to sleep, sinking down into the bathtub. Jacob chuckles emptying the tub, Joseph has a towel, draping it around John's body. John groans as he is lifted out of the tub.
"Sorry, John," Jacob says. "You are allowed to go into your bedroom now." John hums in response his head nuzzled into Jacob's armpit. John barely awakes when the brothers start to dress him in his pajamas. "Good night, John, we'll be right next door if you need us. I love you." Joseph stares at John, he looks almost angelic, so beautiful. He has to stop himself; he could not let those thoughts in, especially now. John did not need that. Jacob grabs Joseph's hand pulling him out of the room. "Want to get some dinner?"
"Are you planning on going out?" Joseph asks.
"Joseph, we cannot be with him all the time," Jacob says. "I don't want to leave him right now, but when he wakes up, maybe we can go out. Just the two of us. We've been spending so much time with John, we haven't had time to spend time together."
"That sounds very nice," Joseph says, Jacob's hand still firmly in his grasp.
"I'll call in a reservation," Jacob says. "It is Saturday after all. It must be busy. Is 9PM okay?" Joseph just nods, that was kind of a late dinner, but he wanted to spend more time with his older brother. He is pretty sure where Jacob was planning on taking him, this place had the oddest hours. Only open for dinner and open until 2AM almost like a bar, but it was a restaurant. It was almost 6 at night, they'd have to leave at 8:30 to get there in time. If John wasn't up by then, they'll just have to wake him up and let him know.