Chapter 27
It was once again time for the weekend to begin, and naturally all of the students were excited. Double Dee had given Ed and Eddy a ride home, seeing as he had a triple bike with him that day and was currently hanging out his two best friends, as well as Kevin and Rolf in Eds basement passing time playing video games. Nazz was currently performing her afternoon workout, while Sarah and Jimmy were playing dress up in Jimmy's bedroom.
Why the rest of the cul-de-sac was enjoying their Friday afternoon, Lee, Marie, and May entered the front door to their trailer home in single file. The three girls had hardly spoken a word to each other as they walked home, and Marie had purposely lagged behind her two sisters, indicating that she did not want to be bothered.
Lee laid herself down on the couch immediately as she walked into the trailer, as Marie dropped her book bag and May went out to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of soda. Lee finally broke the silence between the sisters.
"That was some stunt you pulled last night Marie." said Lee,
"Some stunt I pulled?" said Marie irritated, "You kicked me out of the house, so I left!"
May peered out into the living room slightly frightened, as she knew that a full blown fight like the one from the previous night would soon be occurring once again.
"Yeah, but that didn't mean stay out all night with that loser man of yours, unless you were givin it to him that is." said Lee as she snickered.
"First of all, he is not a loser!" yelled Marie, "He's a really great guy. And second of all, I'm going over his house again tonight whether you like it or not."
"To hell you are!" said Lee, "You ain't goin nowhere near him."
"Why not?" asked Marie, "Give me one good reason why Lee."
May entered the living room with a glass of soda and stood near the end of the couch.
"Because I can't have ya fallin over one man, deadeye!" said Lee, "There is no such thing as monogamy, get over yourself, all men are the same, he's just gonna dump ya eventually!"
"No he's not Lee!" yelled Marie, walking over towards Lee, "He truly cares about me and really likes me, and that's more than I can say about you!"
Lee and May were shocked at Maries last statement, Lee rose up off of of the couch.
"Did you just say I don't care about ya?" asked Lee.
"You never talk about anything, you never ask me how I am or how things are going." yelled Marie, "Everything that comes out of your mouth is just a nasty insult."
"Who's the one that practically raised ya while mom was nowhere to be found." yelled Lee back into Marie's face, "Who's the one that made sure you two had something in your stomach every morning? I did everything for you two and this is the thanks I get. Being told I don't care about ya!"
Lee's face was turning red as she was furious.
"Why do you hate men, and why do you hate me being with Double Dee!" yelled Marie aggressively.
"I gave a lot of my childhood away, dealing with making sure you two had everything you needed to have!" yelled Lee.
"Oh boo hoo Lee, me and May had a screwed up life and we all have our own little screwed up problems, but that doe….."
Marie was cut off as Lee grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the wall of the trailer, almost putting a hole in the wood paneling. May was speechless and shocked, she had never seen Lee slam someone as hard as she had just slammed Marie. Marie was stunned and fearful as she stared into Lee's angry eyes.
"Don't you EVER even think you can tell me that you know what a screwed up life is!" yelled Lee into Maries face.
Lee let Marie go and turned around, attempting to hide her face. For the first time since Marie could ever remember, her older sister was holding back genuine tears.
"Lee, are you alright?" asked Marie, as she walked over touching her hand to Lees shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" said Lee, as she walked over to the couch and sat down, burying her face in her hands.
Marie looked over at May, who was just as confused. The two girls walked over to the couch and sat down on each side of their older sister.
"Lee," said Marie, "I'm sorry, I know you really helped us out, and I'm so thankful you did."
"Save me the sympathy, deadeye." said Lee as she attempted to continue to hold back tears.
After a few minutes, Lee began speaking once again.
"You two don't even know the half of what I have been through in my life." said Lee in a calm, almost soothing voice, very different from her usual gruff voice.
"We'd like to hear about it." said Marie.
"Yeah," said May, "We're here for you Lee." Lee paused for a few minutes before she began speaking.
"Do you two remember Dennis?" said Lee.
Marie and May thought for a few minutes before the name rang a bell in Maries head. Dennis was a cousin of Ms. Kanker's who had lost his apartment when the girls were children due to financial problems. Ms. Kanker had allowed him to move in with her family until he could get back on his feet.
"Yeah I remember him, he lived with us in the apartment for a while." said Marie.
"Yeah, I can remember him always being in and out, there was so much fighting I hated that part of our life." said May.
"Okay so you two do remember all of that." said Lee, "Anyway, when he first moved in, I really liked him. He'd always play with us, I can remember him picking me up and throwing me toward the ceiling, only to catch me right before I hit the floor. I thought it was fun back then, but things started to get bad really fast."
Lee snickered sarcastically before she continued.
"He would completely change once the weekend came around," said Lee, "He'd start drinking when he got home from his community service, and by the fifth beer, he wasn't anything like the friendly guy he was before. He'd start going crazy about losing his job, and his ex-girlfriend for taking every thing he owned."
Lee took a breath.
"One night after I went to bed, I heard a loud crash outside," said Lee, "I thought it was one of youse falling trying to get yourself a glass of water, so I jumped outta bed and ran out tothe kitchen."
Lee paused, she was now holding back tears once again.
"There he was, drunk off his ass to the point where he could barely stand" said Lee as she struggled to get her words out, "He had just thrown a beer bottle at the wall, shattering it. He stared at me as if I were the embodiment of evil, like he wanted me dead or something."
May and Marie stared at their sister in complete shock at what they were hearing, as they knew they were about to receive very disturbing information.
"He started talking all kinds of no sense," said Lee, "He said 'all women are the same' and that there ain't any way he's gonna let another little bit grow up until to eventually screw her husband over."
At this point, tears began to slowly flow down Lee's face.
"He grabbed my hair to hold me still," said Lee, "He pulled it so hard that I couldn't move...then came the beating. First it was the back of his hand, and then the belt for good measure. He did his best to hit where nobody would be able to see...he twisted my ears...he threatened to...he threatened to..."
The gruff Kanker sister's internal emotions had finally shattered the dam that she had created to hold them in. Lee was now sitting on the couch crying, unable to finish her sentence. Her two sisters, attempting to hold back tears themselves, reached their arms out and embraced their oldest sister.
"Say no more Lee," said Marie in a gentle voice, "We get the picture."
Lee sobbed a bit more and then began speaking again.
"He would keepgoing until he eventually passed out," said Lee, "Sometimes I tried to hide, but I'd eventually give in because of what he would say...he t.t.t…old me to not run away, try to hide or tell anyone what happened...he told me that if I didn't take it, he would just have to settle for 'those two cute little sisters you have'"
Lee once again burst out in tears.
May and Marie were now crying tears of their own. Marie in particular was absolutely heartbroken. She had now realized that Lee had sacrificed much more than her time for her two sisters. She had subjected herself to abuse she should have never suffered, and possibly caused herself years of mental health issues, all with the idea that she would be protecting her little sisters.
"I fucking hate him!" yelled Lee as she suddenly threw a water bottle that was sitting on a table at the wall directly across from the couch before burying her hands in her face again.
It was at this point that it all became very clear to Marie. Although their mother always talked about men being no good and that it is not a good idea to commit, her views were not the deciding factor in forming Lees views of men. Lee hated men because of the abuse she had suffered as a child. She then inadvertently passed on the views to her little sisters as they grew up. As much as Marie had never realized it, and even though Lee was only a year and a half older than her, she had looked up to Lee, sort of as a mother figure. Therefore, it was only natural for her and May to believe that Lee was right about men, and that they should follow her lead in just pursuing them just for quick encounters.
"Lee….I had no idea." said May under her breath.
"How long did this go on." asked Marie
Lee struggled to get her words out of her mouth.
"It happened every few nights from the time I was six until the time I was ten, when the big fight happened." said Lee.
"What big fight?" asked Marie, "I don't remember any big fight around that time."
"Dennis was watching us all that night while mom was in work." said Lee, "I believe you two were out in the living room playing with your dolls, and Dennis had started hitting the bottle in the kitchen."
"You know what Lee," said May, "I can remember that night. You told us to move our dolls into the bedroom so that you could help clean the carpets before mom got home...now I understand why."
"Then you probably remember what happened after that." said Lee, "A few hours later, he lost control of himself and decided to get me again..."
Lee shuddered after that last statement, feeling a lump in her throat as she did so. She shook it off and continued.
"Thankfully, Daddy came over for a surprise visit" said Lee. "He came over to take us on a surprise trip to Chuck E. Cheeses. At the same time, Mom had just gotten home. I dont know what would have happened if Daddy didn't show up, but he managed to surprise Dennis just as he threatened me with a knife to the throat."
Lee gulped as tears began running down her face once again.
"I can remember Daddy going over to Dennis and punching him in the face, knocking him down. He then started stomping on him. I didn't know what to do, I felt so helpless that I began crying. Daddy noticed and yelled for Mom to take me and you two down to the truck. I can remember Mom yelling for Daddy to stop, or he was going to kill him."
Lee paused.
"It was all a blur after that. I can remember Daddy hugging me and saying 'it's okay Annalee' over and over again. I cried outside his truck, while Mom put you two girls in the backseat. The only other thing I remember was seeing the red and blue lights from the police cars that showed up at the apartment. I have no idea what happened after that."
"I hope that creep is rotting away in prison!" said May
"Yeah, and if he is, he'll be sure getting a taste of what he did to you right back at him while he's in there!" said an angry Marie.
"He did get locked up eventually" said Lee, still upset, "I can remember mom talking about him a few years ago and saying that he was doing 5 years for a burglary or something. And what really sucks is that Daddy was locked up for a few days for beatin' the livin' hell out of him."
Lee paused and caught her breath. Marie motioned May to go out into the kitchen and grab tissues for Lee to dry her face off with. May returned with the tissues and gave them to Lee.
"If you ask me," said Marie, "Daddy is the hero in that situation."
The girls sat in silence on the couch for a few more minutes.
"Now you know the truth." said Lee.
"Why didn't you ever tell us before Lee?" asked Marie.
"I guess I was still scared." said Lee, "It didn't end after that night, it still follows me day in and day out, I have nightmares about him and that screwed up face of his."
Lee sobbed once again.
"Lee, we are here for you." said May,
"We're your sisters, we'll always be here for you."
Lee saw the opportunity to crack a joke.
"Oh so now you're a Kanker again all the sudden Bucky?" said Lee, grinning, "I thought you 'renounced your sister ship'"
Lee stuck her teeth out imitating an overbite as she said the last statement.
"Ah shut up Lee." said Marie, "We'll always be Kanker's sisters no matter what."
Marie placed her hand on Lee's shoulder. Lee looked up into her eyes.
"Sisters?" Marie said smiling, Lee smiled back at her.
"Sisters," said Lee as she placed her arm around Marie. She turned her attention to May,
"You in on this May?" she asked before laughing.
May said nothing, however she immediately joined the three sisters group hug. This marked the first time that all three Kanker sisters were able to hug each other with the sole purpose of showing love.
"I love you girls." she said. The three sisters spent the next few moments finally sharing their pure sisterly love for each other; a love that had always been there, but was had not been displayed in years.
Once they were finished, Lee chimed in.
"You two are probably the most annoying two people that exist on Gods earth, but I couldn't live without ya!" said Lee.
"Well same to you!" said Marie as all three girls shared a laugh.
"Besides, who would help me come up with all the scams that we use to torture the Eds!" she said while grinning.
The girls had almost forgotten Marie's statement earlier that night. She had promised Double Dee that she would be at his house by 7:00. She glanced at the clock, it was 6:00, and she would have to rush to get ready to go to Double Dees house. However, she felt terrible leaving if her sister still needed any more emotional support.
Lee noticed that Marie was looking at the clock and grinned.
"Oh yeah, didn't ya say that you had to meet up wit your man tonight?" said Lee, back to using her usual gruff voice.
"Yeah, I promised him I would be over his house tonight." said Marie.
"Oh yeah, what time?" said Lee. "7:00" replied Marie.
"7:00!" shouted Lee, "alright come on let's get you ready!" said Lee as she jumped up.
"Go get your shower while me and May pick out your clothes. I'm an expert on fashion for man pleasing!"
"Wait you actually want me to go!" asked Marie, confused.
"Spare the details Marie," said Lee, "Just get your ass upstairs and get a shower."
Marie began to walk past Lee to the stairs as she looked into her face grinning. Lee couldn't help but grin back at her.
After enjoying a warm shower, Marie walked out to the bedroom naked wrapped in a towel. She found Lee and May standing in the bedroom grinning at her. There was a black dress that appeared as if it would expose cleavage sitting on the bed, as well as a pair of grey stockings. Lee had also prepared the same boots as Marie had worn to his house for dinner.
"This outfit will drive him nuts!" said Lee while chuckling. "Alright now while you get dressed, I'm gonna sit here and listen to you tell me how a girl like you possibly ends up with a nice guy like Double Dee." said Lee jokingly, May joined in on the laughter.
For the first time, Marie told her whole entire story to Lee as she got dressed in the outfit her sisters picked out for her. By the time she had finished, she was fully dressed and was working on her makeup while May helped her style her hair.
"You really do like him don't you Marie?" asked Lee in her gentle voice once again.
"Yes, I really do." said Marie.
Lee cracked a smile at Marie's last statement, before May chimed in.
"Wait till you hear what she didn't tell ya." said May jokingly as she sprayed Maries hair.
Marie was slightly embarrassed as May told her how she walked in on Marie shirtless the night Lee had discovered their secret. The three girls chuckled.
"Oooooh go Marie," said Lee jokingly, "I was starting to think you were strayin' a little too far from your Kanker roots!" yelled Lee as she laughed.
The three girls shared more laughs as they prepared Marie for her night with Double Dee. Before she knew it, it was 6:45 and Marie was fully dressed and ready to walk to Double Dees house.
May ran in front of her and descended the staircase before her.
"I now present to you, the new Ms. Universe, Annemarie Kanker!" yelled May at the bottom of the stairs as Marie descended it.
Lee began humming the theme song to the show as Marie made her way down the stairs. Marie couldn't help but smile at her sister's jokes. When the girls got downstairs, Lee ran into the kitchen and grabbed a long broom handle. She placed it in a vase containing soil where a potted plant used to be, pointing straight up in the air.
"Now you're gonna practice your pole dance for him tonight!" said Lee laughing.
Marie slapped her playfully on the shoulder as May laughed with them.
"Aight, it's quarter of, you better get outta here." said Lee.
"Alright," said Marie as she approached the front door, "I'll probably be back late."
"Not too late now!" said Lee, chuckling once again.
Marie ran over to Lee and gave her a hug.
"Thanks Lee." said Marie. "No thank you Marie for being there for me tonight." said Lee as she smiled into Maries eyes.
Lee then continued speaking.
"Now don't think all this sister love sissy stuff changes anything. Alright we care for each other, but I still expect all of the benefits I received before tonight, such as May getting me a soda while I sit on the couch after Marie leaves." said Lee, snickering
"And if either of you two tell anyone that I sat here bawling like a freakin' baby for ten minutes, I'll kick both of your asses got it?" said Lee in a quiet but intimidating voice.
May and Marie smiled at each other.
"Whatever ya say Lee." said Marie as she opened the door, grabbing a tube that appeared to hold some kind of poster as she did so.
"Damn right whatever I say!" said Lee, "Now get the hell outta here, you got a boyfriend to see, I got tv to watch, and May's got orders to fill from me."
"Alright then see ya!" said Marie as she walked out the door.
"See ya Marie!" yelled May, "Tell Double Dee we said hi."
As Marie walked away from the trailer, she couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Lee yell for May to grab a pillow from upstairs. Everything seemed back to normal in the Kanker household, when in reality it wasn't. That afternoon, Marie had finally learned what was responsible for Lee's bizarre and often cruel behavior. The childhood that she had was nothing compared to the horrible childhood that Lee had suffered. Nevertheless, the deep words spoken this afternoon had brought the sisters even closer together, and Marie smiled at the idea of continuing to build stable loving relationships with her two sisters. At this moment however, her mind turned to other things as she approached the large brown front door of Double Dees house.