The Pain of Reese Chapter 1
Reese stood in the middle of the construction site, the heavy sun beating down on him. His muscles ached from the relentless Labor of chopping wood, and the coarse jokes of the burly men around him grated on his nerves. He kept his head down, trying to stay invisible among the crude banter about wives and conquests. His secret, the one he guarded fiercely, felt like a ticking time bomb.
"Hey, Reese!" one of the men called out, his voice dripping with mockery. "Why so quiet? You scared of a little hard work?"
Reese clenched his jaw, keeping his eyes fixed on the pile of logs. He didn't trust himself to speak, knowing that his temper could flare at any moment. The last thing he needed was another outburst that would only confirm their low expectations of him.
In the back of his mind, he could hear Miss Thompson's voice, full of disdain and disappointment. She had given up on him long ago, dumping him into this program for troubled boys. Reese had tried to change, to focus on his work and ignore the chaos around him, but it was a constant struggle. The other boys in the program were no better, criminals and bullies who thrived on making his life hell.
He glanced around the site, his eyes landing on a small, shaded corner where he could take a moment to breathe. As he made his way over, he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.
"Where do you think you're going?" the foreman growled, his grip tightening. "Get back to work. You're not here to slack off."
Reese nodded, swallowing his frustration. He returned to the pile of logs, his hands trembling with the effort to keep his emotions in check. The day dragged on, each minute feeling like an eternity.
Finally, the whistle blew, signalling the end of the workday. Reese wiped the sweat from his brow, his body aching with exhaustion. As he headed towards the exit, he caught sight of Malcolm standing by the gate, a look of concern on his face.
"Reese, we need to talk," Malcolm said, his voice low and urgent. "Something's happened."
Reese's heart pounded in his chest as he followed Malcolm away from the site. He could sense that whatever news Malcolm had, it wasn't good.
The school auditorium buzzed with the chatter of students, all awaiting the assembly's start. Reese entered the room, his presence immediately drawing whispers and snickers. He wore a suit and tie, a stark contrast to his usual attire. A walking stick supported his frail frame, and a scar ran through his left eye. His left arm, replaced by a metal prosthetic, glinted under the harsh fluorescent lights.
Lois sat in the front row, her expression a mask of disdain. She had long given up on Reese, and today's assembly was just another opportunity for her to distance herself from her troubled son. The superintendent, a giant prick who had always hated Reese, stood at the podium, a smug smile on his face. Beside him were two fat, out-of-shape corrupt cops with a very bad history with Reese. They relished the chance to humiliate him further.
"Reese Wilkerson," the superintendent called out, his voice dripping with contempt. "Please come forward."
Reese limped to the front, his walking stick tapping against the floor. The students' laughter echoed in his ears, but he kept his gaze forward, refusing to show any sign of weakness. The superintendent motioned for the cops to search Reese's bag, and they did so with relish, their hands rough and invasive.
"Let's see what our model student has brought with him today," the superintendent sneered, pulling out a letter from Reese's bag. He unfolded it with exaggerated care, his eyes scanning the contents before reading aloud. "Dear Reese, I hope your time in the garden helps you recover. Remember to breathe again."
The students erupted in laughter, and Reese's face burned with shame. He didn't reveal the true depth of his suffering, the years of torment and violation at the hands of a woman who had raped him hundreds of times. That secret remained locked inside him, a wound that never healed.
The superintendent's eyes gleamed with malice as he continued, "Reese, it seems you need constant reminders to do even the most basic things. How pathetic."
Lois's lips curled in a cruel smile, her eyes cold and unfeeling. Reese's heart ached with a pain that went beyond physical. He felt utterly alone, a pariah in his own family and school. But he refused to break. He stood tall, his metal arm a testament to his resilience.
Reese's heart pounded in his chest as he turned his gaze towards Lois. A single tear escaped his eye, tracing a path down his scarred cheek. The room's laughter and jeers faded into a dull roar as he limped slowly towards his mother, each step feeling like a monumental effort. The walking stick tapped rhythmically against the floor, echoing his resolve.
Finally, he stood in front of Lois, her expression a mixture of confusion and disdain. Without warning, Reese threw his school bag at her feet, the contents spilling out in a chaotic mess. The room fell silent, all eyes now on the confrontation between mother and son.
"As a mother, you failed," Reese's voice trembled with a mixture of anger and sorrow. "Every time she got me presents, every time she pushed me up against the wall, every time she demanded I help over at her house, you never questioned it."
Lois's eyes widened, her face paling as Reese continued, his words cutting through the silence like a knife. "Every time a 29-year-old woman buys a 13-year-old boy a fucking motorbike for no apparent reason, you never questioned it. When a 29-year-old woman groped my balls for two minutes straight, you never questioned it. When she demanded to do back rubs on me half-naked, you never asked."
The room was deathly quiet, the weight of Reese's revelations hanging heavy in the air. Lois's lips quivered, her eyes filling with a mixture of shock and guilt. The superintendent and the corrupt cops stood frozen, their smug expressions replaced with disbelief.
Reese's voice broke as he continued, "You never protected me. You never cared enough to see what was happening right in front of you."
Lois's eyes filled with tears, her hands trembling. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The reality of her failure as a mother hit her like a tidal wave, leaving her speechless and broken.
Reese turned away, his shoulders slumped with the weight of his confession. The room remained silent, the students and faculty too stunned to react. Reese's heart ached with a pain that words could never fully express, but for the first time, he felt a small measure of release.
Reese's glare burned with a fury that was both raw and heartbreaking. The memories surged through him like a tidal wave, each recollection more painful than the last. He took a breath, steadying himself as he continued, his voice rising, fuelled by the anguish that had been bottled up for far too long.
"When she had her way with me behind the pool shed when I was 11, you never cared. You thought I was just helping her move stuff." His voice trembled with rage and sorrow. "When she trafficked me to her friends, you never questioned it. Remember that weekend vacation? You thought she was taking me to an island for fun, but I was being taken to be raped and abused by over 30 people. I lost count after 12."
The auditorium was silent, the weight of his words hanging in the air like a heavy fog. Reese could see the shock etched on the faces of the students, the faculty, and most painfully, on Lois.
"When she had a friend try to give me fucking AIDS and ran away, she gave me this scar!" He gestured to the jagged line on his face, a physical reminder of his torment. "And when those two men held me down while she raped me, shared me with 10 friends to celebrate, you thought I was going on a fucking holiday? I was going to that island to be her sex slave!"
Reese's voice cracked, the emotional weight of his confession threatening to crush him. The tears streamed down his face, mixing with the anger that had fuelled his outburst. He felt exposed, vulnerable, but also liberated in a way he had never experienced before.
Lois's expression shifted, a storm of emotions swirling in her eyes—shock, denial, guilt. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
The superintendent finally found his voice, attempting to regain control. "This is unacceptable, Reese! You will not disrupt this assembly with your lies!"
But Reese stood firm, defiant. "These aren't lies! This is my life, and you all failed to see it!"
The murmurs of disbelief rippled through the crowd, and Reese felt the eyes of his peers on him—some filled with sympathy, others with shock. For the first time, he felt like he was not alone in his suffering.
Reese's heart raced as he reached into his bag, pulling out a collection of items that had been hidden away for far too long. The air was thick with tension as he laid them out before the superintendent, each piece a testament to his suffering.
He held up the flight logs first, shaking with anger. "You want proof? Here it is! Proof of every time I was taken away from safety, every time I was betrayed!" He tossed the logs onto the podium, watching as they slid across the polished surface.
Next came the pictures—graphic and haunting. He threw them with force, each one landing with a sickening thud. One showed him tied to a bed, bruised and beaten just moments before the photo was taken. Another depicted him in a bathtub filled with blood, a chilling reminder of his darkest moments.
Reese continued, pulling out a medical report that detailed the hundreds of rapes he had endured. "This is my life! This is what you all ignored!"
And then, the final blow. He retrieved his phone, his hands shaking as he pressed play. The audio filled the auditorium, the voice of his rapist, the valet, echoing through the stunned silence. "You're a very fun little boy now. You won't tell mummy what you were doing on that island. That's right, good boy, you are learning."
The room erupted in gasps, the weight of the words crashing down like a tidal wave. Reese's voice rose above the chaos. "You said something about lies, sir? Well, do you have anything to say now, you bastard?"
The superintendent's face paled, his arrogance evaporating in an instant as the reality of Reese's torment became undeniable. The corrupt cops shifted uncomfortably, their previous confidence shattered.
Lois sat frozen in her seat, horror etched across her features as the truth unfolded before her. She had failed to protect her son, and now he was exposing the depths of his pain for all to see.
The assembly was in chaos, students whispering and pointing, some crying, others looking away in shame. Reese felt a surge of power, a sense of reclaiming his narrative, and he stood tall, despite the tremors of fear and anger coursing through him.
Reese moved with a silent fury, each step towards the superintendent heavy with the weight of his past. The auditorium was a whirlwind of whispers and gasps, but all he could focus on was the man who had belittled him, who had allowed his suffering to go unnoticed for far too long.
With a swift motion, he threw the flight logs at the superintendent's feet. "Here's your proof," he spat, his voice low and controlled. The logs fluttered to the ground, a stark reminder of the times he had been taken away, the times his cries for help were ignored.
Next came the pictures—graphic snapshots of his torment. He hurled them at the superintendent, each image a haunting testament to his suffering. One showed him tied to a bed, bruised and battered just moments before the photo was taken, while another displayed him in a bathtub filled with blood, the crimson water a chilling reflection of his pain.
He continued, throwing a medical report detailing the hundreds of rapes he had endured. The air thickened with disbelief as the audience absorbed the gravity of the situation. Finally, he tossed a picture of his rapist, the valet straddling him, the scar on his left eye a permanent reminder of the trauma he had faced.
But Reese wasn't finished. He pulled out his phone, hands trembling as he pressed play. The voice of the valet filled the air, echoing through the stunned silence of the room. "You're a very fun little boy now. You won't tell mummy what you were doing on that island. That's right, good boy."
The room erupted in gasps, the weight of the valet's words crashing down like a tidal wave. Reese's voice rose above the chaos, filled with rage and defiance. "You said I was a liar, sir? Well, fuck you! You have no idea what I've been through!"
The superintendent's face turned a shade of pale, his arrogance crumbling as the reality of Reese's torment became undeniable. The corrupt cops exchanged uneasy glances, their confidence shattered by the raw truth laid bare before them.
Lois sat frozen in her seat, her expression a mixture of horror and disbelief. She had failed to protect her son, and now he was exposing the depths of his pain for all to see.
The auditorium was in chaos, students whispering and pointing, some crying, others looking away in shame. Reese felt a surge of power, a sense of reclaiming his narrative, and he stood tall, despite the tremors of fear and anger coursing through him.
