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Prologue.
Earle.
The noise grew louder, and I guessed those downstairs were happy about something. Cletus, my brother, and Ma were hollering, and Sandie screeched back in glee.
For now, I remained in my bedroom.
Sometimes excited shouting meant good things, and other times, it meant bad things. Not knowing which it was this time, I hid. Hiding was safer for me.
Cletus was mean—so mean he liked to make me cry. He was six years older than me and called himself ‘the man of the house.’ Cletus was only fourteen, but, still, he thought he was a big man. And Sandie, my sister, had just turned thirteen.
At eight, I had more intelligence than Cletus, but it didn’t pay to point that out. I’d attended school until a year ago when Ma decided they were putting ideas in my head. Afterwards, I’d been pulled out and left adrift.
A few ladies checked on me at one point, and Ma lied and said I wasn’t here, that I’d gone to live with family. Ma was good at lying. Nobody was really bothered about my missing school except me.
The other children had made fun of my clothes and how I looked, but I’d learnt stuff. Mrs Simms, the teacher, had stated I was a pleasure to teach. She gave me extra tasks to do when I finished the work early. I enjoyed working the puzzles out and thinking things through. Mrs Simms called me a genius in the making and announced I had a high IQ. I understood what that meant, but Ma didn’t like that. Ma mocked me and encouraged Cletus and Sandie to do the same.
When at a parent’s night, one of the rare ones Ma had attended, she’d come home ranting. Ma had screamed for hours that no kid of hers was going to get airs and graces with schooling. Ma reckoned we didn’t need education, but I understood differently. It could give me a better life, but Ma had Cletus beat the crap out of me, and now they monitored my every move. They didn’t want me to go to school and learn things.
Even at eight years old, I understood the way we lived wasn’t right. And the way they treated me… that definitely wasn’t right.
Lots of men would visit Ma, and I’d seen what happened in the bedroom. They’d leave Ma money for food after they’d stayed a few hours and then disappear. Ma would be mean about them, saying they only wanted one thing and they were good for cash.
I wasn’t allowed in town anymore in case someone saw and reported me for being at home, but I knew what the townspeople said about Ma.
That Ma was a backwards hick, a whore, a skank, that she needed drumming out of town. They spoke about Ma’s drinking and how she’d destroy marriages and relationships, and the women hated her.
The police had visited a few times recently. Ma had flirted a lot to distract them and made sure I stayed out of sight. Once they left, Ma, Cletus, and Sandie had huddled together and whispered about their reasons for appearing here.
When they’d seen me, they’d screamed at me to disappear, so I had quickly. Hell, I didn’t need any more bruises. However, this time, their excitement seemed off the charts.
I heard a car and cocked my head. Odd. That didn’t sound like our beat-up truck.
Quietly, I crept over to the dirty window, looked down, and drew in a sharp breath.
Cletus was reversing a nice car into the old beat-up barn. We had two, one for animals and that one. I wasn’t allowed in that one. If I played near it, Ma or Cletus would beat the shit out of me. The pain wasn’t worth it.
But tonight, I allowed curiosity free rein and watched from a tiny crack in the ragged curtains.
Cletus disappeared into the barn with the car and reappeared a few minutes later, walking jauntily. Whatever had happened had made Cletus very happy. He tossed something in his hands, but I couldn’t see what.
My spine stiffened as Ma and Sandie met Cletus, and then they headed into the trees.
They were heading towards the shack! That was also completely off-limits to me, and whenever I approached it, one of those three made it clear I wasn’t allowed there.
Ma was swinging a bottle in the air and laughing. Even from this distance, I could hear her words about how ‘we’d hit the jackpot.’ I didn’t understand what Ma meant next. But Sandie cackled in reply and said she’d ‘make sure that we’d get their money even if we had to wait months.’
I moved away from the window, not wanting to know what they were up to. Whatever it was, it didn’t concern me.
A week later.
Sandie giggled downstairs with Ma, going on about what a big dick someone had.
I was puzzled. I guessed she meant sex, but there were no boys or men here, and Sandie was too young for sex. But Ma and Sandie were both laughing.
Cletus wasn’t around, otherwise they wouldn’t be saying stuff like that. Cletus didn’t like it.
Ma screeched with laughter and said to Sandie that she loved his cock and the fact he didn’t want to fuck her but had to.
