Oranges & Roses

Gangsta's Paradise

Chapter Ten

“You know how this works, Arrietty. It’s the hardest thing you have to learn in order to control your disease.”

“No! Mommy…”

“Stop fidgeting! It’s only a quick needle prick!”

“I said no!”

I smacked my mother’s hand out of the way and twisted in the opposite direction of her. I did not want that needle anywhere near me. It was so sharp. It was pointy! And it caused nothing but pain, I didn’t care what she said! Why didn’t she understand that?

“Arrietty!” I started screaming and crying, twisting this way and that so she couldn’t get a hold of me completely. “Stop it, Arrietty! This instant!”

“Leave me alone! Don’t touch me! Daddy!”

“Your father isn’t here and if he was he’d be the one doing this instead of me!”

I didn’t mind it so much when Daddy did it. He was gentler than my mother.

“Stop it! No!”

“Mom?”

My mother sighed and let me go. I twisted off the couch and ran over to my brother, hiding behind him in case our mother decided to come at me with that needle again.

“See if you can calm her down enough to do it.”

Our mother dropped the syringe on the couch side table and stormed out of the room. Vin tried to pull me over to the couch but I resisted, tugging him in the opposite direction.

“No, Vin.”

“Elina…you know…”

“Not right now.” I looked up at him with tear filled eyes. “Please?”

“But dinner’s on the table…”

“It hurts.”

“You say that every single time.”

“It’s true!”

“I’m not saying it’s not but, Elina, you have to or you’re going to get sick.”

“You said I never have to do anything I don’t want to.”

“That doesn’t include this. You have to take the medicine or you’ll end up in the hospital again. Now, come on.” He dragged me back over to the couch and made me sit down. “It doesn’t hurt as much as you think it does. It’s all in your head.”

“What do you mean?”

My brother plopped down on the couch next to me and lifted up the hem of my shirt. “It’s just like when you learned how to ride your bike. Look at me.” He’d reached over for the needle but turned my face back so all I could see was him. “Remember what you said after Dad took off the training wheels?”

“That’s different.”

He glanced down and my eyes threatened to follow but he popped me on the chin so I wouldn’t.

“No it’s not. It’s all about perception.”

“What’s perception?”

I felt him pinch the skin of my stomach and my first instinct was to twist away but he flicked me on the cheek so I wouldn’t fight him. I whimpered.