"Charlie, how's the degree coming along?" asked Dad, passing the bowl of mashed potatoes to Mom.
With Denver's help, I managed to stay in my adult mind. I sat next to him on his right and Charlie was towards his left side at the end of the table. If what Denver said was true, Mom and Dad were mistaken about his and Charlie's relationship.
I fidgeted in my seat while I waited for the food to make its rounds and arrive at my plate. Each time, I stood and passed the dishes back after I got a reasonable amount.
Mom looked happy to see that I wasn't screwing up like she thought I would. I did slip on the floor earlier, but Denver had helped me. Of course, I'd blushed from the embarrassing moment, but also from feeling his warmth seep into my upper body where his hands had grabbed for support. I had quickly returned to my seat and apologized, but Denver merely chuckled and ruffled my hair.
I smiled up at him, trying to ignore Mom's hateful stare. It felt unusually intense, which made me feel frightened. I tried to keep my feelings under wraps and not show anything on my face, but I think Dad noticed because he patted Mom's shoulder. In an instant, she calmed down and leaned into him. In an effort to calm me this time, Dad leaned over and slipped his fingers between my shoulder blades. He rubbed firmly to encourage my relaxation, so I took a few deep breaths to calm my fear and then quietly thanked him. Charlie glanced at me with an expression of worry, but I smiled back.
"Charlie, your dad asked you a question." reminded Mom, although her tone was sharp and cold.
Charlie flinched. "R-right, sorry. It's extremely tough, but I'm in my second to last year."
"You're really going to be a veterinarian?" I asked with a grin. "That's awesome. You've always loved helping animals."
She grinned. "Yeah, so even though the work is arduous, the end goal is worth it to me."
"You're really admirable. I wish we had another one as motivated as you." remarked Mom, and I slowly curled into myself. "Really, Emil, isn't it about time to move out and get a job?"
"Y-yeah..." I whispered, pushing the green beans around on my plate. "I probably should."
Her eyes widened, as though she wasn't expecting me to say that. Dad stiffened, and I swallowed thickly as the tension increased in the room. I glanced at Denver, but he looked proud of me for some reason.
"Perhaps we should wait a bit longer, Charlize." murmured Dad. "He's not ready for it."
"Yes, I suppose you're right." She smiled behind one hand. "Don't worry about it, Emil."
My stomach roiled with unease due to her tight expression. Maybe if Denver hadn't warned me, I would have never seen these blatant signs. I have to be more cautious.
"So, Denver, what do you do for work? Are you still in college?"
"No, sir. I have already received my doctorate in psychology. I work as both a licensed psychologist and part-time therapist to those who need lighter help." replied Denver with a smile.
Wait, what? Is that why Charlie wanted him to talk to me? Because I'm not right in the head? Although, I'm not okay in any way as an abnormal mass of flesh, skin, and bone. I can't even be called a normal human being.
"How surprising!" exclaimed Mom. "With your frame, I would have expected construction or heavy duty work. Or something else along those lines, anyway."
Denver shook his head. "I got this height and frame from my father. Since I was a child, he has worked as a loyal second-in-command ranchhand to a successful rancher until the woman partially retired and handed over more than half of the duties of her business to my father. That pay increase was how I could to get my tuition when I was younger. By now, I've paid back the entirety of my loans."
"Interesting," murmured Dad. "How did you meet Charlie?"
"At her college. I was teaching a class there and she was in the midst of getting extra credit. She happened to take my class and we talked a bit afterwards since she had some questions for me. We hit it off and have been pretty close for three, nearly four years."
"Four years!" Mom's loud outburst startled me, so my hand jerked and the fork flew.
As though it was in slow motion, I watched bits of food fly off the fork, across the table, and then onto Mom's dress. My face paled and I quickly apologized. She looked furious. I couldn't breathe from the pure fury she was holding back. However, Denver managed to assess the situation and calmed the growing tension with a few words. Mom calmed down and wiped the mashed potatoes off her dress. Thankfully, the cranberry sauce had only landed on the tablecloth.
"I'm really s-sorry, Mom." I said softly, my breath shaky as the knot in my stomach grew bigger. She gave me the tightest smile I had ever seen. My stomach churned and I wanted to vomit.
"It's fine," she responded stiffly. "I shouldn't have shouted."
"Anyway, Mom, I don't know why you're so surprised. He's a friend."
Mom regained her composure a moment later. "Charlie, the charade is up. Don't you have something to say to your father and I?"
Charlie's back straightened. "What are you talking about?" she asked in a scared tone, barely able to keep the trembles from entering her voice.
Dad leaned forward. "Come now, Charlie. It's a bit strange to not bring home any friends since high school and then you suddenly bring a guy over. So, how long have you been dating him?"
Denver coughed from inhaling sharply and Charlie made a disgusted expression. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Actually, Denver really is just my friend. I had told him about Emil and he has been wanting to meet him for quite awhile now. This was the only day he was available in the past six months."
"Booked out for months?" murmured Mom. "Who are you? Some kind of bigshot?"
Denver scratched his head, pushing his shoulder-length, dark brown hair back a bit. I kind of wanted to braid it but kept my fingers to myself for obvious reasons. I'm such a weirdo.
"I suppose you could say that, Mrs. Robertson. I am well-known in my line of work." he replied, leaning towards me in order to grab his wallet from his back pocket. Thanks to that action, I got another whiff of his comforting scent.
Denver fished out his business card and handed it to my mom, then put his wallet away. I was still itching to push my fingers through his wavy hair. Denver looked over and tousled my hair again, making me smile once more.
Mom and Dad peered at the card in silence, then the latter looked up. "Why did you want to meet Emil?"
"Because he sounded like an interesting young man," replied Denver with a warm smile. "And I wondered if he was anything like Charlie."
"Impossible," scoffed Mom, rolling her eyes. She bit her tongue when Dad pinched her arm.
"Do you think he has a mental problem?" asked Dad, glancing at me. I lowered my gaze.
"No, not exactly. I know why he is the way he is, though."
Mom and Dad both visibly paled. "Did he slip back?" they asked, almost at the same time.
My heart sank at their horrified expressions. They're really ashamed of me. "Um, I've finished eating. May I please be excused?"
"Fine, but don't go into your room until Denver leaves."
"O-okay, Mom." I stuttered, taking my plate with the one knife on it. I had never retrieved my fork.
I hurried into the kitchen, but I felt bad at the thought of wasting all the food I still had on the plate. I dumped it all into a bowl and covered it with plastic wrap. I heaved a sigh as I put it into the fridge. After I retreated into the living room, I curled up into a corner of the couch.
I want to escape, but the world outside is too scary. But is it really that bad? Denver is from the outside. The front door looks awfully tempting and I think that's thanks to the urgency towards escaping from Charlie and Denver. Should I take my chance to step onto the front porch for the first time in years?
I cautiously got up and went to the front door, then slowly opened it. A blast of warmish air hit my face. It was surprisingly refreshing. With a bit less trepidation, I stepped outside onto the porch in my socks. The neighborhood hadn't changed at all since I last stepped outside, other than the backyard occasionally. Even our mailbox was still the same faded gray color with a metal post, the red flag standing out starkly in the late afternoon sun.
After hearing a loud noise, I glanced around the corner and spied a guy in the neighbor's driveway. I hesitantly watched him drag the garbage can down to the street. I had a feeling that he was younger than me despite his height and buff body. He was furiously texting on his phone while he stood at the end of his driveway. But I was too slow in hiding when he looked up. Our eyes met and my breath left me.
Who was he? Was he new? How long had he lived there?
"Hey, who are you?" he called out. "Do you know the Robertson family?"
My breath caught in my throat and I coughed loudly, so he slowly came over like he was trying to approach a wild rabbit. Our eyes met again and his breath hitched.
"Seriously, who are you? You look kinda familiar." he uttered with a bewildered expression, now at the fence separating the two lots.
I swallowed thickly and was about to answer, but a hand snaked out and clamped over my mouth. I was promptly dragged inside the house. Dad slammed my back onto the floor and I bit back my whimper of pain, holding my head after it smacked against the hardwood in the foyer.
"Are you fucking stupid!" he shouted in a questioning tone. "Why the hell did you go outside, Emil? You're the fucking disgrace in our family and you want people to know you still exist?"
I curled up just as the bottom of his shoe hit my chest. I gasped as pressure formed and pain spread from his kick. "I-I didn't know s-someone was out there! I j-just wanted to f-feel the fresh air!"
Dad grabbed my collar, yanked me upright, and forced my back against the wall. My head hit hard again and my vision swam. He lifted my body higher and started to repeatedly slam his knee up into my stomach until I vomited my meager meal and bile. He punched my cheek hard and I bit it, so blood dribbled into my mouth. I grunted when he punched my stomach near my ribs and heard them creak.
"You stupid fucker," he growled. "Here I was being nice to you and you decided to be a fucking idiot. You even messed up your mother's dress."
I couldn't even try to say that it was an accident. It was worse than usual. Maybe Denver was correct in thinking that my parents were about to explode. I'm genuinely scared to know how much worse this could get.
He slammed me to the floor again and kicked me once between the legs to hear my pained scream, then stalked into his office and slammed the door. I panted with my mouth open on the hardwood floor, blood and saliva pooling next to me. I held my crotch as I let silent tears slide down my face. My whole body hurts and I can barely breathe, but the pain from where Dad's final kick landed was almost too much to bear.
Where were Denver and Charlie? Maybe in the backyard? Mom would entice people out there so that Dad could punish me in peace.
I deserved it, though, and I deserve even more. I'm an idiot. I should have known better. The outside was too scary, after all.
Rapid knocks landed on the door, so I weakly moved my head to face the window. It was that younger guy from before. His eyes were panicked as he caught sight of my own, which were staring blankly back at him.
The backdoor banged open, and Mom's shocked cry came inside the house. "No, all is well! He probably just fell! He's so dramatic, Denver."
Charlie shouted, "Shut the hell up, Mom! You know why he screamed. You do this every time I come over when Dad feels he needs to punish Emil!"
"Charlie! Don't insinuate such things."
The front door kept getting banged on, but I was still frozen in place thanks to the pain. Dad hadn't come out of his office like he normally would to apologize and cuddle me. I guess he finally snapped.
"Emil!" shouted Denver, but I couldn't utter a sound. My throat hurts too much.
"Mom, I swear to the devil in Hell that I will make sure you rot there if he dies!" screamed Charlie, then I heard a slap. Mom gasped and a thud echoed.
"What is wrong with you, Charlotte Amy Robertson!" shouted Mom, but the heavy footsteps of Denver came around the corner to distract me.
He rushed over and knelt down. "Emil, what happened? Where are you hurt? Can you speak?"
I just stared at him as a fresh batch of silent tears rolled down my cheeks. Denver looked like he wanted to cry, but I couldn't understand why. This was all my fault.
"Blink once for yes, my little baby, and two for no. Okay?"
I blinked once and he seemed relieved. I guess he was worried I had some kind of spinal injury and or brain damage where I lost all movement and understanding.
"Baby boy, can you see me?"
Blink.
"Good, now can you move your head?"
Blink.
Denver was even more relieved. "Are you able to speak right now?"
Two blinks.
"Does it hurt?"
Blink.
"Final question," started Denver. "Do you want to leave this place with me?"
I blinked once more as a firm yes. Denver gathered my weak and pained body into his arms. I managed to force a whine out of my form as he headed for the door. Denver paused and then looked back at Charlie, who was stomping over to us. She looked ready to cry when she saw me.
"Charlotte, could you get Panda for me from his bedroom?"
"Of course!" she called out, practically flying up the stairs. "I'll grab what I know I got him and stuff it all into his suitcase."
"Thank you!"
I relaxed into Denver's firm embrace, which appeared to make him pleased. Denver finally opened the door and the guy from before almost fell inside the house.
"I heard a scream. Why is he like that? Who are you? You're not Mr. Robertson!"
"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down," uttered Denver, ducking his head under the doorway. "Who are you?"
"I'm Cade, a neighbor's son." replied the guy, thumbing to the house I saw before. "Who are you?"
"Denver Charleston, a psychiatrist. I'm also friends with this little guy's big sister."
I peeked at Cade and smiled weakly when he came closer. Cade looked up at Denver again.
"Can he talk?"
"I was talking with him earlier. But, due to recent injuries, he won't be able to speak for awhile."
Cade bit his lip. "What happened? He was staring at me before he was yanked indoors. Not even five minutes later, I heard a scream from like a horror movie or something."
Denver sighed and looked down at me. "Do you want to tell him?"
I weakly pointed to my throat and blinked twice. He understood.
"He would like to tell you, but he cannot at this time. Why are you concerned for him?"
"Well, I've been living here for three years and I'd never seen him before. Is he the Robertson's kid?"
Denver glanced down at me again. "When was the last time you left the house aside from entering the backyard?"
I held up four fingers.
"Days?"
Two blinks.
"Weeks?"
Another two blinks.
"Months?"
When my final denial came, his eyes filled with anger again. "Years?"
One blink.
"Shit..." he growled, then jerked when black and white moved into our shared line of sight.
"Relax, Denver. I have Panda and his suitcase."
Denver moved out of the doorway and onto the lawn, quietly thanking Charlie as she handed Panda to me. I weakly grasped him, holding my treasured plushie away from my face. I knew my chin was bloody.
"Are you taking him somewhere?" asked Cade, looking a bit panicked.
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Who's this kid?"
"Cade happened to see Emil before your father beat him. He even heard the same scream as us, so he was just worried about your baby brother."
Charlie smiled and patted Cade's arm. He blushed a bit, but that wasn't surprising. Charlie is very pretty with pale skin, freckles across her nose and cheeks, pink lips with a pronounced cupid's bow, fiery red hair, and pretty light green eyes. Charlie had received that super red hair from our late grandmother—our mom's mother.
"Thank you for worrying about him. Here's my contact info if you want to talk to him, but we likely won't return here."
"Why?"
"Because I finally managed to get him out of this damn prison," she muttered, gently kissing my cheek. I still managed to wince from the sting. Her gaze was pained again. "Let's get you settled, Emmy."
I blinked once, then Denver magically unlocked his big car by getting near it. Charlie snapped out some pillows and stuffed them into the backseat. She then pulled out a familiar blanket from seemingly nowhere and tucked it around and over the pillows. Charlie moved out of the way and Denver leaned into the backseat, gently settling my aching body onto the nicely placed pillows. A soft sigh of relief slipped out of me.
Cade and Charlie talked while Denver made sure I was settled with Panda. He used a wet wipe packet from the side pocket on the door to clean my face.
"Emil, are you feeling all right?
I frowned at him and he chuckled. "Sorry, are you feeling better?"
I blinked once. Denver pushed his fingers into my hair and I sighed, closing my eyes and leaning into his touch.
"Will you allow me to take care of you? It can even just be while you decide what you want to do, but I would prefer it to be long-term."
I opened my eyes and considered his words. Comparing the way he looked at me versus the strained smiles and tired expressions of my parents, I knew Denver was being genuine. Besides, Charlie trusted him enough to bring him here to save me. I trust Charlie and I am already trusting Denver to take me somewhere safe.
I managed a small nod and smiled brightly at him through the pain in my face, another tear rolling down at my cheek. "Y-yes." I croaked, so he appeared to be overjoyed.
"Thank you, Emil," he whispered. "I promise that you won't regret it."
My eyes closed as his lips landed on the middle of my forehead, an unbruised portion of my face. I snapped my eyes open again and caught sight of his smirk as he backed out of the car.
"I told you before, Emil. I want you to be my little boy to love and to care for long-term."
I blushed and hugged Panda as Denver gently shut the car door. I wonder what it will be like to be his "little boy"?
Yikes, the parents are scary...
Charlie's a badass, too. Who the heck has that kind of courage to slap their own mother, even if she was abusive?
And Emil will finally be safe, but his story is not anywhere close to being over. But I hope you're enjoying it so far.
See you again next Saturday! I love you all very much. <3
- Alessa (Kelpie) xoxo
Updated: 9/17/2022
Word count: 3450