The Third Parent

by Elias Witherow

  Dad slid the spare on and began cranking the bolts back in. I could hear him breathing heavily with hurried desperation, a mental clock ticking down in all of our heads.

  Then the crickets went silent.

  It was like someone had flipped a switch as the night went numb. The wind ruffled the corn and now it sounded like the whispers of impending terror.

  “Oh no,” I whimpered, shrinking into my seat, nose peeking just above the window to stare at the swaying field just behind my father’s back.

  “Mike, hurry!” Mom called, her voice cracking with panic.

  Something was coming through the corn. I could feel it, a ribbon of darkness parting the moonlit stalks. But I blinked and realized it was just the wind again, the dancing husks almost mocking me with their midnight tango.

  “Got it!” Dad yelled triumphantly, dropping the jack and throwing the flat into the trunk. He hurried to the driver’s door, wiping his hands on his pants. With a sigh of relief, I watched him resume his position behind the wheel and start the car again.

  “Just the worst luck,” Dad said to himself, pulling the car back onto the road.

  I took one last look at the spot in the corn where I thought I had seen something.

  It remained absent, the corn continuing their indifferent disco beneath the brilliant moon. I felt a weight leave my shoulders like someone had been crushing them with iron claws. I sat back in my seat as we accelerated and continued our journey, uninterrupted.

  Miles of asphalt streamed behind us as we all sat in shaken silence. I was exhausted but dared not close my eyes. I listened intently for the static to return, but my headphones remained silent. Katie had pulled her feet up onto her seat and she sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. I shot her a comforting look, but only got misery in return. I scooted over and patted the empty space. Katie slid from her seat and took the spot next to me. I linked my arm around hers and placed my head on her shoulder. It felt better being close to her. It felt better for both of us. Mom looked back and smiled sadly.

  The clock on the dash strode aggressively into the night. At three, I began to feel my eyes droop, my sister’s shoulder warm and assuring. Just as I began to nod off, I felt Dad begin to slow. I lifted my head and saw the light of a motel ahead of us.

  “I need to stop,” Dad said quietly, “I can barely keep my eyes open.”

  Mom nodded and sat up in her seat, scrubbing her face, “Ok, honey.”

  The van crunched over loose gravel as Dad turned into the parking lot. Only one other car was in the lot, a dusty junker that sat by the office.

  No one sleeps on this lonely road, I thought to myself. I looked around and saw that the motel was depressingly isolated, a long L-shaped building that sat like a monument in the dark country. A tall sign towered over the structure that read “America’s Best Motel.” As I scanned the run-down lot, I deciphered that the sign was surely lying.

  Dad crept the van over to the office and parked, taking the keys from the ignition and pocketing them.

  He sighed heavily. “Ok, I’ll go get us a room. Wait here.” We watched him get out and walk to the office where he disappeared inside. Katie was looking through the windows at the empty parking lot and barren road. She looked tense, and the same fear rippled through me as well.

  “How are you two doing?” Mom said from the front seat.

  “I’m scared…” Katie whispered, still scanning the road.

  Mom reached behind her and squeezed her knee. “I am too, sweetie. Just a little longer now. You and Jack have been so brave. I’m so sorry…” She trailed off and we let her. We knew what she wanted to say.

  “Mom,” I said slowly, “I…I don’t think we’re safe here. There’s something I have to tell you.”

  Before I could go on, Dad returned, bouncing a key in his hand. He pulled the door open and crawled in.

  “Ok, we got a room. I think the manager was surprised to see me. Don’t think they get many visitors out this way. Don’t know how they stay in business.”

  “Well they certainly aren’t losing money on the upkeep,” Mom said taking in the shoddy, single story motel. Dad backed the van up and drove down to the end of the building where #16 was located, our room for the night.

  Gratefully, we all climbed out of the van. I stretched, my headphones rising up over my chin. The night air was cool and I shivered, staring out at the cornfield across the road opposite our room. I didn’t like that, but the crickets were back which made me feel slighter safer.

  Since we didn’t have any luggage, we followed Dad to the paint-chipped door where he fumbled with the lock. I looked down the long row of rooms toward the office. It looked miles away. Again, I shivered.

  “Why’d he put us so far down?” Katie asked.

  “He probably didn’t want to deal with us,” Dad said, jiggling the key. “Ah! Got it.”

  We pushed into the room and I cringed. The blue carpet was stained and reeked of cigarette smoke. The walls were yellow and peeling at the top. The two queen-sized beds looked like ancient relics from another time.

  Dad closed the door behind us as Mom and Katie went to claim their separate beds. Without thinking, I went to the large window and stared out at the dark road and barrier of corn resting on the opposite side. The moon hung above the ears of corn like a pendulum frozen in time. I closed the curtains and turned away from it all.

  Mom turned on the bedside lamp and Dad switched off the overhead. The grimy room was washed in a greasy yellow glow. To me, it looked like someone had smeared cheese all over the walls. I sighed and plopped myself down on the bed next to Katie. She was already digging into the covers.

  “Come on, Jack,” she said, pulling the comforter aside. “Let’s let Dad rest.”

  Dad came over and smiled down at us as I took my spot next to my sister. “You two are the best kids a guy could ever ask for. Thank you for being so brave.”

  As I gratefully sank into the pillow, Dad pulled the covers up and tucked us in.

  “You want to take those off?” he asked, pointing to my headphones.

  “I think I’ll keep them with me…just in case,” I said, knowing the real reason would be lost to him.

  Dad kissed my forehead. “Of course, buddy.” He reached over me and stroked my sister’s cheek, “Sleep well, angel. In the morning we’ll get some breakfast and keep driving. Who knows, maybe we’ll go to the beach?”

  “Mike?” Mom called from her bed, “Did you lock the door?”

  “Sure did. I think we’ll be ok tonight. Let’s all just get some much-deserved rest and we’ll start fresh when the sun’s up.”

  He crossed the room and practically collapsed next to Mom, exhaling a mountain of unspoken worry. I watched him close his eyes, his face a mask of uncertainty. I felt Katie clutch my hand beneath the covers as Mom turned off the light. The room plunged into darkness, the crack between the curtains allowing a sliver of curious moonlight into the room.

  Soon, my ears filled with the sound of my sleeping family. The night’s activities had exhausted us all, but for whatever reason, sleep eluded me. I stared up at the ceiling, a dim surface of blank space. I imagined faces growing from it, leering down at me with broken smiles. I shuddered and closed my eyes. Katie still held my hand, her gentle snores assuring in their own way. We were together and we were ok…we had made it out of the house…

  The night dove deeper and still, I could not find peace. I stirred restlessly, almost begging my headphones to come to life and tell me we were safe. The last message rattled around my skull like a pebble in a tin can.

  He’s coming…

  I turned and stared at the closed curtains. Something called me to them, one last look to calm my terrified mind. I didn’t want to; I begged my mind to shut up and release me for a few hours. But the thought insisted, a finger poking at the back of my skull.

  Finally, I gave in. I slowly pulled the covers away, making sure not to wake my sister. My feet reached for the floor
and my heart began to race. This was stupid, we were miles away from the house. Why did I need to go look?

  I glanced at Mom and Dad in their bed, wrapped together like the fibers of a rope. Mom had her back to me and I couldn’t see my father’s face, but from the sound of it, everyone was out cold.

  Taking a deep breath, I tip-toed to the window.

  Stop, don’t look, please don’t look.

  Bracing myself, I reached out and gently pulled the curtain aside, peeking out into the night. Immediately, my heart skipped a beat and a scream rose in my throat like a volcano of horror.

  Tommy stared at me from the edge of the cornfield, his eyes like twin pools of glowing blue ember.

  And he was smiling.

  His arms hung loosely at his sides, the wind rustling the corn at his back. He stood like a statue in the oppressive darkness, the moon casting shadows across his smooth face.

  Our eyes met and I knew it was over.

  The scream finally escaped my lips as Tommy crossed the road, headed right for us.

  “He’s here! He’s coming!” I howled, falling backward, eyes bulging, voice a desperate crescendo of imminent fear.

  The room erupted in chaos as my family awoke, scrambling from their beds, bleary-eyed and confused. My dad was the first to his feet, blinking in the darkness, his hair a tousled mess. He looked down at me and then at the door.

  “What’s going on Jack?!” he half yelled.

  “TOMMY!” I screamed, shuffling backward on my rear.

  Katie was sitting up in bed now, staring down at me with wide eyes and a fearful look. She looked at the closed curtains and then at Mom, her lip trembling.

  “Mom?” she pleaded.

  Mom shot from the bed and scooped up my sister, pulling her to her chest in a protective embrace. The two of them huddled in the corner of the room, dread pulsing from every pore.

  Dad grabbed me and hauled me up, spinning to face him. “Where did you see him!?”

  “He’s crossing the road and headed right for us!” I yelled. “We have to do something! We have to—”

  The front door exploded in a flurry of violence, the hinges giving way as Tommy booted the fragile barrier aside. Katie screamed as the door launched into the room and struck my father across the head. He cried out and went down, clutching his temple, leaving me to turn and face the intruder alone.

  Tommy stood panting in the doorway, the moon at his back, his figure a dark silhouette. Except for his eyes. They locked with mine and I felt my bladder give way.

  “I am so disappointed in all of you,” Tommy said softly, his voice like gravel. Katie and Mom shrank into themselves, crying, as Dad groggily got to his feet, a trickle of blood running down his head.

  Tommy marched to him and grabbed him by the throat. “As the head of this family, I really expect better judgment from you.” Dad winced and reached out, but Tommy threw him into the dresser. Dad let out a grunt of pain as his ribs crunched into the stubborn wood, gasping and going to his knees.

  Tommy’s eyes fell on my mother and his lips tightened at the corners. “And you…the little bird whispering in his ear the whole time. I’m sure it was your idea to try and leave. Isn’t that right, Penny?”

  Mom shook her head, eyes filled with tears. “Please…please don’t hurt us anymore.”

  Suddenly, Dad was up and had his arms around Tommy. Growling, he drove him backward, striking the far wall with a thud. Tommy seemed surprised as his head whipped back and connected with the hard surface, a jolt running through him. Dad plowed a fist into Tommy’s gut, and then another followed by a knee. Tommy grunted as the strikes found their mark; my father was a relentless tornado of determination.

  I stood, piss running down my leg, helpless and unsure. Dad seemed to have the upper hand, one arm locking across Tommy’s throat, keeping him in place, his other fist striking hard and fast. Sweat stood out on my father’s brow as he rained down blows, his face knotted with fierce aggression.

  And then Tommy had enough.

  I watched in horror as Tommy casually grabbed Dad by the shoulders and spun him with tremendous velocity. Dad’s feet left the floor seconds before his entire body plowed into the wall, partially caving it in.

  Still smiling, Tommy crossed the room as my dad collapsed with a pained rush of breath, plaster crumbling around him. I was pushed aside and I fell to the ground, tears running down my face. Tommy grabbed the dresser and lifted it effortlessly. He gave my father one hard look before throwing it at him. I heard, rather than saw, the impact. It was a sickly sound, a blend of thumping flesh and crunching wood.

  “Stop it! PLEASE!” Mom screamed from the corner, paralyzed with fear. Katie’s face was pale and her eyes were wide with shock. Dad gasped from beneath the dresser and weakly pushed it away. His nose was cut and blood ran from his mouth. His eyes rolled in their sockets and he seemed to be trying to figure out where he was.

  Tommy left him and advanced on my mother who clutched Katie in her arms. Tommy ripped my sister away and pushed her to the floor next to me. He grabbed a fistful of my mother’s hair and hauled her up to stand on her toes. Tommy viciously backhanded her across the face, the blow silencing her screams.

  “Don’t think you can go unpunished for this,” he whispered into her face. Her eyes widened as a red mark began to grow across her cheek.

  Tommy dragged her into the bathroom, the open door visible from my spot on the carpet. He threw my mom hard into the bathtub, her clawing hands pulling the shower curtain down with her. I heard her head strike the lip and a shocked cry followed. Tommy followed her in. He hauled my mother up and snatched the shower curtain with his free hand. Without pause, he wrapped it around her head, the vinyl stretching tight against her face.

  “You stupid bitch,” Tommy snarled, “did you really think you could leave?”

  And then he smashed her head into the mirror above the sink, shattering it. The impact crunched through my mother, but because of the curtain, the glass left no marks. Tommy let her drop to the floor in a broken heap.

  He came back into the room as my father regained his senses. Katie and I were now clutching each other, our backs to the wall, shaking as our parents suffered. I didn’t know what to do or how to stop it all. I was convinced that Tommy was about to kill my father.

  Instead, he squatted down next to him and wiped a trail of blood from his lip.

  “Ready to go back home, Mike? Has your family had enough or should I start on the children?”

  Dad fought for air, the blow from the dresser severely impairing him.

  “What’s that?” Tommy asked, putting a hand to his ear. “Speak up Mike or Jack is next.”

  Dad coughed violently and spit a wad of blood onto the floor, his voice weak, “S-sorry…we’re…sorry.”

  A smile slowly grew on Tommy’s face. It was like watching the cracks of hell itself begin to split.

  He reached down and patted my father’s head. “Of course you are. You didn’t mean for any of this to happen. You just made a mistake. It’s something we all do from time to time. But you know what, Mike? I believe in forgiveness, just like I’ve been teaching you in my evening lessons. I believe in second chances. Is that what you want? A second chance for this family?”

  Dad just nodded, his eyes half-lidded in pain.

  Tommy’s smile widened. “That’s good. That’s very good. I want that, too.”

  He reached out and pulled my father to his feet, brushing debris off of his shirt. Dad slumped into Tommy’s shoulder, weak and defeated.

  “I got you,” Tommy said softly. “Come on big guy, let’s get you to the van. When we get home I’ll take a look at your cuts and fix you up.”

  Home. The word splattered through me like a harpoon.

  He was taking us back home. Back to our prison. I began to sob loudly, an uncontrolled release of hopeless misery. Katie wrapped her arms around me and tried to put on a brave face. Her eyes never left my motionless mother on the bathroom flo
or.

  Tommy, one hand over my dad’s shoulders, looked down at us. “I’ll come back for her once I help your dad.” He noticed my tears and lowered his voice. “Oh don’t cry, Jack. It’s going to be ok. Your mom and dad are just a little banged up. Nothing I can’t fix. Dry those eyes, little man. You too, Katie. No more sadness.”

  As he took Dad outside, his voice echoed back to me like a vulture to a corpse.

  “We’re going to be a family again!”

  I vomited onto the floor.

  Chapter 4 —1998

  Complete and utter hopelessness. I think that best describes how I felt returning to our house. We weren’t just returning to our house, though…we were returning to the grind. The daily tension, Tommy’s constant presence, the nightly lessons, the punishments…I thought we had reached the bottom of hell, but that year I realized we could dig a little deeper still.

  Mom and Dad covered up their injuries with whatever lies they needed to shed. Dad went back to work and Mom continued teaching her classes. Katie and I were stuck somewhere in the middle. We felt like pawns in a much bigger game. Pieces the adults used to circle one another, daring the opponent to make a move. I wanted it all to end. I wanted to kill myself.

  I stopped wearing the headphones at night. I didn’t see the point anymore. They didn’t offer any comfort because I already knew that monsters were real. And the voice…the voice frightened me. Even at that young age, I struggled with concepts much heavier than I had any right to. Where did it speak to me from? What was it? Who was it? Why me? Why didn’t it reach out to anyone else? Was there even a reason? As the months rose and fell, I felt the heavy weight of depression sink over me like a blanket of wet snow.

  We had been brought back. But for WHAT? That was a question that thundered in my head day in and day out. Why was Tommy doing this? He seemed to be convinced that he was shaping us into better people, but his actions and hostile nature conflicted with the messages he taught. Was he just insane? Would he ever leave?

  Tommy murdered one of my neighbors that year. I didn’t find out until much later. Someone from across the street…Mr. Wellers. I don’t know what he did, but it must have been serious enough to warrant such a reaction from Tommy. I remember looking out my window on Christmas Eve and seeing Tommy stare at me from the Wellers’ house. He smiled and waved. I shrunk away, confused, scared, and terrified. Because I knew Tommy was also across the hall in my sister’s room with my mother at that very moment.