CHAPTER SIX:
Desperate
Johnny sees the whole thing. His hand is on the knob as he watches his stepfather knock his mother across the room. His heart leaps to help her, but his feet refuse to budge. He simply watches, dismayed and disheartened. Spending the afternoon with Jennifer had made him feel like life wasn’t so bad. The sight of his mother, broken and terrified, is a sobering reminder.
Johnny knows he’s too weak to fight his stepfather; trying to stop Mr. Reese will only make things worse. Both Johnny and his mother will end up with bruised bodies and broken spirits. Still, he has to do something. He needs to see the Master. His assignment isn’t complete yet, but he’s on the right track. Befriending Jennifer is the first step.
Maybe if the Master sees the progress he’s making, he’ll get rid of Mr. Reese sooner than planned. Johnny wishes he had the nerve to take care of Mr. Reese himself, but absolute terror prevents him from even looking at him for too long. He’s lived in fear most of his life, watching his stepfather’s every move, calculating his routines to avoid him as much as possible.
As a teen, the only differences are Johnny’s height and awareness. He tried only once to defend himself from his stepfather, and it had ended badly.
He’d only pushed Mr. Reese away, but that was enough to cause him to go on a rampage. Johnny had ended up with a broken arm and badly bruised face. It took over a week to convince Mr. Reese that Johnny needed to see a doctor. When the doctors asked how it happened, his mother had explained that Johnny and a friend of his were fighting and things had gotten out of hand. The doctors asked why it took so long to bring him to the hospital, and she told them they thought it was only a sprain, and had put it in a sling. When the police and social services got involved, Johnny’s mother gave them the same story. When they pressured her for the name of the other boy, his mother refused, stating that she didn’t want to press charges or get the boy into any trouble. Johnny had been too afraid to deny any of it. He was barely thirteen when it happened and feared that his stepfather would do something worse.
No, he has no stomach for confrontations. After his fight with Martin the previous fall, Johnny had emptied his stomach in the toilet a few times before returning to the principal’s office. The only reason Johnny challenged Martin to a second fight was to keep his stepfather off of his back.
Mr. Reese takes pleasure in causing others pain, and Johnny knows better than anyone else the kind of evil the man is capable of.
For the sake of his mother, and especially his brothers and sister, Johnny makes up his mind. No matter what the Master asks of him tonight, Johnny will do everything in his power to get Charles Reese out of their lives for good.
•••
The gunshots startle Max, jolting him out of his sleep. The sirens that follow refuse to let him return to it. Max waits for his heart rate to become normal again before getting out of bed. The shock of the cold, concrete floors sends shivers up Max’s spine, and he quickly searches for some slippers. A few moments later he is in the kitchen, searching in the dark for a clean glass. He looks out the kitchen window. It’s pitch black. The street lights usually stay on until six in the morning, but a few of the neighborhood kids had shot out the lights with their bb guns. Apparently having street lights on the West side of Mogis Hills isn’t a major priority for the city of Logoria.
Max sighs and lifts a prayer to heaven. “God, I feel all alone right now, and I don’t know what to do. Help me find my way.”
Max is quiet for a moment, taking in the sound of his father’s soft snoring in the other room.
“And help my father find his way, too.” Max ends the prayer and lets his mind travel back to the days when his mother was alive. The pain of her loss is still fresh, and the tears come freely. She is in heaven, he knows, so he will see her again. That doesn’t make it any easier, though.
He is no longer required to do community service for his probation; Max received a glowing commendation from the hospital administration at his last hearing, and the courts declared his probation satisfied.
Max wanted to continue volunteering even after his service hours were up. Going to the Children’s Hospital had been a means of therapy for him. Feeling needed helped him to cope with his own loss, but the move made transportation harder. Martin tried to help, but Mr. West didn’t like the idea of Martin being out late at night on the West side of Mogis Hills.
Max jumps as he hears another round of gunshots crack the air. He can’t blame Mr. West for his concern, but Max feels himself drifting further away from the good things he once knew and the friendship he and Martin shared. Things are different between them. Not necessarily in a bad way, but, at times, Max feels lonely. Max thinks about Frank’s invitation to the S.K.U.L.L.S. Frank seems normal enough. Maybe the club is nothing more than that- just a couple of teenagers hanging out and being there for each other. What could be wrong with that? Max decides to talk to Frank about it the next time he sees him.
•••
“You’ve got to do something,” Johnny pleads.
“And you need to keep your end of the bargain,” the Master replies.
They are back at the shack in the woods. Johnny is sitting on the floor in the same room. The Master sits in his chair. As expected, incense permeates the air, blending with the smoke from the joint the Master has straddled across the ashtray.
His cloak is covering his face, though Johnny has already seen what he looks like. It’s been several weeks since their last meeting, and so far Johnny has done everything the Master commanded of him.
“I have kept my end of the bargain,” Johnny defends himself. “I work out, I get sun, I took out my nose ring, and I got rid of my tongue ring.” Johnny counts off each with his fingers. “In fact, the only piercing I have is the stud in my right ear! I ditched all my dark clothes and polish and-”
“And Jennifer?” the Master interrupts, bringing his joint to his mouth for a drag.
Johnny pauses before speaking. The Master had insisted that Johnny tell him everything he knew about Martin West, especially all of his friends, or girlfriends. The first person Johnny had thought of was Jennifer Smith. She’d become extremely close to Martin in a short time.
The Master had been especially interested in their relationship and had suggested that Johnny insert himself into Jennifer’s life. He instructed Johnny on how to be more ‘presentable’ to someone like Jennifer, and told him to win her affection. So far things are going well.
“Jennifer and I have gotten close,” Johnny answers. “She trusts me.”
“Are you sure?” the Master questions.
“I’m sure,” Johnny replies.
“Then you know what to do next,” the Master states. He folds his hands in his lap and leans back in his chair. “I told you before. If you do what I tell you, I will take care of your father for you.” Johnny shifts nervously, and the wooden boards beneath him creak. “Do you doubt me?” the Master asks, daringly.
“No,” Johnny immediately states. “It’s just... I’m worried about my mom.”
“Fine!” the Master waves him away in irritation. “For the next two weeks, you won’t have to worry about your father. Your mother will be safe for fourteen days. In the meantime, you do what I’ve told you.”
Johnny nods, smiling as relief washes over him. “Get close to Jennifer.” The Master adds, “There’s a dance coming up, right?”
Johnny nods again. “Yes, but-”
“If you need money, I’ll take care of it,” the Master waves him off again. “Just do what I tell you. Now get out!”
Johnny responds by quickly leaving the room. The Master replaces his joint on the ashtray but accidentally knocks the table over, causing it to fall, along with a lit candle, to the floor. The candle falls near an old shirt that has been there for months.
After a few seconds, the shirt catches fire and begins shriveling and popping. The Master watches the small flames for a few moments, noting the su
dden stuffiness in the room as smoke from the burning shirt begins to build. The flames begin to lick at the legs of the table holding his ashtray, and only then does he stomp out the flames.
A smile slowly finds its way to his lips as the thoughts that have haunted him for weeks suddenly formulate into a plan. He grabs another joint from the ashtray and lights it, savoring the potent smell of the incense mixed with the joint and the smoke from the crispy shirt.
“Steve!” he calls out. “Bring the chant books. We have a confusion spell to cast.” The sounds on the other side of the wall indicate that Steve is performing the task. The Master looks at the shirt again, smiling to himself in contentment. “You’re dead, West.”
Why Did You Hurt Me? Page 6