Fatherly Love

A gasp escaped Jeremiahs mouth as he just witnessed the murder of his own Mother. He looked down at his sister, pulling her to his side. Kelsey looked up at him, eyes wide, and horrified at what she had just saw. Tears leaked down her pale face, glistening from the reflectance of the light that hung above.

Jeremiah put his finger to his lips, signaling his little sister to not say a word. He gently stroked her coal-black hair, praying this wouldn't be the end for them also.

***

Kevin threw the knife to the linoleum floor, screaming out in anguish. That fucking bitch. He pushed off the floor, and stood above his wife, looking down. Her hazel blue eyes frozen wide in terror, her platinum blond hair frayed, her mouth open slightly, her soul vanished; her life no more.

The kids! Kevin's head bolted upright glaring at his daughters pearl-white door, wanting to spill their mother's blood over it, in hopes of covering those damn, happy sunshine lilies he had painted years before.

He started towards Kelsey's room.

***

Jeremiah backed away slowly from the door, pulling his little sister with him. He saw his father making his way towards her room. This wasn't going to be good.

Kelsey's door flew open, slammed into the wall, and broke off its hinges.

"You killed mom..." Jeremiah looked up at his father, silent.

Kevin forcefully threw his fist in Jeremiah's face, knocking his son to the floor. Kelsey let out a high pitched scream and started cry.

"Shut up!" Kevin yelled at her, causing her to cry even harder.

Jeremiah lifted his head off the floor, tears welling up in his eyes. He groaned in pain trying to get on his knees.

"Did I say you could get up?" Kevin asked rhetorically, tilting his head. He struck Jeremiah in the stomach with his foot. Jeremiah coughed up blood as he regressed to the floor once more. This was playing out the exact same way as his mothers death, except he didn't have a knife to try and defend himself.

Kelsey's screaming became so loud, Kevin swung around to face her.

"Shut the fuck up!" He was an inch away from her face, spit trailing out of his mouth as he spoke. Kelsey fell dead silent immediately, scared for her and her brother's life.

"Yes," Kevin turned to face Jeremiah. "I did. I killed your mother. Do you want to be next?" He threatened.

"No," Jeremiah stood up slowly, not wanting to be hit again. "Please, dad. We won't tell, we promise."

"You probably won't tell, son." He hissed at Jeremiah. "But your little sister over here," He gestured towards Kelsey. "Well, she's got quite a mouth on her and does not know when to shut it."

"I won't tell." Kevin turned to look at Kelsey, pleading with her eyes.

"Yes, you will." Kevin spat at her. "Why? Because you're five years old and will do anything anyone tells you."

"We swear, dad. We won't --" Kevin kicked Jeremiah in the abdomen. Jeremiah doubled over, gasping for breath.

Kevin felt no empathy, as he stared down upon his son writhing in pain.

"You don't listen, do you?" Kevin asked, laughing slightly as he knelt down beside his son's head. "I said, 'Shut the fuck up!' Are you def?"

Kelsey screamed, watching her brother get beaten. She jumped off the bed and ran over to him, kissing his forehead. Her eyes red and puffy; tears still streaming down her cheeks like a water fall.

"A-re you o-kay" She asked, hiccuping between words. "I love you. Please don't leave me."

Kelsey screamed as she was picked up by her shirt from behind.

"Kelsey!" Jeremiah flung his hand in the air to try and grab hers. She was too far.

Kevin dropped Kelsey on her bed with a thump. "You stay put, Kelsey." He jabbed his finger at her in the air.

"Leave brother alone!" Kelsey picked up her teddy bears and stuffed animals and lobbed them one by one at her father.

"You're --" She threw an elephant.
"Hurting--" She threw a tiger.
"Him!" She threw her Barbie doll.

"Goddamnit!" Kevin screamed as the barbie doll hit him in the eye. "Keep your fucking toys on that bed or I will break them! Do you want that?"

Kelsey stopped throwing her things.

"No," She said, balling her eyes out.

"Good," Kevin smiled. "Then you will shut the fuck up. Understood?"

Kelsey stayed silent, afraid of her father's rage.

"I asked you a question, young lady." He raised his hand, about to strike.

Kelsey recoiled to the corner of her bed, still silent.

"If you don't fucking answer me right this minute, you're going to have a consequence." Kevin said, his tone deep. "Answer--"

Jeremiah jumped on his father's back, wrapping his hands around Kevin's face.

"Stay away from her!" He yelled.

Kevin screamed as Jeremiahs fingertips were inserted into his eye sockets. He shook himself, in hopes of trying to make Jeremiah fall. With that failing, he backed up into a wall several times. He spun himself around and heaved Jeremiah off his back. Jeremiah hit the closet door, and slid to the floor.

"Are you fucking nuts?!" Kevin kicked Jeremiah in the stomach repeatedly. "That hurt like hell, you fucking spoiled little brat."

"Please, stop!" Kelsey was screaming and crying compulsively.

"Excuse me, little girl?" Kevin lifted his foot off of Jeremiah and walked over to Kelsey. "What was that you asked?"

Kelsey looked up at her father, tears cascading down her face.

"I said please...stop." She said hesitantly.

"Why?" Her father asked. "Why should I stop?

"Because you are hurting us..."
"Hurting you? I haven't even touched you little girl."
"You're still hurting me inside."
"Inside?"
"You're making me feel really sad, daddy. And, you hurt mommy."

"That bitch deserved it!" Kevin spat, as if he had a disgusting taste in his mouth.

"No, she didn't." Kelsey stood on her bed. "She was the bestest mommy ever, in the whole white world!" She fell back against the wall, still scared.

"The whole white world huh?" Kevin chuckled. "First of all baby, it's wide. The whole wide world. Second, your mother was a fucking whore."

"No, she wasn't." Jeremiah spoke up from the other side of the room.

"You don't ever fucking learn, do you kid?" Kevin walked over to where Jeremiah lay.

"I guess you didn't have enough, huh?" Kevin kicked Jeremiah in the stomach recurrently, again.

"Stop!" Kelsey screamed.

Kevin looked over at her. "Why do you want me to stop, Kels?"

"Because," Kelsey yelled at her father. "I don't want you to hurt brother anymore!"

"Well," Kevin kicked Jeremiah in the side, rolling him onto his back.

"That's--" His foot crushed Jeremiah's face.
"Not--" His foot connected to Jeremiahs nose.
"Your--" He continued smashing his son's face in with his foot.
"Fucking--" Blood slid down the side of Jeremiahs face.
"CHOICE!" He stomped his foot over his son's face again.

Jeremiah was drifting in and out of conscious. He could faintly hear someone screaming. She sounded like a little girl.

This is it, Jeremiah thought. It's the end. I'm going to die. Just like my mother.

He tried to scream, but he forgot where he was. He heard crashing, blaring sounds. Was it a Nintendo game? How he wished he could help that little girl who was screaming. She sounded as if she was in such horrible pain. He wanted her to be free of it.

Goodbye, Jeremiah thought to himself. I love you Kelsey. I'm sorry.

Jeremiah's head hit the cold, hard floor; his vision went black.