Family Is Where Your Heart Is

Jesse kicked in his sleep. Little whimpers escaping his throat as unseen hands grabbed at him, forcing him to get pulled back into his dark vortex that he fought almost daily. His cozy little room disappeared and was replaced with the cold cement walls of a small basement. All around him, his toy transformed into the twisted faces of the ‘Others’. They jeered at him, holding him down as an angry woman paced in front of the child; ranting about how horrible he was. Swinging in her hand limply was a worn leather belt. The marbled brown and blackish-maroon shone dimly in the yellow light. The woman pointed the belt at the child, scowling. “Just be glad that Pap wasn’t here to see you act like this. He wouldn’t be nearly as merciful.” The two children release the wailing boy and mount the stairs quickly, not wanting to be the next victims of their adoptive mother’s wrath. The woman gave Jesse one last disapproving before climbing the stairs to yell at the other two children.

Jesse curled up as much as he could without using his stomach muscles. He whimpered softly at each breathe he took. The boy was there for hours before the woman came half way down the steps to yell at him. “Get up you worthless child! You still have to clean up that mess you made!” Jesse scrambled to his feet and dragged himself up the steep wooden stairs. On the stained linoleum tile floor there was a fresh spill of spoiled food. The boy backed up a little, bumping into the woman. She grabbed his shoulders and violently directed the child to the mess. She moved her grip to his neck and shoved his face practically in it and screeched at him. “You have been a very bad boy, Jesse. Now you get to clean up your mess! I don’t want to hear a peep out of you until it is finished, is that clear?” When the child didn’t respond, she shook him roughly. “Is that understood?” the woman accepted a whimpered ‘Yes Nana’ and stood, leaving the child to his work.

As the boy worked one of the other children skipped in. She looked over his shoulder at the sticky black and green mess. “It’s sad that you’re so troublesome, what with wasting you food like that, and breaking Nana’s favorite dish.”

Jesse looked up in panic. “But I didn’t--” He froze as the slightly older girl haphazardly held a white and red decorated china plate in front of her. Her muscles strained under the heavy plate and she smirked at the younger boy. She raised the plate high over her head and let it go, running out of the kitchen as the plate smashed into a million pieces on the floor. Jess cowered as an angry shout came from another room. He got up and tried to pick up the pieces, naively believing that he could magically fix the plate by shoving the pieces together.

The woman appeared in the door way of the dusty sunny kitchen. Her long slender hands curled into balls and planted firmly on her hips, her normal scowl deepened as she saw the boy with her favorite in pieces beneath him. She ignored the cries of the child as she grabbed his hair and dragged him back down the stairs to the basement. She wrapped her other hand around the collar of his shirt and pulled him to a small disfigured wire dog crate.

Jesse thrashed wildly as he was shoved into to the too small confinement. “I’m sorry, Nana!” He tried to push against the ceiling of the crate with his back, panic griping his heart. “Nana! I didn’t do it! Cora broke your plate!”

The woman kicked the crate and knelt down. She stuck her fingers through the slats and managed to grab the child’s chin. “You wicked child! Pinning it on poor Cora!” she spit at him. Jesse twisted his head and bit the woman’s fingers, only to cry out as the angry woman grabbed a switch and delivered blows to the crate. Jesse wailed in fear and cringed as far down as he could, trying to evade the blows.
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Sean sleepily stumbled into the hallway. He listened for the noise that had woke him up. As he turned back to his own room he heard it again, a whimpered cry. Waking up a little more, Sean made his way to Jesse’s room. The child had managed to get himself tangled in his blankets and he was still struggling. The adult started to untangle the boy. He growled and grabbed the child’s foot as it connected with his stomach. “Jesse!” Jesse whimpered and tried to kick out again. Sean pulled the boy’s leg aggrievedly. “Jesse! Wake up!”

The boy sat up suddenly, inches from Sean’s scowling face. Jesse reached his hands out and felt the man’s face, making sure it was real. He sighed with relief and wrapped the man in a hug. Sean softened as the small shaking figure in front of him cuddled to his body. He put his arms around him comfortingly. Jesse hid his face and cried into Sean’s shirt. Awkwardly the adult tried to communicate with the child. “W-what where you dreaming of?” Jesse shook his head. He couldn’t remember. All he knew was that it had scared him.

Sean sighed and looked at the bright colours of Jesse’s clock. It was three in the morning and he did not want to be up. Figuring the kid probably wouldn’t want to go back to sleep by himself he tousled Jesse’s hair. “Do you want to sleep with me and Kit?” the child nodded his head vigorously. Sean yawned and picked the kid up. They shuffled slowly back to Sean’s room and Jesse climbed onto the bed when they got there. He searched for Kit’s body and cuddled between the two adults when Sean had settled himself back in bed.

Jesse shuddered as the feeling of fear snuck up on him again. Kit subconsciously reached out and wrapped her arm around the boy like he was one of her old stuffed animals. Jesse relaxed a little but sleep came slowly. He just couldn’t shake the black void that loomed on the edge of his memory.