On Sleepless Roads
Chapter Seven
Ryan’s POV
I was wrong,
Mom didn’t try to get the story out of Marti.
Instead, Dad sent Marti straight to bed.
And then he went up to his room.
I just stared at Mom expectantly.
She sighed and walked into the living room.
I followed her and was surprised to see her putting a tape into the VCR.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Jill always sent us videos of Marti, to let us know that Marti was doing okay, but then we got this video.” Mom said darkly, pressing play.
Both of us sat down on the couch and I watched intently as Marti’s face flashed across the screen.
“Say hi to the camera Marti!” Jill was saying as if Marti were three.
Marti was at least ten in the video.
“Um, hi.” Marti said awkwardly.
That’s basically how the entire video went,
A lot of pictures of Jill and Marti together.
Marti looked pretty happy and after a while the screen faded to black.
“Okay, and?” I asked, turning to my mom.
She shook her head and pointed at the TV.
“Watch.” She said, so I turned back to the TV.
There were several minutes of nothing and then suddenly the screen flashed to show Marti in a dark room.
“Okay we know that your mom is sending these videos to someone so this is worth a shot.” A guy, probably only thirteen or so, was saying.
“I don’t want to Mark, if she sees this she’ll kill me!” Marti said, the fear evident in her voice.
“Come on Marti, someone might see this and they could help you get out of here! Before something really bad happens to you!” Mark was saying.
“Are you sure she won’t see it?” Marti asked,
The camera bobbed up and down, as if the person holding it was nodding.
“I promise Marti, now tell the camera your full name, age, and you know what else.” Mark said.
Marti sighed loudly.
“My name is Martini Lila Ross and I’m eleven years old. I was born in Australia and moved to Las Vegas when I was seven.” She said.
“Okay, nice, and now tell them what your mom and my dad have done to you.” Mark said.
I felt chills go through me.
“I-I can’t Mark.” Marti said, staring at the ground.
The camera lowered, as if it’d been placed on the ground
And a boy, about fourteen years old, walked from behind the camera and over to Marti.
He hugged her tight.
“It’s okay, I swear to you that she will not see this, right after this I’m going to take it to the post office. If you don’t want to say in front of me then I’ll leave and you can say it alone.” Mark whispered.
After what seemed like forever Marti nodded.
“Kay.” She said.
Mark walked over the door and left.
Marti picked up the camera and focused it on her face.
“I don’t want to do this but I’ll do it for Mark, so he can go live with his mom instead of trying to protect me.” Marti said.
She sounded guilty.
“It wasn’t that bad in Australia, Mom mostly left me with the neighbors. She’d come home sometimes with a guy, and if they were drunk then they’d b-beat me. Never that bad and not that often so it wasn’t that bad.” Marti said.
She made it sound like it was no big deal,
While already my blood was boiling.
How could anyone treat her like that?
“It got worse once we moved to Las Vegas, she was home more and she drank more. Whenever she brought guys home I’d hide. If they found me then they’d hurt me.” Marti said, biting her lip nervously.
“Then she got married to Carl and moved in with him. It wasn’t too bad, I go the best siblings I could ever ask for. But Carl has anger problems. He likes to discipline us with, “His Little Bastard” as he likes to call it. I think it’s actually in here right now.” Marti said, standing up.
In a second she zoomed the camera out to show a long, thick stick
“He really likes beating us with this, to teach us a lesson. Mostly he beats Mark, and then me. Maddie doesn’t get beaten that often but that’s because she’s sickly.” Marti said.
“Though he did beat her with it a few days ago, that’s why Maddie’s not here right now, she’s in the hospital. I want to go see her by Mom won’t let me. She won’t even let Mark visit her.” Marti said.
“Well that’s all I’m going to say on here, there’s more, but I don’t want to talk about it. This should make Mark happy. I hope whoever you are that’s getting this actually cares, it’s not fair that Mark and Maddie have to suffer because of me.” By now Marti was crying.
And then the screen went black.
“Ever since we saw that we’ve been searching for her.” Mom whispered.
I didn’t move, I couldn’t
I just couldn’t believe what I’d just watched
All I wanted to do was find her mother and this Carl guy and kill them
“We’ll be taking legal action to make sure we get sole custody of Marti.” Mom said
“But Honey, could you do me a favor?” Mom asked
I nodded
“Yeah sure, anything.” I said
“Can you please just hang around here for a few days. Your father and I are going to be in and out a lot for the next little while, and Marti does have a reputation for taking off. Do you think you’ll be able to watch her?” Mom asked
Not exactly what I’d been hoping for
But I’d do it, for Mom
“Sure.” I said
Mom smiled and hugged me
“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” She said
I nodded
“I’ve got to call Brendon, I told him I would.” I said, standing up
Mom nodded and stood up too
“I’ll give you some privacy.” She said, leaving the room
I was grateful.
I picked up the phone and dialed Brendon’s number
He answered on the first ring
“What happened?” He asked immediately.
“Wow.” Was all I said.
“What? Did she try to kill you?” He asked
I laughed, it felt good to laugh after the stressful day.
“No, but I just watched a video my parents received a few years ago.” I said slowly.
“What, a video?” Brendon asked, sounding confused.
“Yeah, a video, apparently Jill, Marti’s mother, would send them videos to let them know that Marti was okay. But on this video, Marti and this kid Mark, I think that he’s her stepbrother, added something onto the end.” I said.
“Which was?” Brendon asked, sounding like he dreaded the answer.
“The truth.” I said, closing my eyes.
I still couldn’t believe what I’d head.
“Which is?” Brendon whispered.
“Apparently Jill and her husband would beat Marti and her stepsiblings. Carl, her stepfather, liked to use a long wooden stick apparently. Marti showed it on the tape.” I said, opening my eyes.
Brendon breathed in quickly.
“Oh God.” He said
“Yeah, I know.” I said.
“So what now?” Brendon asked after a few seconds of silence
Even though he couldn’t see me I shrugged
“I’m going to be watching her for the next few days, while my parents take care of some legal issues.” I said.
“If you need any help just call me.” Brendon said immediately.
That is exactly why he’s my best friend.
“Thanks, and be warned, I am totally taking you up on that offer!” I said.
Brendon laughed
“Should I just show up at nine?” He asked
This time it was my turn to laugh.
“That’ll save us all some time.” I said.
“I’ll see you then!” Brendon said
“Kay, see you.” I said, hanging up the phone.
I was not looking forward to tomorrow.
I was wrong,
Mom didn’t try to get the story out of Marti.
Instead, Dad sent Marti straight to bed.
And then he went up to his room.
I just stared at Mom expectantly.
She sighed and walked into the living room.
I followed her and was surprised to see her putting a tape into the VCR.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Jill always sent us videos of Marti, to let us know that Marti was doing okay, but then we got this video.” Mom said darkly, pressing play.
Both of us sat down on the couch and I watched intently as Marti’s face flashed across the screen.
“Say hi to the camera Marti!” Jill was saying as if Marti were three.
Marti was at least ten in the video.
“Um, hi.” Marti said awkwardly.
That’s basically how the entire video went,
A lot of pictures of Jill and Marti together.
Marti looked pretty happy and after a while the screen faded to black.
“Okay, and?” I asked, turning to my mom.
She shook her head and pointed at the TV.
“Watch.” She said, so I turned back to the TV.
There were several minutes of nothing and then suddenly the screen flashed to show Marti in a dark room.
“Okay we know that your mom is sending these videos to someone so this is worth a shot.” A guy, probably only thirteen or so, was saying.
“I don’t want to Mark, if she sees this she’ll kill me!” Marti said, the fear evident in her voice.
“Come on Marti, someone might see this and they could help you get out of here! Before something really bad happens to you!” Mark was saying.
“Are you sure she won’t see it?” Marti asked,
The camera bobbed up and down, as if the person holding it was nodding.
“I promise Marti, now tell the camera your full name, age, and you know what else.” Mark said.
Marti sighed loudly.
“My name is Martini Lila Ross and I’m eleven years old. I was born in Australia and moved to Las Vegas when I was seven.” She said.
“Okay, nice, and now tell them what your mom and my dad have done to you.” Mark said.
I felt chills go through me.
“I-I can’t Mark.” Marti said, staring at the ground.
The camera lowered, as if it’d been placed on the ground
And a boy, about fourteen years old, walked from behind the camera and over to Marti.
He hugged her tight.
“It’s okay, I swear to you that she will not see this, right after this I’m going to take it to the post office. If you don’t want to say in front of me then I’ll leave and you can say it alone.” Mark whispered.
After what seemed like forever Marti nodded.
“Kay.” She said.
Mark walked over the door and left.
Marti picked up the camera and focused it on her face.
“I don’t want to do this but I’ll do it for Mark, so he can go live with his mom instead of trying to protect me.” Marti said.
She sounded guilty.
“It wasn’t that bad in Australia, Mom mostly left me with the neighbors. She’d come home sometimes with a guy, and if they were drunk then they’d b-beat me. Never that bad and not that often so it wasn’t that bad.” Marti said.
She made it sound like it was no big deal,
While already my blood was boiling.
How could anyone treat her like that?
“It got worse once we moved to Las Vegas, she was home more and she drank more. Whenever she brought guys home I’d hide. If they found me then they’d hurt me.” Marti said, biting her lip nervously.
“Then she got married to Carl and moved in with him. It wasn’t too bad, I go the best siblings I could ever ask for. But Carl has anger problems. He likes to discipline us with, “His Little Bastard” as he likes to call it. I think it’s actually in here right now.” Marti said, standing up.
In a second she zoomed the camera out to show a long, thick stick
“He really likes beating us with this, to teach us a lesson. Mostly he beats Mark, and then me. Maddie doesn’t get beaten that often but that’s because she’s sickly.” Marti said.
“Though he did beat her with it a few days ago, that’s why Maddie’s not here right now, she’s in the hospital. I want to go see her by Mom won’t let me. She won’t even let Mark visit her.” Marti said.
“Well that’s all I’m going to say on here, there’s more, but I don’t want to talk about it. This should make Mark happy. I hope whoever you are that’s getting this actually cares, it’s not fair that Mark and Maddie have to suffer because of me.” By now Marti was crying.
And then the screen went black.
“Ever since we saw that we’ve been searching for her.” Mom whispered.
I didn’t move, I couldn’t
I just couldn’t believe what I’d just watched
All I wanted to do was find her mother and this Carl guy and kill them
“We’ll be taking legal action to make sure we get sole custody of Marti.” Mom said
“But Honey, could you do me a favor?” Mom asked
I nodded
“Yeah sure, anything.” I said
“Can you please just hang around here for a few days. Your father and I are going to be in and out a lot for the next little while, and Marti does have a reputation for taking off. Do you think you’ll be able to watch her?” Mom asked
Not exactly what I’d been hoping for
But I’d do it, for Mom
“Sure.” I said
Mom smiled and hugged me
“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.” She said
I nodded
“I’ve got to call Brendon, I told him I would.” I said, standing up
Mom nodded and stood up too
“I’ll give you some privacy.” She said, leaving the room
I was grateful.
I picked up the phone and dialed Brendon’s number
He answered on the first ring
“What happened?” He asked immediately.
“Wow.” Was all I said.
“What? Did she try to kill you?” He asked
I laughed, it felt good to laugh after the stressful day.
“No, but I just watched a video my parents received a few years ago.” I said slowly.
“What, a video?” Brendon asked, sounding confused.
“Yeah, a video, apparently Jill, Marti’s mother, would send them videos to let them know that Marti was okay. But on this video, Marti and this kid Mark, I think that he’s her stepbrother, added something onto the end.” I said.
“Which was?” Brendon asked, sounding like he dreaded the answer.
“The truth.” I said, closing my eyes.
I still couldn’t believe what I’d head.
“Which is?” Brendon whispered.
“Apparently Jill and her husband would beat Marti and her stepsiblings. Carl, her stepfather, liked to use a long wooden stick apparently. Marti showed it on the tape.” I said, opening my eyes.
Brendon breathed in quickly.
“Oh God.” He said
“Yeah, I know.” I said.
“So what now?” Brendon asked after a few seconds of silence
Even though he couldn’t see me I shrugged
“I’m going to be watching her for the next few days, while my parents take care of some legal issues.” I said.
“If you need any help just call me.” Brendon said immediately.
That is exactly why he’s my best friend.
“Thanks, and be warned, I am totally taking you up on that offer!” I said.
Brendon laughed
“Should I just show up at nine?” He asked
This time it was my turn to laugh.
“That’ll save us all some time.” I said.
“I’ll see you then!” Brendon said
“Kay, see you.” I said, hanging up the phone.
I was not looking forward to tomorrow.