“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.”
― ,
6 Years Old…
Danny Montgomery
I AM GOINGto have a baby sister, I can’t wait. She will need us. Travis and I, I will protect her. Travis says he doesn’t want a sister. That it’s perfect just the way it is. But I know he will change his mind once she is here.
Mommy has been acting weird, she won’t even look at us, she says we are too much, whatever that means. She sleeps all the time. She doesn’t go out anymore, she is home more often, but never with us.
Travis is upset right now. He keeps throwing his toys and the nanny doesn’t know what to do.
“Trav, stop, you’re going wake up mommy”
He ignores me and the nanny’s pleas to quiet down. Mommy never hits us, but daddy gets mad when we disturb him, and if we wake up mommy she will go get him.
The door slams and mommy’s angry expression stops me in my tracks. With a calm voice she tells Trav to come with her. I have a bad feeling, she didn’t go get daddy.
He storms off to go with her, and the nanny huffs and rolls her eyes, she isn’t very nice, she yells at us and calls us names. She told me that the only reason she has a job is because our parents hate us. I look to the nanny and she isn’t paying attention, she is doing something on her phone. I decide to walk and find Trav and mommy.
I find them in the foyer and a man is here. He is big and scary but I don’t make myself known.
“Take him, I have no use for him. He is a trouble maker and doesn’t listen for shit, just get him out of my sight”
Travis is crying and clinging to mommy leg. Take him? I run to him and screaming his name, they won’t take him from me, he is my twin.
“Stop! Trav!” I scream, pushing at my mother and taking jabs at her for trying to take my brother away. I hate her, I have never felt that way but for the first time I feel nothing but hate. She brings her hand back and slaps me across the face, the first time she has every laid hand on me. I fall to the floor the trickle of blood out of the corner of my mouth taste metallic.
The man leaves with Travis and I am alone, nobody here with me, but the monster who took my other half away, my twin. She snarls at me as I lay on the floor, shocked.
“Stop your sniffling, boy. We have a baby to prepare for.”
✽ ✽ ✽
16 Years old…
“Jesse, stop, you know mother won’t like you getting all dirty”
“I don’t care, Danny. She doesn’t want me. Nobody wants me. He will just hurt me anyway.”
My eyes darken, I can’t stand how they treat her. She lives in the fucking attic. But until I am eighteen there is nothing I can do. I can protect her the best of my ability, but I can’t intervene.
“I am sorry, Monkey. But we must go. Your chores are due and they are expecting me for dinner. I will bring you leftovers after your shower.”
She looks broken, she never smiles anymore. I wish I could kill them. We walk back towards the house, when I hear father booming voice yelling for Jesse.
“Quick go up the tree, get in your room, I will distract him”
She runs towards the big oak tree and climbs up the branches, I run towards the front door where I know father is waiting.
“Where is she” he demands.
“In her room I assume, I was just on a walk.” I lie.
“You better hope she is her room, or I will take your hide for lying” he slurs, whiskey coating his breath.
With that he storms back in the house and up the stairs to the attic, I follow behind. He kicks the door open at the top of the stairs, as his eyes land on Jesse reading on her bed, he sneers, but I catch the slightest smirk on the corner of his mouth. What is he going to do?
She looks up from her book and fear shines through her eyes.
“Get up” he yells, she obeys.
He storms in her direction and grabs her by her hair, she yelps in surprise. He throws her on the ground, and get right in her face.
“Trash, that is what you are, soon you will be a whore just like your mother. Until them you will starve, I know Danny has been bringing you scraps, that ends now. I will give you enough to survive, but you won’t be leaving this room. Welcome to hell.”
He storms off, I take one last look at Jess, and will her to understand with my eyes. This wasn’t how it supposed to be. She was supposed to be treasured and loved. Instead she lives in hell and I can do nothing to save her. He shuts the door and lock it’s from the outside.
✽ ✽ ✽
“What do you mean, he locked her in there. We have to get her out” Bane growls. The attic isn’t heated and it supposed to get below freezing tonight, she barely has a blanket. He gets up to play knight and shining armor but knows there is nothing we can do now. Until we figure out how to get out, she suffers. It’s not fair, it’s not right. But we are powerless.
“Listen man, I don’t like this anymore than you do. But until we have some leverage, we can’t show our hand” I sigh, “I’ll bring her leftovers, through the window, she won’t starve, I won’t let her, and I will sneak her out if I can. But she should stay in that room, or he will hurt her more than he already has.”
“Fuck, this is so messed up, she doesn’t deserve this” he rasps. I know he cares about her, she is like a little sister to him. He is in this just as much as I am.
“What do we do?”
“We protect her, that’s all we can do”
✽ ✽ ✽
I am laying on my bed and Bane is on the pull out by the fireplace. Sleep slowly taking over my mind. The sounds of footsteps and the slamming of doors brings me out of my near RIM sleep.
“You stupid fucking whore” I hear my father’s voice.
Bane and I both jump with a start and run to the attic. Father has Jesse by the throat, spit drips down her cheek. He brings his hand back and backhands her across the face, she yelps in surprise. She doesn’t turn to look at father, she keeps her head down. Fuck, she is ten years old, what is wrong with him.
“Dad, stop.”
“Stay out of this Daniel” he only uses my actual name when he is either pissed or drunk, and I am going to go with both.
I know what’s to come if I keep pushing but I don’t care anymore, she is child, a child I must protect. He squeezes her throat and notice she is turning red, trying to find her air. Before I have a chance to respond, Bane pulls my dad off her and throws him on the ground. Shit. This isn’t good.
My father’s face turns red, and gets up, ready to fight.
“You will pay for that, son”
“I am not your son”
My father comes back and hits Bane square in the jaw, but Bane reacts fast and punches him in twice in the face and once in the stomach. My father keels over, grabbing his stomach. He pulls a gun out from behind his back and points it at Bane. He squares up, showing no fear, I am in shock, I stand motionless to the scene in front of me.
“Your life means nothing to you” he says with snarl, he swings his arm in Jesse direction, the gun pointed at her head, “but her life, what would you do if I shot her right now?”
We both stand silent, rage misting the air, motherfucker.
“You need to remember that from now on, son”
He takes two shots to the side of Jesse head, and they land in the wall behind her, she screams and falls to the floor.
Father laughs at her reaction, and walks out the door.
✽ ✽ ✽
18 Years Old…
I am eighteen. Bane turned eighteen two months ago, now we can finally get away. We are taking Jesse with us. No more bullshit. We are going to take care of her, give her a good life. We both saved up as much money as we could without looking suspicious. Together we have twenty thousand dollars, three fake ID’s and plans to get away.
“Boys get in here”
Shit! What does he want. I look at Bane, and he shrugs his shoulders. I put down my duffle bag that I was getting prepared for our escape. We both walk towards the office, and knock on the door.
“Come in”
Nothing could prepare us for what we would see when we open the door. Two girls, barely eighteen, tied to chairs. Bruises littered their bodies, and blood dripped from their noses. Their heads are slumped forward, and their breaths are labored. One girl, the blonde, has on a white tank top that is ripped and soiled, looks like someone pissed on her. The other, the red head, is in a dress that no longer covers her breasts, the word slut is carved into her chest.
“Happy birthday boys, they are all yours.” He sneers, a smile on his face.
The men surrounding the room chuckle, obviously enjoying the disaster in front of them. This is wrong.
“no, I don’t want them”
My father’s eyes turned black and his fist clenched at his sides.
“You don’t like my gift, you, ungrateful bastard, you will fuck them, then you will kill them. You are of age boys, time for you to earn your keep. But I am feeling generous” he pulls his Glock out of his drawer and aims it the blonde and shoots her in leg. She screams.
“oops” my father chuckles, then shoots her in the head. Sick fuck. She falls back lifeless, taking the chair with her. Blood pools around her head. She was pretty once, but all I can think of is Jesse, we must protect my baby sister.
“Fine, we will take her.”
“I knew you would come around son”
I untie the girl from the chair and Bane and I carry her to the bedroom.
She cries, begging to be set free. My hearts breaks for her, but sadly she isn’t important right now. I have my responsibilities and I must protect her.
“Shh” I soothe, trying to calm her. Bane and I look at each other, we are not going to fuck her, we are not monsters.
Bane walks around and considers her eyes, then looks at me.
“We can’t do this, Danny” he says with sincerity, “we are not killers.”
“we have to. It’s for Jesse”
I grab the gun off the dresser and points it at her head. She starts to cry.
“I am sorry but there is twelve-year-old girl who needs our protection, I will make it quick” and I shoot her in the head. I lost myself that day. I died with her, cause now, I am a killer.
✽ ✽ ✽
We walk out of the room, blood on my shirt and Bane looking lifeless.
“Good job boys, granted I thought we would have more a show. I guess you aren’t like me after all” he chuckles, “Let’s get down to business.” More of a show?
He points to the chairs across his desk.
“You are part of the crew now, you belong to me. I bet your wondering, there were cameras in that room. I have both of you by the balls, if you betray me, if you leave me, I will fuck your whole world up. You work for me. Got it?”
We both nod. We failed. Were stuck. Jesse is stuck.