Page 22 of Brood

Chapter Seventeen

While watching the kids play, Brook comes up to me with that big Barbie smile of hers talking about this and that. I don’t really listen as my attention is still drawn over to where Brood is talking to Sage before he gets up and walks away. I saw Brood hand Sage the cellphone he took the pictures of me with. It doesn’t bother me much that people will see the marks on my body, they won’t be the only ones that have seen them. Butch liked to show off his handy work, making me wear the shortest of shorts and cropped tops as if to let everyone know he could mark me up the way he wanted because I was his property.

“Are you okay?”

“Hm?” I glance to my side, where Brook is still standing, now pushing her daughter on the swing. “Yeah. Just spaced out is all.” Kasin comes to my side, tugging at the hem of my t-shirt, pointing at the swing next to the one Halley is on. “You want to swing?” His head does the jerk nod as he goes to the swing. At first, I’m not too sure about him swinging, just watching him slightly struggle to get on the thing is enough to send my heart into a panic. He quickly figures it out and is ready for me to push him.

“Don’t worry. He’s become a pro at the swing,” Brook assures me, letting my nerves cool a bit. My heart for some reason still stutters in my chest when I give Kasin the first push. His little legs kick in the air, and I can tell, even from behind him, there is a big smile on his face. I don’t know what it is, but the thought of him being happy makes a smile of my own grow on my face and a tingle in the middle of my chest forms. I think this little boy is stealing my heart without me even knowing it.

It doesn’t take long for Halley and Kasin to lose interest in swinging, and they are off again on some other playground adventure, leaving me standing there with Brook, who starts talking again, only this time I focus more on what she is saying. “He was born prematurely to a mother who decided to use meth instead of prenatal vitamins,” she tells me, causing a gasp to leave my throat.

“That’s terrible.”

“It’s why he is behind when it comes to his development. He is getting there, but it just takes him a little longer.” Her hands lace together, and for the first time, I notice she is missing one of her fingers.

“Where is his mother now?” I don’t know why I ask this, but it comes out of my mouth before I even have the chance to stop it.

“You don’t have to worry about her coming back,” she assures me, and I know just from the disdain in her voice that she is telling the truth. The woman is dead, and most likely, Brood made her that way.

“I see. She… was she Brood’s wife?” Again with the questions, I can’t seem to stop.

“Oh no.” She kind of laughs a little at that. “Just one of the club girls. I’ve never met Brood’s wife,” she tells me. Before I can even react to what she just said, someone calls out from the grill that the food is ready. “Let’s go and eat.” Brook clasps onto my hand with her dismembered one, pulling me along while calling out to her daughter and Kasin to follow.

The table is a whirl of chatter that I don’t focus on, except for Halley talking Kasin’s ear off, of course. I honestly can’t tell what she is talking about, again, but it seems to make perfect sense to Kas. They really are adorable. Along with us at the table is a lumberjack looking man who Brook introduces me to as her dad, Gin. I try not to look too closely when I notice the bandana he has on is covering up a good portion of scars that span across the side of his face, so I don’t offend him. Him and another guy— Wiz— younger with less facial hair, are both wearing similar cuts as the guys here, but theirs says Cental Chapter. They must be from South Dakota.

Brood is sitting across from me, avoiding eye contact once again. What Brook said minutes ago comes seeping back in. Wife? Brood has a wife? He never mentioned one, nor is there any sign of a woman living in his home. I try not to think about it as I settle down to eat, only it’s still there nagging in the back of my mind. If that doesn’t annoy me enough, Cammy has shown up and is sitting right next to Brood, like right next to him. I’m surprised she isn’t on his lap. He doesn’t seem to mind either, and that is enough for the food I have been putting in my mouth to taste like dirt. I keep eating though, smiling when someone says something funny. Nodding when I get asked a question. I’ve done it all before, put the mask on just to get through the day. Because of my foul mood, I have decided to walk back to Brood’s house when I have finished eating. There really is no reason for me to stick around anyway, and the thought of having to watch another one of their cage matches makes my stomach roll. I’ve seen enough blood and violence to last me a lifetime.

I’m quick with tossing my plate away and make sure to say goodbye to Brook before starting the walk across the small town. The sun is still out, now hanging low in the sky as I make my way through the half-paved half-graveled streets. When I walk across a bridge, I stop and look down at the water. There is hardly any at the bottom of the small creek. It’s when I look down the length of the straight shot of dwindling water I realize it’s a canal that runs through town. A far distance away, it breaks off at a ninety-degree angle and goes through the other part of town. I have never seen anything like it before. The walls of the bank are steep, and I wonder how deep the water gets when the gates open, and the canal is filled. I stay there for a few more moments before the grumbling sound of a diesel engine starts to come closer and closer until it’s right behind me. I don’t need to turn around to see who it is. I rode to the clubhouse with him in the beast of a truck. The strong chemical smell hits my nose making it wrinkle. “Get in,” Brood shouts from the passenger side window as he pulls up alongside me. I almost tell him, no, but instead, I decide to get inside the truck, if not just to escape the smell of the exhaust.

“I don't know how you can stand that smell,” I complain, rolling up the window when I get inside.

“You get used to it. It’s got a good towing motor in it. And I like how it sounds.” I roll my eyes at that, holding my comments on overcompensation and men with their trucks. Butch, along with his sick obsession with me, had his bikes and trucks that he made sure to spend extra time on. Though I bet he never carved his name into any them. Suppose it was just me that received that honor. I shake off the thoughts of Butch and push the door open when we reach Brood’s house. I’m tempted to walk back to Iris’ home, but the thought of being alone still scares me, so I resign myself to follow Brood and Kasin into their house.

Kasin, of course, takes off toward the TV where he happily puts in a videotape, waiting for the film to start. “You do know that those things got replaced by DVDs, right?” Where I might not be up to date on the latest technology, I at least know what a DVD is.

“DVDs actually got replaced by Netflix,” Brood corrects me. “Iris had the tapes from when Buggs was little and still had a working VCR, I figured it would help him with his dexterity.” His shoulders go up and down as he passes me in the kitchen to see what Kasin has selected to watch. “Besides, you can’t beat these classic Blue’s Clues cartoons.” I have no idea what he is talking about. When I walk into the living room, I see a guy in a green shirt talking to a cartoon blue dog.

“I didn’t watch any cartoons growing up. The club didn’t believe in having things like TV. They did, however, on occasion, set up an old projector, and we got to watch a movie. My favorite one was the man who shot Liberty Valance.” I sit down on the couch and watch the show with Kasin, who seems to be so engrossed with the ongoing search for clues.

“Tell me about the Saints.” Brood takes a seat on the chair next to the couch.

“Oh. Um well…” I think for a moment, pulling out those happy memories, I had to keep locked away for so long. “My mom had the most beautiful red hair. Dad always used to joke about it looking as though it was on fire when she was mad at him.” The image of my mother’s burning body comes flashing through, causing me to choke on my own breath.

“Sorry. You don’t need to talk about them. You seemed happy when you mentioned the movie night, I thought it might help… Or something.” He shrugs at the last part.

“No, it’s okay, really.” I sniff and reach my hand up to my face, coming away with a drop of wetness. As if he knows I need it, Kasin climbs up on the couch, then into my lap. I don’t even think twice before wrapping my arms around him and snuggling into the pillows. Not another word is spoken, and we stay like that, watching the next episode on the tape.

“Jor,” a soft whisper pulls me from sleep, and I wake to a pair of eyes that only twice before having been locked on my own. “You want me to grab him?” Brood asks referring to the heated bundle on my chest. Kasin’s head is lying on me, sweating profusely.

“Is he okay? He’s sweating. Does he have a fever or something?” I remember one time after Butch hacked up my leg, I got a really bad infection. I did nothing but burn through fever after fever until Miguel got me some antibiotics.

“No, he’s good. Kids just sweat like that,” he assures me and scoops his son up in his arms, carrying him off to his bedroom. I take that moment to stand up and fan off my t-shirt surprised at how damp it really is. Instead of waiting for it to dry, I decide to pull it up over my head, leaving me in my black tank top I will most likely sleep in any way.

I walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water with every intention to head upstairs and go to sleep, only Brood comes back out before I can. “You going to bed?”

“That was the plan.” I place my glass inside the sink and start for the stairs but remember something. “What’s Netflix?”

He lets out a chuckle and waves his hand for me to follow him into the living room. “Jor, you are in for a real treat.”

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