As soon as we stepped outside, Papa snagged the front of my shirt, twisting it in his grip, and yanked me off the ground. Then he made a fist in his other hand and swung it at my face. Damien gasped from somewhere behind Papa as Papa’s fist connected with my jaw.
Crack!
Papa released me, sending me sprawling backward. He was on top of me before I could move, pinning me to the ground and drawing back his fists to punch me again and again. Over and over.
“Get up, Adrik!” Damien wailed. “Get up!”
I tried. Honestly, I did. But Papa was too strong. I’d underestimated his strength and overestimated my own. I was just a dumb kid. He continued to beat on me for several minutes, until my vision blurred, and blood splattered everywhere with each strike of his fists.
I passed out temporarily, only to wake to the sound of my mother’s screams.
“Get off him, you brute! He’s just a boy! What kind of man beats on a boy!”
“Shut the fuck up, Monika!” Papa roared. “Or you’re next!”
Without another word, Mom bowed her head and disappeared inside the house.
Papa snagged a handful of my hair and hauled me roughly to my feet. Shoving his face into mine, he snarled, “Had enough yet, you ugly little shit? Cause I can give you more. I can beat on you all fucking night. Do you still think you can take me?”
I blinked at him through the blood that trickled into my eyes. “Someday I’m gonna kill you.”
He bared his teeth in a snarl. “You think so?” He drew back his fist, and a final blow sent me flying backwards and hitting the ground with a painful thud.
I breathed in through my mouth, my nose a bloody, shattered mess.
“Next time you challenge me, boy, you will die.” With that, he turned and went back inside, leaving me lying in the back yard.
A door slammed at the house next door, telling me the neighbors had watched the entire thing before fleeing back in their house. I was positive they hadn’t called the cops on Papa. They were afraid of the Wolf too.
Damien scurried forward, leaning over me. “Adrik, get up. Get. Up!”
I groaned. “I can’t. It hurts everywhere.”
“Duh. Papa just beat the fuck out of you.”
I forced my eyes open. “Did you just say ‘fuck’? Ma will have your hide.”
He giggled. “Yeah. Don’t tell her.” He grabbed my hand and helped me into a sitting position. “Why’d you make him mad like that, Adrik?”
I heaved out a sigh. How did I explain to an eleven-year-old that I’d thought I could protect our mother from Papa? Damien was just a little boy.
“Because I’m an idiot,” I murmured.
Later that night, after everyone was in bed, I packed a bag full of clothes, stuffed the little bit of cash I’d saved into the side pouch, and snuck toward the back door. I knew trying to convince Mom to come with me would be a waste of time. And I wasn’t sure if I could take care of an eleven-year-old boy when I didn’t even know how I was going to take care of myself.
Papa had always favored Damien, anyway. Damien didn’t mouth off to him. He was a good boy, unlike me. I convinced myself Damien would be better off with our mother than he would be on the streets with me. At least he would have a roof over his head and food in his belly.
Just as I reached the back door, a small voice halted me.
“Adrik? Where are you going?”
Swallowing hard, I turned around to face my little brother. “If I stay here any longer, Papa will kill me or I’ll kill him, so I’m leaving. It’s for the best. But as soon as I find a place for us to live, I’ll be back for you, I promise.”
His bottom lip trembled. “Take me with you. Please. I wanna go with you.”
My heart twisting, I knelt before him. “Right now, you’re safer here. I don’t know what life will be like out there on my own. I’ll have to find a job and a place for us to live. Ma will take care of you until then. Just be a good boy and Papa won’t hurt you.”
Damien drew in a ragged breath, lifting a hand to wipe at his tears. He gave a slow nod, swallowing hard. “I’ll wait for you to come back for me, Adrik. But hurry, please,” he whispered. “Hurry.”