TABOO: THE COMPLETE SERIES(32)

It wasn’t my intention but Weldon noticed. I guess I was too exhausted to hide my reaction. I knew he wouldn’t let me do anything and I was kidding myself with deluded escape fantasies.

“Thinking about using that, Jake?”

I could feel him getting all smug but I was too tired to even respond. The food on my plate remained untouched. After an hour of staring at it, I still didn’t know what it was because my brain was unable to process information and most of the time I was numb and lacking focus.

“Not hungry,” Weldon said. “That’s fine. You’re bound to need food at some point and you’ll stop trying to piss me off eventually.”

What Weldon didn’t know was that this wasn’t some useless ploy to get a reaction out of him, I just couldn’t stand the sight of food. But I didn’t bother explaining because that was another thing I didn’t have strength for.

Weldon placed something on top of my plate, so I was forced to look at it. Just trying to figure out what the words said on that piece of paper sticking out of a plastic folder was too much for my brain to handle.

“You lied to me, Jake.”

Those words were enough to instill the darkest fear in me but the sight of the document with Colton’s name on it, filled me with dread and I panicked. The burst of adrenaline that came next made me reach for the knife, but before I could think about stabbing Weldon, Mace grabbed me from behind and twisted my arm until the knife fell from my hand and then he pushed my face into the table.

“Thank you, Mace,” Weldon said and just sat there, all smug and grinning while I struggled with Mace’s harsh grasp.

“Please...” I begged.

Weldon seemed to be having fun watching me.

“Please, Weldon. I’ll do anything… let my brother go! I’m begging you!”

“Why did you deceive me, Jake?” Weldon raised his voice. “You and that piece of shit father of yours! You both lied to me! So why the fuck should I listen to anything you have to say?”

His anger disturbed me. I’d never realized what fear was until I started thinking about all the things he could do to my brother and for some reason everything he’d done to me, all those memories came rushing back. Just the thought of him screwing up Colton made my chest ache. Mace stopped forcing my head into the table and pulled me up. “It won’t happen again,” I said, and Weldon listened but his eyes possessed the same anger I’d seen so many times, every time he’d tried to hurt me like never before. Every time he thought of new ways to torture me and now he wanted my brother to become part of the same fucked up world.

Weldon seemed like he didn’t care what I was saying. “You lied about Colton, that he’s underage when he turned eighteen months ago!”

“Does that make it okay?” Even I heard the bite in my voice but I couldn’t seem to stop.

“Age is just a number, right?” Weldon said. “I don’t give a shit how old he is, I’ll fuck him up if I want to. But that’s not the point. The point is you lied!”

Yes, I lied to save my brother from these people, why was I being made to feel bad about something so obvious? This guy’s head must have been truly warped. “I’m sorry...”

Weldon ran his fingers over my face. “I ruined you,” he said. “And now I’m going to do the same to him. Your brother belongs to me now.”

“No!” I tried to get free but Mace wouldn’t let me. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“As of this moment, your brother is waiting to be used by people who are worse than me,” Weldon said. “I’m going to have some fun with him before I’m done fucking him up.”

I wavered between anger and fear, constantly wanting to murder him and trying to appease him but it did nothing. Weldon left and Mace let go of me. “How can you let this happen?” I let out my frustration at Mace.

“Because I’m too old to get ass fucked by Weldon’s baseball,” Mace said.

“It’s all a big joke to you, isn’t it?”

“Stop crying,” Mace said. “There’s no point.”

“Please don’t hurt him...!”

“Now you’re just being delusional.”

“I know you like me,” I was going mad, willing to do anything that might put a stop to what was about to happen. I kneeled in front of Mace and started unbuttoning his pants but Mace stopped me. When I didn’t listen, he hit me, a hard slap across my face that sent me reeling to the floor.

“I’m leaving now,” he said. “We can talk when you’ve come to your senses.”

I was certain I was about to die from the heartache. But as much as I wanted it I knew I’d never be that lucky. Despite warning me, Mace hadn’t left. I was so desperate I tried to reach for that knife, but of course Mace was gripping my arm again before I could even touch that thing. “What do you need that for, huh?” he snapped at me. “Are you going to kill me? Have you ever stabbed someone? It’s not that easy.”

“I wasn’t going to use it on you,” I screamed.

“So, what you’re going to kill yourself? Is that it? And what happens to your brother, have you thought about that you selfish prick! Don’t you know they’re going to make him pay for it?”