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Authors: Tim Greaton

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BOOK: Her Yearning for Blood
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3

 

Falling Hero

 

 

 

Jesse Dropped
his Thor hammer. It was his favorite toy and he remembered how on seeing the movie, he had to beg his mother for two whole days before she brought it for him. Nevertheless, not even a superhero weapon was important enough when compared to the time he spent with his father. Today of all days was very important. They were to play his mother’s favorite game and convince her to join them. He heard the intercom buzz and then his father’s voice. Dashing into the kitchen, he was in time to see his mother angrily punch the already broken “Talk” button.


Ow
!”
she
exclaimed, as her finger brushed against the exposed metal prong. The buzzer blared loudly throughout the small apartment, for the fourth time. A little gently, she pressed the button yet again.

“Wagner,” she said, “you do know that just pisses me off, right?”

“Hey, babe,” came his father’s static-filled reply, “I
ain’t
here to make you mad. ‘Just wanted to make sure this busted thing was working again.”

“Yeah, whatever.”
Jesse’s mother pressed the “Unlock” button holding it pressed until she heard his footsteps on the stairs. She then let it go.

“I’m going to take a shower, baby,” she said before leaning down to kiss Jesse on the top of his head. “You and Daddy could play videogame or watch some TV.”

Jesse nodded, a secretive smile forming around his mouth. Having his mother out of the way, would give his father and him time to set the Monopoly game up. His mother had won every game in the past and Jesse was hopeful it would entice her to try once again. Seeing the game set up, he felt confident she would not be able to resist trying to play. Once Jesse had even caught her slipping money into his pile of notes, when she thought he was not looking.  This game would also give his parents time together and time for conversation. He wanted more than anything to get them back together.  Then things would return to normal, just as they were before. He heard the footsteps stop outside the apartment door.

“Hi, babe,” came his father’s voice.

“You let your Dad in,” his mother whispered to him. “I’m in the shower.”

Excited to make their plan work, Jesse stood on tip toes and unbolted the lock. Shoving the door aside, his father nearly knocked him down as the door edge hit him hard on the forehead.

“Hey, beautiful,” his father said, ignoring Jesse and moving past him. His father seemed a mess. He was unshaven, with hair running all over the place and clothes
that looked like he’d worked and slept in them for several days in a row. Traces of dried snot clung to his upper lip and his cold, red hands seemed embedded with dirt.  He also stank of vomit and body odor.  He watched his father, peep into the kitchen and then take several steps into the living room area. 

“Babe?”

“She’s taking a shower.” Jesse replied, wishing his Dad had taken a shower too. His mother would have nothing to do with him, looking and smelling like he did.

“That’s a hell of a way to treat guests,” his father returned. There was no anger in his voice as he reached over to grab a paper towel and wipe under his nose. Most of the snot came off on the towel.

“So where’s the game, Jess?” he asked, finally acknowledging the boy. Jesse’s shoulders sagged as he observed the glassy look in his father’s eyes. The look meant two things.  It wouldn’t be long before his father started talking loudly and then getting mad at everyone for no reason. Jesse was certain, in a few minutes when his mother returned, they would start fighting again. He was wondering if his father would leave when asked, or would make his mother call the police again. Jesse had this strong urge to cry. Why couldn’t they just be a normal family?

His father made a loud rasping noise from the back of his throat.  Then spitting into the sink called out. “Go on, Jess. Get the game.”

Jesse trudged, reluctantly now, to the hallway closet and pulled out the worn Monopoly box. The sight of it depressed him even more because in happier times, they all played the game together. He could almost hear his father tell his mother, how badly he was going to beat her, and she would say things like “Bring it on” and “Give it your best shot.” Then throughout the whole game his mother would help Jesse count his money and keep track of his properties, while his father would whisper not-so-secret plans about how the men were going to team up and crush her. A giggle escaped his lips as he remembered how the game ended with his father going broke and bargain selling all his properties to his son, then helping him until he too, lost to the all-time champ, his mother. Jesse smiled as he envisioned his mother’s triumphant grin as his father called out, “We’ll get you next time,
just
you wait and see.” They would all then go on a
tickle attack
and chase his mother, all through the house until they had her pinned down, laughing and gasping for mercy on the bed.

The laughter had slowly died its death. When this happened, Jesse was not aware. He just knew there would be no laughter tonight.

He returned to the kitchen to find his father rummaging through the cupboard.

“Where the fuck is my ‘Best Husband’ cup?” his father asked.

Jesse wasn’t sure there was such a cup. He had seen his mother fling one cup out of the window a few weeks before. He had also heard her cry that night. He
remembered her destroying a dried flower from the Bible and stacks of old letters from her cupboard. 

“Well, guess I’ll just have to use this one,” his father announced pulling out a mug with a cartoon of a large-
chested
naked lady on it. Having never seen it before, Jesse guessed it must have come from the topmost shelf beyond his reach.

“Well, when your Mom finds my cup, we can put this one back!” His father slammed the cup onto the counter with a sharp whack, followed by the clink of the handle as it loosened from the cup and slipped away.  His father’s glazed eyes seemed to mock the broken cup.

“Glad it wasn’t my cup,” he said, grabbing both pieces and shoving them into the trashcan. “Your mother didn’t like that cup anyway. ‘
Made her feel bad about her tiny boobs.”

Two red blobs appeared on Jesse’s cheeks. It was not a nice thing to say about his mother’s boobs; they always felt soft and snugly when he fell asleep in her lap. 

With no choice but to wait for the argument which was inevitable, Jesse dropped the game onto the kitchen table. Having forgotten his need of a cup, his father turned on the kitchen faucet, and scooping several handfuls, he slurped the water down his throat.  The slurping sound would have seemed funny had Jesse not spotted several twigs and dried leaves jutting out of his father’s green jacket. In some places, behind his father’s head, Jesse could see mounds of dirt and animal doo-doo tangled in the long, stringy hair. Was his father sleeping in the park? The thought that his Dad probably slept out in the cold, made Jesse want to cry again.

“Everything okay?” his Mom called out.

“Everything’s fine,” his father winked at Jesse. “We men are just waiting for our lady to get out here.”

The bathroom door slammed shut.

“Go on, set the game up,” his father said, spinning a chair around and settling down backwards, in its seat. Jesse saw his father’s hands tremble. A faint line of blood was trickling down from one of his nostril.

What was wrong with him?

Jesse didn’t dare say anything as he watched the whiskers on his father’s upper lip turn red. His father sniffled as he wiped under his nose, with the back of his hand.

“What the hell!” noticing blood, his father swung the chair and rushed to the sink. He tried unsuccessfully to wipe the blood from his face. The red smear was getting on to his beard as well, and Jesse could not wait.

“I’ll go get Mom!”

“No!” his father yelled stopping him midway. Then in a calmer voice, “Everything’s okay. It’s just a little nose bleed.” He yanked half-dozen paper towels off the roll and blotted his face.

Terrified at seeing the bright red stains on the white towels, Jesse watched his father hold the towel under his nose. When he took his hand off, he could still see traces of red, in the whiskers, around the mouth and under his father’s chin.

“I have to go,” he heard his father say, his voice hollow, muffled by the bloody towels. “Tell your Mom I’m sorry, I couldn’t stay for the game. It’s a work thing. She’ll understand.” Then reaching the door in two or three strides, he yanked it open and called out, “I love you, Jess.”

Without another word, he was gone; out of the apartment and stumbling down the stairs. Jesse heard the outside door open and shut. Under normal circumstances, he would have raced to his mother’s room to catch a glimpse of his father, as he drove off with his truck. Today, he feared his mother would be mad if she found out what really happened. So instead, he quietly went over to the kitchen sink, drawing a chair to reach it. He shut the faucet off, then pulled out a couple of clean paper towels and began wiping the blood stain from the steel basin. 

He bit his trembling lips as large tears rolled on to the already red towels.

 

* * *

You can purchase the rest of

Under-Heaven

at
Amazon.com

 

 

ALSO BY TIM GREATON

From Focus House Publishing

 

The Santa Shop

(The Samaritans Conspiracy - Book 1)

Purchase Here

 

The Santa Shop’s Hollywood Ending

(Alternative Ending to
The
Santa Shop)

Purchase Here

 

Red Gloves

(The Samaritans Conspiracy - Book 2)

Purchase Here

 

Bones in the Tree

Purchase Here

 

Under-Heaven

Purchase Here

 

Zachary Pill, Of Monsters and Magic

(Book 1 in the Zachary Pill Series)

Purchase Here

 

Zachary Pill, With Dragon Fear

(Book 2 in the Zachary Pill Series)

Purchase Here

 

Zachary Pill, Against the Troll

(Book 3 in the Zachary Pill Series)

Purchase Here

 

Zachary Pill,
The
Dragon at Station End

Trilogy

Purchase Here

 

Water Golems

(Two stories from the Zachary Pill Universe)

Purchase Here

 

Heroes
With
Fangs

2012

 

A Shattered
Spooth

(Book 1 in the Wizard’s Prism)

2012

 

The
Pheesching
Sector

(A 6,000 word sci-fi story)

Purchase Here

 

Distilled Shadows

Anthology of Short Stories

Purchase Here

 

The Shaft and Two Other Stories

(Three tales of dark suspense)

Purchase Here

 

For The Deposit and Two Other Stories

(Three tales of dark suspense)

Purchase Here

 

Dustin
Jeckle
& Mr.
Hydel

(A dark suspense story)

Purchase Here

 

The Halloween Caper

(A supernatural suspense story)

Purchase Here

 

Bud’s Body Shop

Purchase Here

 

Corpses Wrapped in Dirty Sheets

Purchase Here

 

(How to Build) The Super Loop Airplane

Purchase Here

 

Contact Tim at

[email protected]

 

Read Tim’s Blog at

timgreaton.blogspot.com

 

BOOK: Her Yearning for Blood
12.01Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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