Keeping the Tarnished (8 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Country

Johnny

It had been two days since the Everetts asked Johnny to settle in. It had also been two more nightmare free nights of slumber. Johnny felt as though he had gained a small piece of his mental clarity back.

Jackson and Graye had begun the conversations with him regarding the upcoming school year, obtaining school records, medical records, learning more about his father’s eviction of Johnny, and addressing the possibility of locating his mother and brother.

For now, Johnny was comfortable with the Everetts’ approach to slowly building a mutual trust. Johnny felt the small things like telling him how happy they were to have him, and evening meals around the table, were doing wonders for his psychology. Johnny was told he wasn’t the only person benefiting from the arrangement. Jared had basically planned their entire senior year.

Perhaps once the new wore off, the family would remember that every relationship can be taxing at times, and requires patience and understanding. For now, however, there was a great deal of laughter and happiness throughout the house.

Johnny’s uncontrollable urge to urinate woke him from yet another nightmare free night. His bladder was so full that his lower abdomen was rock hard. He reluctantly wiped the sleep from both eyes, flung his blue comforter back, and sat up. One leg at a time, he lowered his feet to the cold hardwood floor. Finally, he stood and hastily he made his way to the bedroom door. As he entered the hallway, he could tell there was a light on downstairs as the light was cascading on the wall directly in front of the top of the staircase.

Washing his hands, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d peed for that long. He looked at himself in the mirror. He had finally shaved off the scruff. He had what many people would call a baby face. Jared often made envious comments regarding Johnny’s ability to grow facial hair. Jared would frequently shave his face in an effort to promote hair growth—to no avail. Johnny thought shaving his facial hair off would be a nice gesture.

He dried his hands on the dark brown washcloth hanging from the circular towel holder next to the mirror and made his way to the hallway. He wondered who was up so early, so he happily made his way down the stairs. For whatever reason, he was wide awake this morning. He and Jared had played Call of Duty until well after midnight, so he should have been tired, but a short, restful night’s sleep is always better than eight hours of interrupted rest due to vivid nightmares.

“Well, look at this early riser,” Jackson said lowly from the bottom of the stairs as he entered the living room.

“Morning, Jackson,” Johnny said, smiling as he descended.

“Have you ever seen a calf being born, Johnny?”

“No, I haven’t.” Johnny’s face lit up as he was truly hoping this was the opening of an invitation.

“Well, if you want to, go throw on some old clothes while I get dressed.”

“That’s awesome! Should I wake up Jared?”

“Nah. Jared needs his beauty sleep. Just us today.” Jackson replied as Johnny ran quickly up the stairs.

As Johnny threw on the dirty work jeans from in his closet, he couldn’t help but feel guilty that Jared had not been invited to go. Jared had been so nice to him, and the night before Jared had referred to him as, “the newest member of the family,” which made Johnny feel like he was, to some degree, a part of a functional family. After he laced up the old shoes that Jared provided, he made his way out the door.

Johnny made his way down the stairs as Jackson came out of his room in old jeans and an old green scrub top, “Are you sure you don’t want me to wake up Jared? I really don’t mind,” Johnny asked as he stopped midway down the staircase.

“We’ll let him sleep in. We’ll probably be back before he drags his butt out of bed. We’re only going about six miles up the road to a neighbor’s.”

“To Bill’s house?” Johnny asked as he stepped off the staircase and into the living room.

“Who is Bill, Johnny? I don’t know any Bill around here.” Jackson looked at the boy, waiting for an answer as Johnny found himself feeling somewhat flustered, his gaze darted about the floor.

“I thought we were talking about someone else,” Johnny said as he looked up at Jackson.

“We are going to Emily Lou and Douglas Meer’s farm. They would call me if their horse had a cocklebur in its tail, so this is certainly no surprise,” Jackson said, walking toward the front door.

Although Jackson appeared to think nothing of the Bill question, Johnny saw this as a reality check. Even though the last few days had been somewhat of a resting period for Johnny’s psychology, the truth was that his concern of his father locating him was beginning to become bothersome.

Johnny had continuously reassured himself that there was nothing his father could do, and he certainly could not make the boy return to the shack if he were to find him. Johnny absolutely hated even reminiscing on his father’s atrocious face, but a growing paranoia made it impossible for him to completely relax.

Regardless, Johnny didn’t understand what exactly was manifested within his psychology. He knew this was partially because he had no sense of normality. That had never been more clear to him than after he’d been in the lap of normality for the past several days. He understood enough to attempt to control his fear to a point of functionality that he believed was passable.

The two guys exited the house and made their way down the porch stairs.

“Let’s head to the barn and grab the truck,” Jackson said as he walked briskly in the early morning Louisiana sticky air.

Johnny knew the man was referring to his work truck, the one he took out when his client was of a larger nature. Johnny wondered what the day would consist of. He liked being with Jackson, and his profession certainly seemed intriguing.

“Do you smell a skunk?” Johnny asked Jackson as he trailed closely behind him.

“Ha! The dogs messed with one last night. They smelled lovely when I put them in the pen last night,” Jackson said, shaking his head and laughing.

As they approached the barn, one of the penned dogs let out a small bark in alarm at the two approaching humans. Jackson grabbed the black handle of the large, red sliding door, and began pulling it backward, the door making quite a bit of squeaky commotion as it opened. This put the dogs into a frenzy, all four barking and wagging their tails. Between the noise of the door and the barking dogs, Johnny had to cover his ears.

Johnny found Jackson’s truck to be quite impressive. The black, extended cab, 4x4 Chevy was the nicest truck Johnny had ever been in. He thought it quite comical that the leather seats were heated.
Why would anyone want a heated butt?
the boy thought to himself when Jackson was boasting and describing the vehicle a few days prior.

As Jackson loaded up in his truck, Johnny’s peripheral vision captured the silhouette of the sinister intruder lurking in the corner of the barn. Crouched low and confused was a dirty coyote. It was sitting on its hind quarters, partially hidden by an old wooden sawhorse. As the taillights of the truck lit up the back-end of the barn, the creature began to snap at the sawhorse, eventually biting it. Its tail was damp and covered in diarrhea, and its coat was flattened and not well kept. Johnny stared at the animal, blinking several times, at first unsure as to what it was. The shadows devoured the coyote’s outline.

“Johnny? You okay?”

Convinced his eyes and mind had conspired to create the image, the boy merely shook his head, feeling slightly defeated he climbed in the cab.

Chapter Sixteen

A Small View

Jackson

What is all that stuff coming out?” Johnny asked Jackson, who was standing behind the distressed cow. The large black cow was penned in a large, blue cattle chute.

Jackson enjoyed watching Johnny’s reactions to the situation. He was thankful the boy agreed to tag along.

“That’s amniotic fluid. It means the calf should be here anytime.” Jackson had no sooner offered the explanation, two legs began emerging from the bovine’s nether region.

The chute was next to an old white barn with chipping white paint. The barn was huge, even bigger than the one at the Everetts’ farm. Jackson had on elbow-high gloves, and had blood and other fluids all over his green scrub top. Within a matter of seconds, the calf’s legs were fully emerged, and a wet, ugly little head was now completely out. Johnny stood watching with his mouth agape as the remainder of the calf simply shot out with ease. The slippery calf landed on the ground making a sloppy sound, as Jackson grabbed its front legs and dragged it backward.

As the man leaned down over the nearly lifeless calf, he cleared the calf’s nostrils and its face by wiping off the bloody fluid and membrane that was present. He began gently rubbing its ribs in an effort to liven the small calf. As Johnny watched, seemingly amused, Jackson stood up from the calf, which was now clumsily holding its head up on its own, and returned to the tail end of its mother. Johnny seemed to pay little attention to what he was doing with the cow. He was totally focused on the wet, tiny, calf, smiling at it as it looked around from the ground.

As Jackson opened the chute, the bewildered cow slowly exited the other side. As she seemed to gain her sense of awareness back, she slowly made her way to the young calf.

“Johnny, go ahead and stand back by the truck,” a filthy Jackson said as he began removing his gloves. The morning sun was barely out, but Jackson was certain it was light enough out that Johnny was able to witness the entire event and see everything quite well. As the mother licked her calf, Johnny walked to the other side of the truck and leaned up against it. Jackson remembered when Jared would show as much enthusiasm for such things. Lately, even convincing his son to go on calls with him was a chore.

Jackson felt the sudden urge to pee. Looking around, the man didn’t immediately see Johnny so he proceeded to unzip his jeans. As the man was urinating on the front tire, Johnny walked by.

The boy looked up and saw Jackson standing there, the man apologized, but made no effort to stop, he didn’t think much of it. Living on a farm for so many years, it was second nature for both Jackson and Jared to find a tree or some other unfortunate inanimate object to pee on when they were outside in the country.

Johnny’s nostrils flared, his mouth opened, and his eyes looked immediately away as he turned from Jackson with both hands out, as if he were attempting to push the older man away.

Jackson knew instantly that something wasn’t right. As if that very moment provided an extensive, instant view into the boy’s past. Jackson knew the boy’s response was abnormal. It was the unmistakable look of fear. The man zipped up his pants and contemplated what his next actions would be. Johnny had returned to the other side of the truck and had his back to the door.

Slowly, Jackson walked around the front of the vehicle. “I’m sorry about that, bud. I didn’t realize you were coming around the truck,” Jackson said as he placed one hand on his hip and the other on top of the hood, looking at the boy. Johnny said nothing. His expression was still a look of distress. “Johnny?”

“It’s okay,” he said as he looked at the ground. “I don’t…I don’t ever piss outside. I’m not gonna piss outside,” Johnny said as he turned and looked at Jackson.

“Oh, that’s fine, bud. That’s just my country manners,” the man replied, smiling.

Johnny turned around and looked in the direction of the cow with her calf.

Jackson watched as the cow nudged the newborn in an effort to stimulate it to stand.

“I think she’s got it from here, bud. You wanna load up while I gather up my stuff?” Jackson enquired as he slapped the hood of the truck. He watched Johnny, noticing the boy still looked uncomfortable, uneasy.

“Sounds good,” Johnny, responded.

As Jackson threw his supplies in the back of his truck, his mind raced with questions. He understood that learning of Johnny’s past would be a long and drawn out process, but he recognized that the teen’s response to seeing him urinating was not at all natural.

“Not bad for your first day, my young apprentice. I may just make a vet out of you yet.” Jackson was smiling at Johnny, who now appeared somewhat less tense.

“Will they be all right if we leave?” Johnny asked inquisitively.

“Indeed they will, Johnny. We were basically just here in case something went wrong.” Jackson put the truck in reverse and turned to look behind him.

As they began the drive home, Jackson’s expression and tone took a more serious approach. He knew his private time with the boy was going to be rare, as the entire family had incorporated the young man into their daily lives.

“So, Johnny, when did your mom leave?” Jackson asked the boy as he looked out over the steering wheel at the dirt road. Johnny appeared almost vexed by the question. His gaze fell on his hands. Jackson watched from the corner of his eye as the boy began lightly pinching his left hand’s fingertips with his right thumb and index finger.

“I was sixteen. I had just turned sixteen.” Johnny turned and looked out the passenger window. The cloud of dirt was thick as the tires threw it up on either side of the truck.

Clearly, the boy was uncomfortable, but Jackson felt this could possibly be an opportunity to gain insight and he certainly didn’t want to pass it up. “Why did she leave?” The curious man continued. When Johnny didn’t answer, Jackson decided to tell the boy of his own mother. “My mother…my mother was a nurse. She was a nurse for a pain management clinic. She used to come home drowsy when I was younger. I didn’t realize she was taking the patients’ medication.” Jackson paused a moment, noticing he had captured Johnny’s attention. “She died from taking too much. Overdose.”

“And your dad?”

“I think he’s in Florida. I’m not sure. I always called Graye’s father Dad. He passed away a few years ago.”

The boy cleared his throat and remained silent for a few seconds. “She had to leave for Jacob,” Johnny said lowly in a monotone voice as Jackson witnessed the boy’s face flush red.

“And Jacob is your little brother?” Jackson continued as he slowed the speed of his vehicle to around thirty-five miles an hour. “Why did she need to leave for your little brother, Johnny?”

“Because of my dad,” Johnny said in a short, almost defensive, voice. Johnny continued to look out the window. It was obvious to Jackson that the teen wasn’t ready to open up about the situation.

“Johnny, I need you to know that I care about you very much. I know we are just getting to know each other, but you can talk to me. I promise I’m not going to judge you or look down on you. Did…Johnny, did your dad hurt you and your brother?”

Johnny continued to look out the window. Jackson could almost sense that Johnny wanted to talk to him, it was as if the boy was unsure of how to communicate what had happened.

“I want to. I want to talk to you, I just don’t know what to do when he comes back,” Johnny said as he looked at the man, clearly hoping Jackson could make sense of what he said.

“Who comes back, Johnny? Your dad comes back? Who, who comes back?” Jackson was confused, as well as concerned about what the boy was saying.

“Yes. Sometimes both of them. I just can’t talk about it right now,” Johnny said in a low, withdrawn tone.

“Johnny, if…well if your father hurt you, well, you needn’t worry about him coming back to hurt you again. No one is going to hurt you again. Please, Johnny, just answer me. Did he hurt you? Is that why your mother left?” Jackson felt his blood pulsating in either side of his throat, as the thought of a grown man hurting the kid in his passenger seat angered him deeply.

“Yes,” Johnny muttered as he returned his gaze to the window. “My mom was afraid my brother would get outta line like me. But he was too little.” Johnny stopped talking and continued looking out the window. “I done said too much. I can’t. Please.”

“Did he hit you? Is that what happened to your lip?” Jackson had a death grip on the stirring wheel, and his jaw was clenched.

“I was in the kitchen when he wasn’t home. I shouldn’t have been in there while he wasn’t home.” As Johnny spoke, Jackson heard pure tension in the boy’s throat, as several beads of sweat collected on his forehead, regardless of the powerful air conditioner.

He bit his lower lip and continued pinching his fingertips. “I don’t wanna talk anymore about it right now. Not today,” Johnny said as he turned toward an infuriated Jackson. “I’ll talk to you. I will, but I just can’t right now. I can’t today.”

“That’s, that’s fine, bud. But I need you to understand that there is nothing out here that you need to be afraid of, and you are totally safe with my family. Do you understand that?” Jackson placed his right hand on the boy’s left shoulder, waiting for a response.

Johnny’s shoulder was rigidly stiff as the boy remained seemingly uncomfortable.

“I understand.”

The truck began to slow down as the two were almost to the driveway of the Everett’s house.

“I’m pretty tired. You mind if I go back to bed?” Johnny asked as they turned off onto the driveway. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet.

“Of course not, bud.” Jackson smiled and ruffled the boy’s messy hair, the same way he often ruffled his son’s hair. The man’s blood felt like it was boiling, but he tried his best to compose himself so Johnny couldn’t tell.

“I’ll put your breakfast in the refrigerator so you can heat it up when you wake up again.”

“I know what I came from, but that don’t mean that’s what I am. If that makes any sense,” Johnny said solemnly.

“It makes perfect sense, young man.”