Requiem for a Broken Dream by Lori C. Hawkins

Author:Lori C. Hawkins [Hawkins, Lori C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

THE words I will not have a pervert living in my house! As the Lord struck down the Sodomites, you will be struck until you are cleansed, boy! burned through Dean’s body almost as hotly as the leather belt that lashed at him. Curled up on the floor of his living room, he tried to protect himself from the stinging blows. He covered his head and allowed his back to bear the brunt of his stepfather’s rage.

He heard his mother yelling for his stepfather to stop, but it was as if she was far away in another world. At the moment, Dean’s world was confined to the imaginary box he had built around himself; he imagined that he was in a sturdy wooden crate that was impervious to his stepfather’s belt. Dean convinced himself that the crack he heard wasn’t the sound of leather meeting his flesh but was the dull thump of leather against wood. If he continued to pretend that he was in that box, it wouldn’t hurt as much, and eventually his stepfather would tire of trying to break in and would go away. Dean didn’t know how long it went on, but as with all the other times he had been beaten, it suddenly went quiet, and the blows stopped. Unlike the other times, however, Dean decided that this would be the last time he’d have to build that box around himself.

Dean woke with a start when there was a loud knock on the door. He was still struggling to untangle himself from the sweat-soaked sheets when a woman’s voice called out, “Housekeeping!”

Quickly gathering his wits about him, he managed to call back an answer in time to prevent the door from swinging wide open. He heard a hurried apology from the woman before unseen hands shut the door again.

When the chambermaid was gone, Dean fell back onto the damp pillow and winced. The leap off the second floor the day before was punishing, and his body ached as if he had been beaten. He felt feverish and fell back to sleep again.

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