I was still a little soar when I woke up the next morning, but still able to sit at the kitchen table to eat my breakfast. Mark made my favorite - French toast - I guess he was trying to make up with me, but I wasn't quite finished hating him yet. In fact I wasn't even talking to him, which he found out real quick.
"Do you want milk or orange juice?" He asked.
I just sat there. "Justin.....Milk or orange juice?"
Again nothing. I just went along eating as if he wasn't even in the room.
He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. "Oh I get it.....not talking to me now, Huh?"
Steve came into the room just then. "Morning everybody." He said.
"Morning." I said.
"Good morning." Mark said not taking his eyes off of me.
"Wow....French toast. Man.......I think we ought to let Mark beat you every night Jus." Steve said obviously trying to make light of the situation as he always did, but Mark gave him hell for it.
"Keep running your trap and there will be a beating every night, only it will be you ass that feels it." Mark said.
"If it means French toast every day....that's fine with me." Steve said and gave that crazy smile of his that always seemed to melt away any anger in Mark.
Mark chuckled. "You'd do about anything as long as there was food evolved."
Steve laughed.
I on the other hand was not laughing. I was just sitting there glaring at them, with my eyes burning with anger. I mean it was an insult that they found the whole situation funny. I got my butt beat good and there was nothing funny about it.
Steve noticed that I was not amused and stopped instantly. "Sorry." He said.
I just got up and went to the refrigerator and got the milk carton out.
"Here." Mark said and placed the glass he already had out for me on the table next to my plate.
I ignored it and got my own out of the cabinet.
"Jesus Christ." He barked. "It's a fricken glass Justin."
I just sat back down with out a word.
"Oh, hell." He said and just stormed out of the room.
Steve looked at me funny. "You keep that up and he's going to let you have it again." He said.
But I didn't think so. He got it all out of his system last night and I knew - in his own way - he was sorry about it. He was just mad because of the silent treatment. He hated it, and I knew this. It's exactly why I was doing it.
When I got done eating I went into the living room to watch my Saturday morning cartoons, and I saw him sitting on the couch reading the paper. He looked up at me and saw me watching him. "Oh what, I can't even sit in the room?"
I just flopped down in the recliner and turned on the TV.
I went the whole morning and part of the afternoon without talking to him, but then his friend Lee came over to hang out.
Lee had been Mark's friend since they were ten years old. They went all through school together, and then on to college where they both got their bachelors degrees, and would have gone further, but my Parents got killed and Mark had to stop going so he could get a job and take care of Steve and I. Lee had continued on and just recently got his masters, where Mark - who was forced to take night courses - was still working on his.
Anyway, Lee came in and said hello to me, but being he was Mark's friend, I ignored him. "What's with the kid?" He asked.
"Oh, he pissed at me right now, just ignore it." He said and they both just went into the kitchen to talk.
An hour went by and they were just carrying on and laughing about everything under the sun, and getting louder and louder. I could hardly hear the TV, so I kept turning it up louder and louder till finally Mark shouted my name. "JUSTIN!"
I hit mute and looked around the back of the recliner at him.
"What are you deaf? Turn it down." He snapped.
I looked back at the TV and mumbled to myself as I turned down the volume. "Then shut up so I can hear."
Fifteen minutes later they were back to laughing and being loud, and again I could not hear the TV, so I turned it up and up and up, till pretty soon it was blasting.
"JUSTIN! God _d_a_m_n_it, turn it the hell down!" He shouted.
"Then shut the _f_u_c_k_ up!" I shouted without looking back at him.
All I heard was the sound of his chair sliding across the kitchen floor, then heavy foot steps, and I knew - without seeing to be sure - that he was coming for me. So I jumped from the recliner and ran out the front door to the driveway where Steve was washing the truck for his date with Amanda's cousin that night.
"Steve!" I shouted as I jumped off the porch.
He stopped spraying the hose and looked up just as Mark came bursting out the front door behind me. "OH Christ, not again."
"Help me!" I shouted as I ran past him.
"What now?" He shouted as Mark past him a second later.
"He just told me to shut the _f_u_c_k_ up." Mark shouted as he ran.
Steve started to shake his head. "You'd have been better off with the silent treatment." He said then went on with washing the truck.
I ran around back and went back through the kitchen where Lee was still sitting, smoking a cigarette. (He was the only one Mark would allow to smoke in the house or more so the only one he couldn't stop from doing it).
"He's gonna beat your ass." Lee told me as I ran past him towards the front door again. I had it in my head that I would run back out front and then just head to the park for a while and give Mark some time to cool off, but just as I burst through to screen door Steve was right there and the door cracked him right in the face.
"Ouch..._f_u_c_k_." He cried out suddenly and he went flying back.
"Oh god." I said as I watched him go.
"UHHHH." He moaned and covered his face with his hand as he bent forward.
Mark came out threw the front door behind me and saw Steve. "What happened?"
"He just busted me in the face with the _f_u_c_k_ing door." He said from his bent position.
"Anything broken?" Lee asked as he walked out behind Mark.
"Let me see." Mark said as he lifted Steve's chin up with his hand. There was blood running down his face and dripping onto his white T-shirt. Mark reached up to check his nose.
Steve shoved his hand away. "Don't touch it!"
"Just let me see if anything's broken." Mark insisted.
"I'm fine." He said as he checked the bridge of his nose himself. "Nothing is broken."
Lee - who I had not noticed had disappeared - came back out with a bag of ice and handed it over to Steve. "Here you go bud."
Steve took it and sat down on the steps.
"Are you sure you're OK? I can take you to go get checked if you're not." Mark said.
"I'm fine." Steve mumbled threw the bag of ice which he had against his mouth to stop the bleeding.
"Justin get in the house." Mark said calmly as he stood there starring at Steve.
"It was an accident." I said in the most pathetic voice I could come up with. "I didn't know he was going to be there."
"You heard what I said, now get in there right now!" He yelled.
I turned around and went in like I was told, but went over and stood next to the love seat which sat in front of the bay window so I could still hear.
"Are you sure you're all right?" I heard Mark ask Steve one last time.
"Yeah, It just hurts." He said.
"In that case....." Mark said, and I could see his hands go down in front of him. "I'll be back."
"Hey, don't do anything on my account." Steve said.
"It's not on your account, it's on his account." Mark said and that's when he turned around and pulled his belt through the loops of his jeans and doubled it over in his hand.
My heart stopped beating.
When he came into the house I was slowly stepping towards the recliner as I tried to look as innocent as an angel. It didn't work though. His face remained hard as stone as he starred at me. "I'm sorry." I said.
"Obviously taking you over my knee last night had no lasting effect on you, so we'll see what happens with my belt." He said then pointed to the floor in front of him. "Come here Justin."
"Please Mark, not the belt." I begged him. "Please.... I'll be good for the rest of the day."
"Come here Justin." He said in the same tone.
I couldn't do that. My feet wouldn't move. All I could do was stand there and plead with him, tears now rolling down my face. "Please Mark. Please don't whip me."
Obviously seeing that I was not going to come to him, he stepped forward. I didn't have time to think to get out of the way before he took hold of my left arm and jerked me around. I instinctively covered my backside with my hands.
"No Don't." I pleaded.
"Move your hands right now." He ordered.
"NO, please. Don't do it." I cried.
He sighed. "Obviously you have learned nothing." He said and that's when he kind of half sat on the back of the couch and pulled me up off my feet then tossed me over his left thigh.
"No." I shouted as I tried to squirm, but he wrapped his arm under me, pinning one shoulder against his bulging biceps, the other held firmly with his hand.
A second later the belt cut through the air and cracked across my tale. I threw my head back and began to cry harder. "Please....NO!"
CRACK, CRACK, CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.
"Don't Mark.....AHHHHAAA...I'll be good.....OWLLL!"
"Yes you will." He said as he continued to whip me. "You will if I have to do this all day." CRACK, CRACK, CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.
"OOOOLLLLL.......AHHHAAA.........Please." I screamed.
He gave me two more cracks of the belt, then he let me slide back down till my feet were back on the floor. I was hopping around and frantically rubbing out the flames that were scorching across my backside, bawling like a baby the whole time.
He kind of watched me for a minute, then he asked the million dollar question. "Now are you going to behave or do I have to give it to you again?" He asked.
I was most definitely going to behave, and I did for the rest of the night. I stayed in my room for most of the day and I spent the evening curled up next to Steve on the couch with my head laying on his lap, him rubbing my hair.
Mark didn't really say anything to me till bed time. I had just brushed my teeth and was walking back into my room from the bathroom and I found him sitting on the edge of my bed.
"You all ready for bed?" He asked.
I nodded my head yes.
"Mind of I tuck you in?"
"I guess not." I said as I crawled past him and got under the blankets.
Once I got settled he started to speak. "UMMMM.....I just want to tell you that I'm sorry for what happened today, and I wish I didn't have to do it."
"Then why did you?"
He grinned at me. "For the same reason Mom and Dad use to do it to me........Because I love you and happen to care what kind of person you turn out to be."
I looked down at my folded hands. "And what kind of person am I turning out to be."
He laughed and reached out for me suddenly and started to tickle me. "Right now you're a little brat."
I sat up quick and tried to push his hands away, but he was too quick. "Don't. Stop it." I laughed.
He did and we were both just sitting there looking at each other - smiling - then finally I just fell into his arms and laid my head against his chest. He threw his arms around me and gave me a good squeeze knowing that all was forgiven.
"I love you, you little jerk." He said with a sigh.
"I love you too."