A Tortured Soul

Chapter 3
Chapter 3

When he opened his eyes, the first thing that occurred to him was he needed to pee badly. Next he heard his mom shout, “Jim!” The urgency in her voice had him out of bed and to the door in a second. He flung the door open just as his dad was running down the hall. Following behind, he stopped when he turned the corner and fear gripped him as Katie’s words echoed in his mind. He felt his underpants get warm and wet, and pee stream down his legs as he saw his mom standing at the sink, blood pumping from a gash in her wrist in a steady rhythm.

“What happened?” Jim asked as he gripped her forearm tight, stemming the flow.

Eddy looked at his mom’s face, saw she was as white as his sister had been the day she was buried, and broke into tears.

“I was washing my hands, and dropped my wedding band into the garbage disposal. I reached in to get it, and there was a pearing knife in there that cut me,” she explained.

Eddy was just about to scream that Katie put it there, when he heard her voice cry out, “I’m sorry! I cut some fruit up ’cause I couldn’t sleep and put the knife in the sink. I didn’t know it went into the garbage disposal,” sobbing hard.

“Yes you did!” he screamed at her.

“Eddy!” his mom scolded him. “It was an accident. Now apologize to your cousin right now!”

Sobbing now, he looked at Katie, saw that look in her eyes, and knew he had no choice. “I’m sorry,” he cried.

He didn’t feel any better when she came over and hugged him. “It’s okay Sweety, I’m sorry Aunt Laura got hurt,” she replied.

Jim was just finishing tying a rag around Laura’s forearm when he said, “We’re going to the hospital. We’ll be back in a while.” and put a metal spoon in between the rag and her arm, twisting it several times, then tying it there.

Eddy cried harder when the front door closed.

“I told you that she would get hurt if you didn’t do what your told, Sweety. I hope you learned your lesson. She could have died,” Katie scolded him.

“Please...” he cried.

“Come on, let’s get you some dry pants little boy,” she said as she took his hand and led him down the hall first to his bedroom to get clean clothes, then to the bathroom.

Eddy stood there, tears still coming as she pulled his shorts down. He put his hands on her shoulders when she told him to step out of the wet things. When she pulled his underpants down, he blushed. His face became even more red when she said, “And you said you weren’t a little boy, yet here you are getting changed out of wet pants.”

His crying was harder then, as she took a soapy washcloth and began to wipe him clean.

“It’ll be alright, Baby. You just have to do what you’re told,” in a comforting tone.

He knew she was crazy now. He also knew without a doubt that her brother and parents were dead because she killed them. “Please don’t hurt my mom.” he begged.

“Nothing bad will happen to Mommy if you behave, little boy,” she replied. “You’re not going to call her that anymore. From now on, you’re parent’s names are Mommy and Daddy, understand?”

Wanting reassurance, he pleaded, “Please don’t hurt Mommy,” as the tears continued to flow.

“Don’t worry Baby, You be a good boy, and nothing will happen to Mommy, I promise.”

When she’d wiped the soap from his skin with a warm, wet washcloth and dried him off, she held his underpants open for him to step into. He didn’t like that she was dressing him like a little kid, but didn’t dare object now. When she got his shorts into place, she patted his bottom and led him to the livingroom. She sat down on the couch, pulled him into her lap and said, “Come snuggle with me, Baby.”

Eddy wanted nothing better than to run to his room and lock the door, but allowed her to pull him close. He laid his head down on her shoulder and continued to cry. When he felt her begin to pat his bottom and rock him back and forth, he blushed, but didn’t dare say anything.

Eddy opened his eyes, noticed he was cradled in Katie’s lap like a baby, and blushed.

“Did you have a good nap Sweety?” she asked in a sweet voice.

Not wanting to make her angry, he nodded his head.

“Good boy,” she said with a smile.

He needed to use the bathroom, but when he went to get up she held him there. “Where you going Sweety?”

“I need to...” and then last night’s talk came back to him and he finished with, “pee pee,” blushing as he said it.

“Well then let’s get you to the potty then Baby,” she replied. As she led him by the hand to the bathroom, she said, “That’s what you call the bathroom from now on, got it?” with that serious look that made him need to pee a lot worse. When Eddy nodded, she asked, “Where are you going?”

With a red face, he answered, “Potty.”

“Good boy.”

Eddy went to pull the front of his pants down so he could go, but felt Katie pull his hands away. He almost started to pee in his pants and tried not to cry.

“Let me do it, little boy,” she said as she turned him around, pulled both his shorts and his underpants down to his ankles, and lifted him up to sit him down on the toilet. “That’s how little boys go pee pee, understand?”

Eddy lost the battle with his tears as he started to pee pee in the potty with her standing right in front of him. He cried harder when he realized that he was even thinking the baby terms now, such was her hold over him. When he was done, she stood him up, pulled his clothes back into place, and with a pat to his bottom, said, “Good boy.”

Katie led him back to the couch, sat down and pulled him back into her lap. “From now on Sweety, you will snuggle up with me and with your mommy several times a day, you hear me?”

Eddy tried not to cry again as he nodded his head, he felt like such a baby crying all the time. He didn’t resist as she put her hand on the side of his head and pulled it to her chest. Snuggling with her like a little boy wasn’t what he wanted, but if it would keep Mommy safe, he would do it.

***********

Laura opened the front door to the house, and as she walked in, she noticed immediately that Eddy was snuggled up with Katie. She smiled as she thought about how nice Katie was being. When Eddy jumped up, ran to her, hugged her tight and said, “Mommy are you okay?” she was worried. He hadn’t called her Mommy in at least four years.

“I’m all right Honey, I promise. It was just a cut,” she told him, anxious at the fear in his eyes. It took her a moment to realize that with the funeral, and his sister’s death not long before, he was afraid that she would die. She tried to keep her emotions under control as she knelt down and held him close. “I’m okay Sweety, I promise.”

Eddy laid his face against her neck and cried his eyes out. He had been so scared that she had been really hurt, or worse.

She was surprised when she went to pull him back and he clung to her tightly. “Come on Honey, let’s go sit on the couch.” Only then would he let her go, but gripped her hand tightly in his. When she sat down, again she was surprised when instead of sitting next to her, he climbed up in her lap.

“I was scared you wouldn’t come back,” he admitted tearfully.

“Oh Honey, I’m alright,” she said, fighting tears. “It’s going to be okay Sweety, I promise,” she added. It was a moment later that she realized she was gently patting his bottom like she used to do when he was afraid. She considered stopping, but decided that if he needed it, then she would snuggle him like a little boy.

The rest of the afternoon and evening, she noted that Eddy spent most of his time cuddled up in either hers or Katie’s lap. She decided that when he went to bed she would give Gary a call and see how best to handle this. He had helped them through when little Amy had passed.

At nine, she looked at Eddy and said, “It’s time for bed, Honey.” When fresh tears started, she added, “How about you go brush your teeth, and get into bed, and then I come tuck you in?” She felt better when he nodded his head.

Laura smiled as Katie came over and took Eddy’s hand, leading him from the livingroom as she said, “Let’s go brush our teeth together.”