Let Me Help

Chapter Five

Author�s Note: This chapter ended up way more intense that I had originally planned, so I felt it would be good to include this note. I have never been abused by anyone, and I don�t know of anyone that I know being abused by anyone. This is just the product of way too much time of being able to think about what it must be like for teenagers who are abused. So, now that that is cleared up, on to the story�

�What did he do?� Alex asked after a minute, realizing she wasn�t going to go on with her story.

A tear slipped from her eye as she began the end of her story. �He yelled at me for awhile, and asked me questions. But I didn�t answer. I didn�t know how to answer, I didn�t know what would make him angrier.�

Closing her eyes, she blinked back more tears before taking a deep breath and continuing, �He grabbed my wrist and asked me why I wasn�t answering him.�

Her eyes were still closed, tears slipping from her closed eyelids. Her breathing became heavier and Alex could tell that she was being transported back to that day.

�Katia, open your eyes. It�s okay.� He said trying to coax her back to the present. But it was useless, she was already continuing.

�I don�t know.� Katia answered his question quietly.

Her father yanked angrily on her arm. �What do you mean you don�t know? How could you let your grades get out of hand like this? You know what good grades mean to me!�

Katia couldn�t stand it anymore. She was tired of him accusing her of not doing things, when he made her do too many other things on top of that and beat her severely if she didn�t do them.

�If my grades are so important to you, why don�t you cut back on my chores so that I actually have time to do my homework!� she yelled. �I can�t be your maid and still have time to do my homework you know!�

Katia instantly regretted her words as she saw the rage on her fathers face deepen. He tightened his grip on her wrist and raised her up in the air. He never cared that she was underweight. It made it easier for him to hurt her. In fact, Katia had often thought that her father was happy she weighed less than she should.

Shaking her, she felt pain tear through her wrist as she heard a crack. He dropped her and she fell to the ground, a boom ringing through the house.

�Come on.� He said roughly pulling her up by her shirt. He dragged her to the closet that held all their cleaning supplies. Katia was surprised he even knew where it was. Opening the door he brought out the vacuum cleaner and put it in front of her.

�What are you giving me that for?� she asked him.

�To vacuum the house!� he yelled.

�I think you broke my wrist! How am I supposed to vacuum with a broken wrist!�

�Use your other hand!� he told her.

�I can�t use my other hand, I can�t vacuum with it, it feels weird and I end up switching back.� She tried to tell him.

�Then you use the hand you normally use.� He said coldly.

�How can I if that wrist is broken?� she asked.

�I don�t care what hand you use, I don�t care how long it takes, and I don�t care how much pain it causes you. If you hadn�t fallen asleep and done your chores like you were supposed to, you wouldn�t have to vacuum with a broken wrist. If you weren�t so lazy every day, you�d do all the chores, and do your homework. Your grades would be perfect, the house would be spotless and you�d be just fine!� he yelled.

Katia grew very angry. Lazy? How could he call her lazy when she worked all night and he sat there watching TV?

�I�m lazy? What about you? You don�t do anything around the house?� Katia yelled.

Her father grabbed her shirt with one hand and the vacuum with the other. Dragging them both behind him, he walked to his office. As they turned in, Katia�s head hit the corner of the door. Pain seared through her as she tried to focus her eyesight. All she could see were white and black lines.

When she was finally able to see, she looked at what her father had done. He had duck taped the hand with the broken wrist to the vacuum cleaner. She looked at his cold smile.

�There, now you have to vacuum with the broken wrist.�

For two hours, she slowly vacuumed the whole house, her wrist growing weaker with every move.

She wanted to cry so badly, but couldn�t knowing that she�d give her father even more satisfaction if she did that.

Finally, when she was done, he took the tape off. Her hand was numb from the pain, and extremely numb. He dragged her out and took a bike out to the driveway, pushing it to the back of the house along the sidewalk.

�Get on.� He told her.

She did what he said. Walking to her side without the broken wrist. He pushed her and the bike so that she slammed to the ground. He pulled her up. Her clothes were now dirty, her face cut and bleeding. Her arm hurt even worse.

�Follow me.� He said walking back into the house. He got Braedon from his room and put them all in the car.

�Where are we going?� Katia asked.

�To the hospital.� Her father said.

There was a pile on the coffee table from all the soaking tissues that Alex had slowly been handing to Katia.

�Can I ask you something?� Alex asked after she had opened her red eyes and stared at him for a couple minutes.

�Sure.� Katia said weakly. Reliving past memories had drained the energy from her.

�Why�d he push you down on the bike?�

�So that it would look I fell and that�s how I hurt myself. He totally switched over into this caring father mode when he took me in that day.� She explained.

�Okay.� Alex said. �What happened after that.�

�I went back to school the next day and told everyone the same story, that I fell off my bike. But after that incident I really didn�t care anymore. I gave in. I became the lazy person he believed I was. I slacked off on my schoolwork. I just made sure that Braedon was kept away from my father, so that my father couldn�t begin teaching him how to abuse women � the tradition for the men in the family.

�When my grades finally became F�s, the school became worried. They told me to go see a counselor, to see Barry. When things didn�t become better, and I kept coming to school with bruises and black eyes and broken bones, they called you guys.� Katia told him.

�All right.� Alex said softly. �I have to give all this information to Bob.�

Katia nodded her head, �That�s fine.�

She lay down and rested her head on the arm of the couch. Alex slowly got up and covered her with an afghan. Getting her a glass of water, he handed it to her before walking into the kitchen. He dialed Bob�s number.

�Hello?� Bob answered after three rings.

�Hey Bob. It�s Alex.�

�Oh! Hi Alex! Find any other information?�

�Yeah, she�s been sexually abused by other men too. Strangers her father brought home from the bar when he was drunk. Her father beat her too, and had one episode of severe abuse.� Alex said.

Bob sighed. �Okay. We�ll get him into custody.�

�What are you going to do with Braedon?� Alex asked.

�We have some adults who will take younger children in the program. We�ll send him to one of those people.�

�Just make sure he�s taken care of,� Alex commanded. �I don�t want Katia to worry.�

�Don�t worry Alex, I will.�

After he hung up he went back to the living room. Katia had fallen asleep again. He went back to his room and picked up the file. He sighed, closing his eyes. To think that parents actually beat their children to the point that they just gave in and took the abuse was one of the saddest things in the world.

Opening them he continued his report.

�Katia told me that her father beat her, quite severely on some occasions. Her father is being taken into custody.

Alexsander Nemof