Sitting on the porch a few days later, I spied Rob's pick up nosing its way up the drive and sighed. My mood was already sour as it was, thank in part to Bess's unholy gloating over the most recent bit of news concerning Potato; he'd been sold to a travelling circus, and they were due in Atlanta in a few days., Bess, a sugary sweet smile on her face, had told me that she'd "allow" me to see him - albeit from the sidelines - so long as Rob took me. As his pick up pulled up in a haze of red dust, I grimaced to myself, pulled my ring out, and set it on my finger. Bess had been riding me all day and night about it, but had finally settled when I told her the damn thing was too heavy, and I could realistically only wear it for a few minutes at a time.
Rob's face was like stone as he came up the steps, and my heart sank as he came to stand before me. He eyed my left ring finger, looking surprised for a moment, before his face returned to stone. "Stand up," he said, his voice as flat as his face.
Heart thumping, I did as I was told; the next thing I knew, my cheek was resting against rough wood, my head ringing like a struck gong. A heavy foot slammed into my belly, and I gasped, doubling over in pain. Another savage kick caught me in the head, and I saw stars again. Dimly, I heard yelling, swearing, and then Bess was pulling me to my feet, still yelling obscenties at Rob, who shouted something equally vile in return. It started with "whore", and only got worse from there, but I never caught the rest; as soon as Bess hauled me upright, I blacked out.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvP89ii98EW
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When I came to, I discovered I was in my own bed, with the curtains drawn to shut out the sunlight. Bess was washing my face, swearing all the while, but her tirade cut off when she saw my eyes open. "How's the head?" she asked, frowning. "You took quite a heavy hit there."
This was not a side of her I'd seen since we were children, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "I feel as if a full grown elephant sat on it and used it as target practice," I said, wincing. Even those slight motions sent shooting pains down my spine, and I closed my eyes in frustration. "What the hell happened?"
"Rob was shouting something about you being a whore, and how he was going to slit you open," Bess said, and even with my eyes closed, I sensed her frown. But her tone wasn't angry, just confused. "I mean, you said to me the other day Jesse shoots blanks, right?"30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLDK7xktjm
I nodded, too sore to care if I gave her valuable ammuntion to use once her good spell had ended. "That's what we thought," I said. "Why?"
Bess sighed. "I've got a stick for you to pee on when you're up to it," she said. She hesitated. "Listen, I know I've pushed this on you, and after seeing the way Rob treated you, I'm starting to realise I made a huge mistake." She barked a short laugh. "Everything went to shit when Mama and Papa died, and I've been so out of my head I haven't even stopped. And you bore the brunt of it; I'm sorry."
"Sorry don't mean nothing unless you get me the fuck out of here," I said, managing to muster the energy to open my eyes and glare at her. "I mean it, Bessie Jane. If this is just a way to butter me up so you can hand me back to Rob, I'll leave here if I have to walk. I've got money enough to get me by; hell, I'll sell that damn rock if I need to."
"I've already sent it back," Bess said. "Rob can go kiss my ass for all of me. I won't stand by and let you be treated like that."30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4cfbqIX6f
"You were happy enough to stand by and let him rape me a few days ago," I said shortly.
Bess winced. "I know," she admitted. "But if there's any one thing I can't stand, it's a man hitting a woman when she's pregnant. There's a new life growing inside her, and and any man who hits her in that spot - either deliberately or accidentally - deserves to get his nuts twisted off."
"You're a weird little bitch," I said, pain making me even blunter than usual. "I'll have you know I won't be speaking to you again this side of the hereafter when I leave."
To my surprise, Bess nodded. "I don't blame you," she said. "I'd do the same if I were in your shoes. Listen; there's a bus leaving for Richmond at 5am tomorrow morning; Hank can set you up for the night and drive you to Atlanta, and he'll make sure you get on that bus safe."30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOF2f9jyNL
"Screw that," I said. "Fix me up and get me to Atlanta. Billy Bob will be more palatable to stay with than Hank."
Again, much to my surprise, Bess agreed. "Those Dobermans of his are vicious," she said. "They'll fuck anyone up who looks at Billy Bob in the wrong way." She took a deep breath. "I don't expect you to forgive me," she said. "And I don't suppose I'll ever see you again. But listen; you're still my baby sister, and despite everything, I still love you. Go out there, find Jesse and Potato, and be happy."
"Spare me the platitudes," I said angrily. "You're only doing this because your cash cow got the tar beaten out of her. You go marry Mr Gellert and see if I wasn't right the whole damn time."
Bess sighed. "Try to do a nice thing and get kicked in the face," she said, now sounding like the Bess I knew and loathed. "You can damn well walk to Atlanta, and I hope Rob finds you and beats you to within an inch of your life. You're on your own." So saying, she got up and left, slamming the door hard enough to make the windows rattle, and I sighed in my own turn as I let my eyes drift closed. 30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡors455UBLM
But a plan was already formulating in my brain; the travelling circus was due to come to Atlanta in a few days. Billy Bob would keep me safe till then, and, once I'd reunited with Potato, I'd take him and go to Virginia the traditional way; on horseback. And once I'd found Jesse, we'd fuck everyone off and go find ourselves a cabin in the middle of nowhere. The world had fucked us over long enough; it was time for the world and all her bullshit to get fucked.
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