Stop A Bullet - Chapter Two

***[ For those who are reading it I ask you to comment on the overall storyline. I am in the learning process of being taught Grammar, spelling & punctuation so my writing will not be very good in these areas. Though if you feel the need to critic my work go right ahead, I am willing to do the necessary changes in my editing process. This is merely a first draft for writing ]***1

Stop A Bullet
Chapter Two2

I thought it would be best to follow his orders especially as the hours were slipping away until my mothers arrival. I had no intentions of disobeying him, whether he had been kind to me or not. 3

I had been left out of the circle of abuse, but I was still foot deep it in. Not that I think Trey understood that. I assumed in his eyes I was just an innocent bystander. It made me ask questions, questions about just what he had in stall for me. 4

Why was I the odd one out? Why had he not hit me once in all the years that he had been with my mother, and yet it was like a mating ritual for him with Maggie?5

Still as the night was getting closer to becoming morning I disregarded all my questions, pushing them to the side and pulled myself up from the comfortable haven of the mattress, dragging myself to my feet for the first time since dinner.6

My muscles ached as I attempted to stretch and flex, my arms stretching as far as I could stretch them; pushing my sketchbook on the floor in the progress. 7

I bent down picking it up remembering the praise that Trey had given me just a few moments ago.8

Why did he never give Maggie praise? 9

She was good at most things as well. She wasn  ’t just some toy. She had dreams and aspirations as well that she was determined to follow.10

Where was the moral, parental, support? And what the hell was with the praise? 11

He wouldn’t know art if it came back and bit him fair in the face.12

“Forget it, ’ I told myself arching my back, wriggling away the last of the pins and needles that had consumed my stiff body. 13

It was just another day, another night gone and wasted. There was no point in wishing we were normal or always questioning everyone ’s, every move. It was all just pointless; because when the sun went down and the moon was left the stormy, sky, for the morning it was all just the same shit, just another day. 14

I might as well just gut it and get used to it, get over it, build a bridge as Maggie used to say. Though of course Like everything; it was easier said than done. 15


I tucked my sketchbook under my sheets, planning on coming back to it later on in the night, adding some kind of abstract creation to release my anger, frustration, heartache and guilt. 16

It was the only way I knew I could, the only way that I knew how to gather up all my strength and stand up for what I believed in. Art was my world, but I did not want trey immersed in my world. Art was the one thing I did not want him interfering with, the only thing I owned for myself.
. . .17

Time was ticking away. The more it escaped me the less time I had to fulfill Treys request and that unnerved me greatly.18

I scanned my room one last time looking into the darkness, before walking out into the hallway, shutting my bedroom door behind me; The light from Treys room being enough to guide me towards Maggie's.19

I tapped on the door pushing my feet against the door already feeling the warmth escaping from underneath. 20

She always had her room toasty and warm; it was one of the house's luxuries and we took it in turn by week in an attempt to keep our rooms heated in the frosty, weather board house. This week, it was her turn and I missed the feeling of warmth in my own room21

At first I heard silence, a silence that had surrounded the house following the events that had just unfolded and then the sound of pattering feet as Maggie made her way to the door, opening it only a fraction to see who it was; her room lit by a little, Red, night light that hung a few centimeters above her bed.22

“Don't worry, ” I whispered trying to sooth, letting her know that is was me and not the brute. “Trey asked me to come and get you cleaned up before Tanya gets home.”23

Maggie hesitated, her fingers curled around the door knob, red and raw I could just make out the patches of blood that stained her fingers like ink, crimson and sooty, a mix of both; it reminded me of some demonic blood you would see it the movies, Putrid and thick. 24

Maggie paused, her breathing deep and heavy. I could sense from the sound of it that she was still petrified of Treys attack and had probably not settled at all. 25

“Is he still here? ” she asked opening the door a fraction more for me to step inside.26

I shook my head, closing her bedroom door behind me, pulling her into my arms.27

Maggie was a nineteen year old in a fourteen year olds body, compared to me it sometimes felt like I was the older of the both of us. 28

I felt like a sixteen year old in a thirty year old mans body. I knew I was mature for my age, but Maggie; No Maggie had lost her credit for her age along with her innocence. 29

I supposed if she had been able to grow up at a normal pace then she might have been able to match her personality with her age, but it was as if she had a block in her life; putting it on a hold to escape the numbness she once spoke of. 30

Maggie gripped her arms around me tightly, her head pressed against my chest for warmth and support. Tears streaming from her eyes, salty like a river melting into the fabric of my loose shirt. 31

I could feel them cold against my skin as I ran my fingers through her matted, tangled, locks. Her hair felt gritty against my fingertips as did her skin, it too thickly dripping with sweat. 32

The potent stench of arousal and sweat wafted up my nose and lingered as she pressed herself closer towards me, making my stomach churn violently. She most definitely needed to bath; The smell was almost unbearable.33

I had not intentions of upsetting her as I pulled away from her slowly trying not to embarrass her or let her know that she was about to make me sick. I was not one who had a strong stomach and even the smell of brunt toast in the morning was enough to make my stomach heave.34

Luckily she pulled away from me without hesitation, wiping her teary eyes against my sleeve.
. . .35

Now that I could see her clearly my assumptions had been correct. Her night gown had been torn, from the tip of the collar, right down her cleavage, almost to the tip of her naval. 36

Her skin was grubby, dirty, almost as gritty as her fingers. She looked like a homeless child or someone who had been working outdoors all day. 37

It shocked me to see her in the state she was in, it never been this extreme. I wondered just how long it was going to take to get her clean, or whether or not it was still worth it. I knew Trey had his wished, but my mother would find out one day I knew that.38

Maggie caught me scanning her body, self consciously reaching down to the floor to pick up a crumpled up shirt that smelt like musk, candy.39

“Can you please run me a bath while I gather some clothes, ” she asked turning her back to me, wandering around her room her hands scooping up a pile of clothes, fumbling through them, picking and choosing which ones would suit best before discarding the ones she did not want back on the floor. 40

Was she planning on going somewhere?41

“Maggie, what are you doing, ” I asked watching her hold a short, skirt up to her hips. Her back stretching as her body curved, flashing a view in the mirror in front of her. She looked different, almost happy and I suddenly felt strange being in her presence. 42

She was going somewhere I knew it.43

“Just run me a bath Taint, I need to get away from here for a while. ”44

I stood still for a moment listening to her demands, watching as my sisters mood changed from torment to determination. 45

Her beauty was certainly something of importance to her. I had always known that, but I never seen the serious manner she took when choosing just the right outfit. It almost made me laugh, but I thought better of it. 46

She looked annoyed when her clothes would not match and threw them down scowling, only to smile when something more suitable mixed together with the skirt she had held against her just movements before.47

I knew she could feel me watching as she turned to face me, ushering me towards the bathroom. 48

I could never understand girls.49

“Come on Taint, before Mum gets home, you don ’t want Trey angry do you?” she asked, without waiting for an answer, shoving me into the bathroom.50

“Oh someone ’s in a bit of a rush,” I joked with her reaching for the taps as she nearly pushed me into the empty bath.51

I turned them on watching the water running fast and relaxingly into the cream, white, tub. “52

You Don ’t want bubbles then?” I asked dipping my hands into the heated luxury of clean, fresh, water; Nothing felt as good as a nice soak after a long day.53

Maggie did not answer and surprisingly I found myself slowly getting annoyed with her non-direct responses. She had my heart beating and 100 miles per hour, worried sick with each minute that passed in her silence. My mind rushing with the possibilities of the situations that could occur in those few minutes when I was not alert to her.54

Rotating my body to face hers, expecting a response I looked across the room, seeing her body crumpled up in a heap on the floor.55

“Maggie, ” I hissed my body standing frozen to the spot for what seemed like hours.56

She had taken of her night gown and had thrown it beside her; her body bare all but a pair of panties. Though I paid no attention whatsoever to her state of clothing, I was more worried about her state of mind.57

Jolting free of my statute posture, panic hit me like a dart: direct, fast and painfully. I turned off both taps, wiping my hands quickly on my sleeve, and as I ran into my bedroom, I fell to the floor in front of Maggie. 58

I arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders feeling the warmth of her shuddering body in my hands.59

“Maggie, Oh god Maggie, you have to tell somebody, ” I said hysterically tears burning as they tricked from my eyes and down my heated cheeks. 60

“You can ’t keep on going on like this, he needs a bullet.”61

Maggie lifted her head, her body trembling violently in my arms.62

“No, ” she whispered her voice nothing but a gasp for air. 63

“You cannot tell anyone, do you hear me, ” she breathed digging her face into my chest once again. Her crying strangled my her tears and running nose. “No one can know what he did to me.”64

I shook my head, if there was ever a time to just come out and be blunt with her the time was now.65

“No Maggie don ’t you see what he is doing to you, doing to us? He is making us live in fear, like he controls everything, like he is God, but he is not God Maggie. We are free people and what he is doing to you is a crime, we could put him in jail, he is abusing you Maggie.”66

Maggie howled, attempting to compress her lips against my bare skin. Her dry, crackled lips felt like sand paper grinding across my chest while her mournful cries went right through me like an echo in a cave; Hollow and frightening.67

I could not lie.68


I had no idea how to comfort her or what to say. She was more hysterical than I was and the shaking, she would not stop shaking. It was causing my heart to quicken in tempo, so much so I wondered whether or not to get help from Trey or to wait till my mother got home for her support.69

“Stupid Taint, don ’t be stupid, “ I said out loud causing Maggie to look up at me like a little girl pleading for someone to be her savior from the black hole she was being dragged into. 70

A savior, that savior had to be me.71

I had to be strong, I had to be stable and be her rock, her solid ground. I had to catch her when she fell and she had fallen. This time the scars where more evident and long lasting then the times before.72

It was my responsibility as her brother to keep her straight, to keep her smiling until my mother came home. To bath and clean her and have her relaxed in bed just like Trey had intended so that there was no evidence of what had gone on; just a normal, happy, family settling in for a good nights rest.73

“Maggie you need to get up right now, we will both be in serious trouble if you are not bathed in the next Five minutes, you don ’t want that do you?” I asked already picking her up I got back on my feet, her arms still gripping tightly to mine.74

She did not hesitate and nodded, discarding her clothes as she walked into the bathroom.75

Bending forward she pealed of her underwear, standing with her back facing me. Her nakedness revealing her ass literally Black and Blue, covered in patches of bruises Trey must of made with the striking of his leather belt. 76

My stomach heaved, hitting a new low at the sight of her beautiful, soft, milk, skin tamed with colors that should never be marked upon a persons skin, let alone a young girl of her age and physique. 77

“Did he do that to you? ” I asked baffled by the sight.78

I could feel the anger surging through my body, my own fingers clutching my clothes. I felt like tearing them apart, I felt like tearing myself apart. 79

How could anyone do this to a woman?80

Maggie nodded slipping into the shallow bath, turning the tap knobs in her direction.81

“Forget about it Taint. It is easier if we just forget about it, ’ She muttered splashing the steamy, water all over her arms and legs. 82

“The more you think about it the more it will drive you insane, just let it numb you Taint, it is never going to stop. ”83

What was she saying? Why was she saying these things? Like she deserved this, like she was meant to just take his abuse? 84

“NO, ” I shouted walking into the bedroom, pacing around her room. My emotions a scattered mess. 85

“YOU CAN NOT THINK LIKE THAT. ”86

Maggie frowned bring her finger to her lips, the bath now filled with water. She turned of the taps reaching for her fluffy, white, cloth and began to wash herself slowly and sensually, paying special attention to her sensitive areas.87

“Keep your voice down Taint, Trey will hear you, ” she said letting her voice drag through the heat of the room. 88

“Just relax, forget what happened, I will be fine I just had a bit of a nervous breakdown, it is normal. ”89

“Relax? You are asking me to relax and stand by to watch while this man destroys you? ” I asked, not bothering with an answer, my nostrils inflamed like a bull ready to charge.90

She nodded, not another word escaping her mouth as the room went silent, my eyes on her body.91

I could not help but watch her, watch the cloth as it turned from a nice, cream, color to a cross between a dark, smudged, brown color and a sooty, black. All the excess grit being wiped away and soaked into the bathtub like the days events unfolding and disappearing into the early morning.92

Maggie knew I was watching her, it was like our minds ran together sometimes. It must have been something we had learned to do, tune into what each other was thinking. 93


We had been close even as kids and even though in the past few years we had drifted apart I felt that we still had that connection. 94

The connection between siblings that could not be taken away or replaced. It was there, always embedded for situations like this when we relied and depended on each other more than anyone or anything else and I was glad for a moment as I looked into her sullen, fearing, eyes that we still had that between us; Because God knew we both needed it, whether either of us were able to admit it or not.95

“Can you come over here and wash my back Taint? ’ Maggie asked holding the cloth over the edge of the bath, letting the dirty water drip onto the floor. 96

She was exhausted, everything about her screamed the need to sleep. Her body was slowly sinking into the depths of the water and I would of let her sink had I not been so scared that she would not get back up from underneath the water after sinking in. 97

I took a moment to just stare at my sister. 98

I had never felt such a strong need to protect anyone in my entire life, not even myself. She had always come before me and always would. I knew it was because without her I had nothing to live for, but sometimes when I looked into her eyes I wondered if it was something more to that; Something I could never see.99

Taking small steps I nodded loosening my grip on my clothing. The anger, the frustration, the resentment and urgency for her smile drifting away into the back of my mind. 100

She needed me to smile and I would smile because I was all she had in this hell bound home, this rocketing, depreciating, life that we both were forced to live because we had nothing else but our family to keep us alive; and to me life was worth living regardless of how bad it was. 101

I stopped short in front of the bathtub, taking the scrubber from her hands, mine trembling with nerves.102

I had never touched Maggie’s body in this way before and I was hesitant to start. My feelings overwhelming me, I felt if I touched her I was somehow violating her body in the same way that Trey was. 103

It knew that it was inappropriate. Hell Maggie was old enough to wash her own body; she did not need my help; but then again, I was not washing her sexually, I was merely doing as I was told. 104

So why did it make me feel like I was in par with Trey?105

“Just wash my shoulders and the arch of my back Taint, I can do the rest,” Maggie said leaning her body forward, her back curving, ready for me, hair sticking to her shoulder blades.106

“Alright,’ I whispered, my voice feeling tight and constraint.107

My fingers gripped the scrubber, I pushed my body closer to the tub my hand trailing up her back, brushing the hair delicately over her shoulders. I was handling her like a porcelain doll.108

“Don’t be so nervous, this would not be the first time we have helped each other bath,” she laughed trying to lighten the mood and it was working.109


“That was when we were kids,” I replied squeezing the water from the scrubber, watching as the soap suds dripped down the small of her, forming frothy circles in the water.110

Maggie shook her head, uttering to herself and muttering something under her breath.111

I dragged the scrubber across her back softly making sure the last of the grime had been washed away from her back before I let the scrubber fall into the water beside her, grabbing a nearby towel to wipe my hands on.112

“What are you muttering,” I asked both curious and annoyed that she had not spoken up. 113

Maggie held out her hand for her towel, brushing her hair behind her shoulders once again. Her fingers dipping under the water to pull the plug.114

“Nothing,” she said smiling, her face plastered with a cheeky grin that was so contagious I could not help but smile along with her.115

“No, tell me Maggie,” I said watching her wrap her towel around her fresh, clean, body: Her eyes glittering in the light, she looked so happy and amused. I knew it was about me, I knew that look from anywhere.116

I was ready to play her games and I would have had I not heard the sound of my mothers car pulling up in the drive way.117

“Tanya,” I said as we both stood looking at each other frozen on the spot.118

“Go, quick Taint,” Maggie said waiting as I scooped up the pile of clothes she had chosen for herself prier to her bath, throwing them at her.119

“Bed, Maggie” I shouted as she caught the clothes, slamming the door in my face.120

I did not wait for her to answer, instead I walked around in circles like a little, lost, puppy before stepping out into the hallway; shutting Maggie's bedroom door behind me.121

Everything had gone to plan, it had not run as smoothly as I had of hoped for, but I had succeed in getting Maggie cleaned up and ready for bed there was just one more thing that I had to do.122

My mother walked into the hallway throwing her brief case on the floor, she looked like she was about really to fall to pieces, and she was not smiling. 123

“Is everything okay Mum?”