Deacon spread his feet wide and crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to move out of their way as they stepped onto the porch.
His mother released a disappointed sigh as she went around him but Judd stopped right in front of him. He waited until Deacon’s mother went inside, then his cousin, much taller than Deacon, said, “Think I want to share a room with a spoiled, snot-nosed shit like you? You think I got a choice to be here? I’m only doin’ it for my sister, that’s all.” Judd leaned down and sneered right in Deacon’s face. “So get the fuck over it, twerp. What’s mine is mine and now what’s yours is mine, too. Get used to it. Now, get the fuck outta my way.”
Deacon stared at him for a few seconds longer. Then he moved, but not fast enough. Judd clipped Deacon’s shoulder as he pushed forward, knocking Deacon to the side.
Judd paused in front of the doors and said over his shoulder, “You do anything bad to my sister, I’ll beat the shit out of you.”
“You touch me and I’ll tell my Dad.”
“Then he’ll beat the shit out of you, too. Your pop told me he’s glad I’m not a pussy boy like you.” Judd jerked open the screen door and carried Jemma inside.
Before the screen door slammed shut, he saw Jemma’s face peek out from Judd’s neck and she stuck her tongue out at Deacon.
Deacon rubbed at the burn in his eyes and the sting in his nose. He ran down the porch steps and out to the shed, where he grabbed his prized BMX bike, which he refused to share, and hopped on it. He peddled until he couldn’t peddle anymore, until his lungs were burning and he lost track of time.
By the time he got home, it was dark and past his curfew. After he put his bike back in the shed, he came around the corner of the house to find his father waiting on the porch for him in the rocking chair. Rocking and waiting. Probably getting more ticked by the second.
His dad was usually fair, but Deacon knew he not only broke the rules but missed dinner. He’d also somehow torn a hole in his new jeans, so now his mother would have to repair them.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” he mumbled as he slowly climbed the porch steps.
His father stopped rocking and got to his feet. “Yeah. You’re going to be.”
The sound of his father’s belt unbuckling made him freeze.
“Go to your room and wait for me there.”
Deacon flicked his eyes up to his father’s. “Is Judd in there? You gonna let him watch?”
“He’s going to see what happens when he doesn’t follow the rules, either. Just because he’s sixteen doesn’t mean he’ll get away with pulling stunts like this. You know the rules. You broke them.”
Deacon began to tremble as heat filled his cheeks. “But Dad!”
His father slid the belt from the loops of his jeans. A familiar sound that made the hair on the back of Deacon’s neck stand. “One more word and I’ll add another six on to the six you already earned. You don’t disrespect me, your mother, your blood or this house. And you did all of that today. Now go.”
Deacon blinked quickly and wiped away the tears that were already starting to fall as he jerked the screen door open and ran inside.
****
Deacon winced as he pulled his PJ bottoms up over his still stinging butt.
Judd sat on Deacon’s bed, his back against the headboard and his ankles crossed as he studied him.
The whole thing had been embarrassing. Not only because his butt had been exposed as he kept his feet on the floor and his hands planted on the bed while his father struck him with the belt, but because he had let a few whimpers escape and he couldn’t stop the tears.
All with his cousin, who was a stranger, watching.
But his father used Deacon’s discipline as a warning to Judd. Letting the older boy know that he needed to keep in line, that he wouldn’t tolerate Judd becoming like his father, Ox. He would respect the law and his family. He would become a productive citizen and not some out-of-control convict.
But now it was just the two of them in Deacon’s room. And Deacon had nothing to say. All he wanted to do is climb into the bed that Judge was settled on and pull the covers over his head.
But he had a feeling he wasn’t going to get to sleep in his own bed tonight. Someone was going to be sleeping on the floor in the sleeping bag that was rolled up against the wall. Of course, it would be him.
Judd had already staked his claim on Deacon’s comfortable bed. And if they got in a fight about it, his father wouldn’t hesitate to come back into that room and dole out some more “respect.”
“You picked a hill not worth dying on, kid.”
Deacon sniffled and wiped the back of his hand under his running nose. “What does that mean?”
“Means you just need to not do stupid shit and if you do stupid shit, you need to know how not to get caught.”
“And you’re going to show me how not to get caught?”
“You bet I am and for that, you’re gonna be my bitch ‘til I’m old enough to move out.”
“What does that mean?”
“Means when I need you to do something for me, you’re gonna do it. And you ain’t gonna whine like a little pussy about it, got it?”
Deacon nodded, though he wasn’t quite sure if he “got it.” But if there was a way to avoid the belt, Deacon was on board with that.
Judd grinned. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, kid, I’m takin’ the bed. And that sweet little BMX bike you rode off on? That’s mine, too, ‘til I get a set of wheels.”
“But—”
“D’you enjoy pulling your pants down in front of me and gettin’ hit with that belt?”
“No.”
“Then you stick with me, kid. Watch, listen and learn.”
Watch, listen and learn.
He could do that if it helped him avoid his father’s belt or a cuff upside the head. Or even getting grounded.
So maybe his cousins moving in wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
As long as he got his own bed back.
Continue Deacon’s story here:
mybook.to/BFMC-Deacon