Broken Dreams(153)

“He has done nothing wrong! Leave him be! He’s just a boy!” His mother fought off the man.

“I told you that if you didn’t take care of what I needed, I would take him away! I’m here to collect what I’m owed.”

“No! Please. Please leave him alone. He’s an innocent boy!” Luke was crying hysterically, trying hard to pull away.

“I’m going to turn him into a man! Listen to him cry like a girl! Shut up, you little lass!” His mother grabbed at Luke, and the man backhanded her. Blood splattered across Luke’s face and torso.

“Mum!” The man pushed him away, and Luke crawled under the kitchen table.

“You whore! You could never obey so now you will pay!” Luke watched as the man punched his mother over and over again, while she was on the floor, trying to fight him off. When she finally stopped fighting, he kicked her in the back. Luke was so terrified, he wet himself.

The man rolled her over and yanked up her skirt. Then he unzipped his pants. Luke watched him brutally rape his mother. At the time, he didn’t know what was happening. He just knew his mother was being hurt. He found enough courage in his tiny five-year-old body to run out the side door, and out into the woods behind their shack.

Luke knew the man must have killed his mother. He stayed out in the woods through the night, terrified that the man would find him. He didn’t sleep, but listened to every sound around him.

When dawn came, he walked back to the house, hoping to see his mom making eggs and toast for him for breakfast, like she did every morning.

The tiny shack was empty. There was a large bloodstain on the rug where he saw the man kill his mother. Luke sat down in the chair at the small, beat up dinette set. He saw his new car broken into pieces on the floor. The tears flowed from his eyes, thick and heavy. He was alone, and didn’t know what to do. There was no family, friends, or father for him to go to.

There was a soft knock on the side door. Luke was terrified, but when he saw it wasn’t the man from the night before, he decided to answer the door. “Hullo, sweet boy. I heard that I might be able to find you here. Are you alone?” Luke nodded his head at the gentle woman, while he wiped his face. “Why don’t you come with me? I have a nice place where you can live. We have nice soft beds, clothes, and toys for boys like you.”

“But my mum…”

“Oh, sweet boy, she isn’t coming back.” The woman held out her hand, and Luke looked around the small shack. “Come on now. We don’t want to miss out on that nice soft bed, do we?” He looked at the woman, then looked back at the house. With his mother gone, there was nothing left for him. Before he decided to leave with the woman, he grabbed the only picture he had of him and his mom off of the refrigerator. He jammed it in his pocket, and left with her.



-November 2014-



Henry lay still while he stared at the ceiling. He fought his emotions because he knew that if Elaina woke up and saw him upset, she would want to talk about it. That wasn’t something that he wanted to do. He decided to take another long pull from the bottle of whiskey. Then he placed his hands under his head again.

As the scene played back in his head, he could see how and why he thought his mother was murdered, but he wasn’t so sure anymore. He shook his head, and his memories went to the first time he met and defended Sophie.



-June 2000-



All the recruits were standing in a line against the white concrete brick wall, including Luke. Roger was inspecting everyone Gunther had brought in from the orphanages and picked up off the streets. He stopped at each individual recruit and commented about their physique and structure.

Roger made it to Luke. His lips curled up into a malicious grin. “Well, well, well. Glad to see you decided to show up.” Luke stared right back at Roger. He chuckled. “Oh, I can’t wait to work with you, Luke. I have been waiting for this for a bloody long time.” He let out an evil laugh, and proceeded to the next recruit. Luke worried that he made the wrong decision. The man seemed like pure cruelty, and he pissed Luke off.

“Fuck you,” Luke growled. Roger stopped and turned back around.

“What did you say, lad?” Roger waited a mere second and grabbed him by the throat, dragging him to eye level. “I asked you a question!”

“Fuck…you,” Luke growled again. Roger threw him against the wall. He wasn’t afraid. He had been in enough fights to know that he could take on some big contenders. He knew he was probably in over his head, but he didn’t care. What did he have to lose?

Roger got in his face again. “I will say this once, and once only. We clear?” Luke didn’t respond. He just continued to glare into Roger’s cold, dead eyes. “You will obey, or you will pay for your trespasses against me. When you disobey, I take it personally.” When Luke didn’t respond, he walked on to the next recruit.