Punctured, Bruised, and Barely Tattooed(52)
After eating soup, the two of them curled up on the couch to watch movies, and Art came home later that night.
Her mom didn’t pussyfoot around. She didn’t come right out and accuse him immediately, but she did tell Art she was pissed at him and he had explaining to do. He tried getting around her to point a finger at Kory, because he somehow knew the girl had been the catalyst for her mother’s anger. But then her mom got totally in his face and that was when he hit her in her mouth hard. Once, twice, three times, and Kory’s mom hadn’t been ready for it. Kory was frozen at first and then decided to grab a skillet or something to beat him back. But her mom yelled, “Kory, go to your room. Lock the door.”
Kory still couldn’t move, so her mom turned and took the child in her arms and they began running to the back of the house. She felt her mom’s arms loosen, though, and she turned to see her mother’s hair in Art’s grip. He dragged the woman, as she screamed and pulled at his hands, to the kitchen, and Kory followed, trying to figure out how to get him off her.
She didn’t know how it happened, but it happened quickly. Art pulled a chef’s knife out of the rack on the counter and had thrown her mother on the table in one fell swoop. The knife plunged into her chest, and Kory was frozen again in horror. She would have imagined that a sharp knife would penetrate the flesh smoothly, but it didn’t. Art got it in but it took some effort, and that seemed to make him all the angrier. Her mother was screaming, pleading with Kory to run, her words turning into gurgles, and something inside the girl’s head snapped. She began backing away. Art said something but continued gouging the knife over and over into her mother. He looked at Kory, bellowing something meant to strike fear into her, but she couldn’t hear anymore. Only her mother’s last scream rang ran in her ears as she found her feet fully and turned to the front door, running outside into the warm night. She didn’t know where she was going. She only knew she had to find someone—anyone—and beg them for help.
Up until that point in her story, it had been as though she was reliving it. She could see it with sharp clarity in her mind from moment to moment. What struck her the most was how she had refused to remember that, at the end, her mom had been a true mother. She’d tried to protect Kory…finally…and maybe she wasn’t the world’s worst mother after all.
She must have been quiet for a long time, pondering the implications, because Stone asked, “Are you okay? Can I get you anything?”
She shook her head. “No.” She didn’t know how to explain to him that she was more at peace than she had been for a long time. “I’ve never told anyone that before.” She inhaled deeply and rested her head against his chest once again, and he leaned back against the headboard so they lay together. She managed to wrap her tongue around some words that were struggling to get out. “For so long, I’ve refused to let those images in my head, but they forced themselves inside anyway. Actually, they were always there, and I never let them out. I think they needed out.”
Stone’s voice was soft. “Is he in prison now?”
“He was. I’d heard a rumor that he died, but I didn’t want to find out for sure. There were several counts against him, so he had a long sentence, but I don’t want to know. I don’t want to think about that man.”
“You know he can’t hurt you anymore.”
She sucked in another deep breath and closed her eyes. She couldn’t explain to Stone how his listening to her had helped her more than he could ever know, and she didn’t know if he’d even understand that the pain Art had caused her over the past few years had been mental and emotional scars that Kory hadn’t been able to let go, and tonight had been more healing than anything she’d ever done before…so she simply said, “Yeah. Not anymore.”
Chapter Twenty-one
THE SUN WAS shining on Kory’s shoulder. If she’d been outside, it still would have been hot and too much to tolerate, but she, Tina, and Lacey were eating inside the café this particular Wednesday to escape the heat. Kory was next to the window and the sun on her shoulder felt nice.
Once they’d placed their order, Tina asked, “So how are you and Stone doing?”
Kory felt her face light up. She’d been dying to tell them her news. “You’re not going to believe this.”
Lacey raised her eyebrows as if to say, “Yeah, I’m sure I won’t, but try anyway.” Both she and Tina focused on their friend, though, waiting for the girl to say what was on her mind.