Family Reunion (57 page)

Manny didn't want to hear anymore, yet had no choice, he had asked to know and he would. With his fist squeezing shut, then reopening, he forced his raging emotions to stay within as he remained silent, listening. Lena took another deep breath as her hands went to her face covering it, wiping side ways to push her hair away from her face and shoulders. "There seemed to be…some insane ritual. This ritual - started by five.”

“
You see, all those in the household held their breath waiting as the minutes ticked by to see if he would come home and whether he would be drunk or sober. If he was coming home and there by five, all would be okay, but if he was coming home, and not there by five thirty, all knew, he was somewhere... drinking. By then, Sandra became a walking quake. Trembling, whimpering with fear, holding her stomach, walking back and forth to the front window, looking for him, knowing by then, he was not coming yet. She had already thrown up twice whatever might have been in her stomach, which made her shake even more. She came to my room that night, trying to talk to me, trying to do anything, to wait out the agony of what she knew was to come. Every time a door opened in the house, she would stop, holding her breath, to listen that it might be him. I would try to comfort her but I also knew what would happen when he came through that door."

Lena swallowed, feeling dry she reached for her cup of tea. When she picked it up, her hands were shaking so bad to hold onto it, the cup threatened to topple from its saucer. Manny reached over and took it from her, setting it back on the table; willing himself to remain quiet and listen, no matter how much rage was building within him.

"Well ...it finally happened. The front door came open ... and it slammed!
Slammed!!
That has to be, one of the worst sounds in the world for a woman who has lived as Sandra did. Rory was asleep and Sandra came running immediately into my room. She was red in the face, terror like no other you will ever witness was etched in every line of her face. No human being Manny... should have to live in that kind of terror." She stopped, and took a breath, determined not to cry.

"Drunk...and slurring - he began his bellowing for her. She started crying, afraid to go, wanting to hide but knew she dare not.
‘Oh Lena…help me please!’
she whimpered so pitifully, it tore … at my heart! But what could I do?" Lena's voiced trembled in the telling. "I told her, just hide, don't come out. She was too afraid to, afraid it would be worse if he found her. Timid, trembling like a child, she went to him. The beating began. I could hear her behind the safety of my closed door, begging him, running through the house, screaming ... pleading for mercy. He didn't hear her – didn't care. It went on and on … and on. They all heard, the servants ...I heard ... it woke Rory as it always did. Doors slamming then kicked open ... things breaking-..."

"Lena - stop-…" Manny closed his eyes; he didn't want to hear any more, he didn't know if he could take it. He was only hearing what happened, they experienced what had happened and so after a moment, he forced himself to endure the mere words of it.

Lena fell quiet. He looked at her, she needed to share it but his
anger and helplessness was pulsing through his body. He couldn't imagine any man actually hitting a woman. He thought back to his attack on Katherine and even regretted that, because it was his weaknesses that made her life such a horrible heart breaking disappointment.
'No… you will listen…she fell into his hands because of you…now listen…no matter how hard… you listen.'
Exhaling, Manny wiped his hand over his face.

"Go on…finish." He encouraged softly.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yes…all of it, finish it."

Sitting back into the sofa,
she brought her legs up and crossed them, sitting in the corner facing Manny…who sat forward, arms resting on is knees as he stared at the floor; unable to look at her as she continued.

"It - wasn't going to end with a beating that night Manny, I could tell. He was especially enraged. I knew he was going to kill her. No matter how I tried to ignore it, I couldn't just sit there. I couldn't get Rory back to sleep, it was just too noisy. I couldn't stand it anymore. I just ...I just wanted him to stop. When Rory began to cry ...I don't know ...I couldn't think of what to do. Next thing, I was out of my room, running down the hall and up the stairs. No one else was in the hallway; they were all hiding in their rooms afraid to come out. As I came to the hallway knowing that they were just around the corner, I wondered, what was I doing? I thought maybe I could get him to leave her alone. The words just shot out of my mouth. I guess I was screaming.
Leave her alone…leave her alone!!
I pleaded with him. She was such mess. He had a fist full of her hair, her nose and mouth was bloody, one of her eyes were swollen closed, she - she was dazed, as if she wasn't aware of what was going on. He was slapping her, yelling horrible obscenities. When he finally heard me behind him... he turned... he... he... grabbed me. Such an evil man…evil smile…" Lena slipped back into that night, no longer seeing Manny, but George Sinclair.

That night…

"I bet this blacken a better woman than you. Bet she can make a man feel like a man!" With a tight hold on Lena he pulled her forward for Sandra to see. Eyes dazed and unfocused she could see nothing, her ears were ringing, as loud noises like the sound of thunder mixed with the ringing as if all around was one big roar and siren. He tugged Lena around and slammed her up against the wall. "Let go of me!! Please don’t, let gooo!!" Lena screamed trying in vain to pull her arm free.

George Sinclair was powerfully built, bull strong in his six foot tall,
two hundred and thirty pounds of liquor induced rage. Hair dark as night, peppered with just the right amount of grey, those who didn't really know him, considered him handsome. However his dark coloring, narrow suspicious eyes, and cold manner made him look more evil and forbidding than handsome.

"Aaah why-y-y? Why hmmm? You know how to treat a man don't you? Come on Lena, show her how to treat me. Show this whore how a man should be treated!"

"Nooo!! Please don’t do this!! I beg you!" Lena screamed, sobbing as she yanked downward trying to break free.

"Stop that screaming! You hear me!! Who do you think you are!? You came to me! If you did not want it…you would not have come for it!"

"I beg you, stop this sir! Look what you’ve done to her! What kind of man would do such a thing, please, please – I beg you, stop before you kill her! Let me go!" Lena tried to sit her weight to the floor to pull free but he only yanked her back up to him.

"How dare you speak to me that way wench! This is my home! I do what it is my will to do! And you, yes... what I will to do, includes you! You are going to do as I say, you hear ... or do you wish to look like this." He pulled his wife up by her hair for Lena to see, then threw her to the side where she stayed motionless against the wall.

Yanking Lena up by the hair against the wall, he began kissing her harshly, Lena struggle with him, trying to push his face away. He only grinded his mouth harder down on hers, forcing his tongue within ... she gagged and bit it with all of her might. He snatched his mouth away with a shout. Shocked, he tasted blood and back handed her so hard she stumbled along the wall, she tried to regain her balance and run when he grabbed her hair and snatched her back. "You bitch… you'll pay for that… you will pay."

Tugging her by the hair and
grabbing Sandra as well, he dragged them both towards his room. Lena turned with her hair tightly clenched in his fist and began screaming and fighting him. Scratching his arm, digging her nails into the skin of his hand that held her hair while screaming at Sandra to fight but she had no fight in her. Lena didn't care if he had her hair; or if he pulled it out so she dropped to her knees. "Get up!! Get up damn you!!"

"Nooo!! Nooo! Sandra – do something!!”

He let go of her hair and grabbed her around the waist so fast Lena hadn't seen the move, only felt herself being lifted from the floor. She punched him in the mouth, biting and hitting him in the face to get him to drop her.

He tried to keep his face averted but she dug in fighting for her
life. Not far from the room, he kicked the door open and made it inside with them. Lena tugged at his hair, quite a few hard punch's brought blood to his nose and tears to his eyes as she continued screaming for help.

"Somebodieee help!! He-e-elp ple-e-ease!!!” No one had the nerve; she and Sandra were on their own. George kicked the door closed behind them. He came further in the room and slung Sandra to the floor. She ran forward a distance and fell crawling away, desperately seeking a corner where she drew up in a ball as if to shrink herself into it's deepness, shielding herself by covering her head with it tucked into her tightly drawn knees. Panting and weeping, praying he would go away and it would all stop, hoping to drown out the laughter of her Satan and the torture of his new victim.

He turned from the door after locking it, "You're a fighter hmm- …"

"Ple-e-ease don’t do this to me! Please don’t – I beg you-…"

"Oh no! You see my face! See what you’ve done to me?!
To me!
Look at my face wench! Look what you did, you will pay for this! Oh yes, you will! You're mine now...hit me back will you!" He spat, slapping Lena across the face as he tugged her to the bed, flinging her to the center. Lena bounced on the bed and back off the other side, springing to her feet she kept her eye on the door, praying to get to it. He lunged at her, dragging her back down to the bed. "Oh no, you have to pay for what you did to me, I mean to see what I been missing!" He ground out viciously ripping at her clothes. Lena thrashed around kicking and scratching as she screamed, "Sandra, ple-e-ease – help me! Help me Sandra – ple-e-ease!" Fighting so hard her energy was close to being spent, a lucky kick knocked him back off the bed to the other side opposite of the door.

Lena leapt from the bed as George dived again to his stomach and grabbed for her, catching only the tail end of her house robe that he yanked trying to bring her back to him as he worked his knees beneath him.

Lena shrugged her shoulders letting him have the robe as she dashed onward to reach the door. In a rage of frustration he ran and stumbled off the bed. Lena, screaming and crying hysterically could not get the key to turn, by the time she had, with the door almost open to run, his hand grabbed a hand full of her gown and hair, yanking her back in the room. Lena held onto the door knob, "Somebodieee – hee-e-elp ple-e-e-ease! Nooooo! Nooooo! Noooooo!!" tears rolled as she felt a portion of her hair tear away from her scalp. With a roar of anger, he knocked her back and slammed the door again. Her gown was ripped in the struggle, he was too powerful. Gritting his teeth in fury, he knocked Lena to the floor with her gown ripped down the back.

She was all screamed out, no breath left in her
body as she made to crawl away. He grabbed her and slammed her onto her back on the floor, ripping the gown from her body as she landed. With a growl, like the animal he was, he landed heavily on top of her, grabbing at her flaying hands. "Got'cha now! Got'cha now! Got something for you… got it right here…I been wanting to do this for a long time, ju-u-ust a, minute." He grunted, yanking at his pants front to release himself. Lena's head shook with terror, from somewhere she managed to let out one more scream for help.

"Sandraaa! Nooo, no no no – ple-e-ase God – help me – noooo.”

Back to the present…

Lena stopped, Manny's hand gripped her thigh, squeezing – he needed her to stop. They sat still as she wiped at her eyes. Manny finally looked at her, "Come here." He rasped through an emotion clogged throat.

Lena went to him. He pulled her onto his lap, sitting back and held her there. Minutes ticked by as they held onto each other, she could tell he wasn't ready to hear more, not yet, she could feel his body trembling with suppressed rage and anguish. His arms felt like iron bands around her. He rocked her, or rocked himself…she knew not which. She knew was best to remain quiet, giving him time to digest what she had told him. He laid his head back as his jaw worked trying to bring his pounding heart under control.

Although in his lap, Lena grew afraid that things would never be the same between them. "I tried to stop him ...Manny ...I tried to fight him ... but ...he...he -…" She cried in regret.

"Sh sh sh…just… give me a moment more…just a – moment more okay. Just… give me a minute." He whispered, holding her.

Manny bit into his tongue hard enough to draw blood but it was useless; it didn't stop his tears of helpless rage. He summoned the force to absorb her pain; he tried to take every shudder of her body with his own. Never had he felt so powerless, so helpless. George Sinclair was dead. How could one kill a man already dead? Manny hurt in a way he hadn't in a long time. He felt like bellowing from the pain.

Someone had hurt his Lena. He wanted to hurt back, he wanted to rip into flesh, the flesh of George Sinclair, he wanted to feel and hear his bones snap, while he screamed in sheer agony, taking him beyond the realm of death, yet allowing him to live forever - distorted and maimed. He didn't deserve to die; death was too good for him. Justice for him should have been to live forever in a world of physical torment. They sat there on the sofa for what seemed hours, but it was only moments.