6 – Unleashing the Beast

The next fight they had would mark the beginning of their war that would rage for the years to come. It was the Friday before the fourth of July weekend and it all started out rather innocently. Marcus came home with a bunch of groceries, declaring that he was planning on having a few of his friends over for a barbecue on Sunday.

"Is she gonna come?" was my mom's first question.

"Who?" Though he played ignorant, his lips were puckered and I couldn't shake the feeling that he knew exactly what my mom was getting at.

"Kerry."

The name hung over the kitchen like a nuclear cloud.

"Yeah, she's coming." He slammed the can of beans onto the counter. "For the record, she's one of my oldest friends. I'm not gonna stop inviting her because you don't like her."

"Like her?" My mom's voice was shrill and I instinctively covered my ears, though her loud words still made it through. "I fucking despise that bitch. I don't want her in my house."

"Chantal." The darkness in Marcus's eyes made me cringe. "This is not your house. You're not contributing anything to this relationship, so do yourself a favor and shut up."

"I'm your fucking wife." My mom kicked hard against the kitchen cabinet. "I demand some respect."

Marcus snorted. "Respect is something you earn, my dear." His gaze flit around the kitchen. "Look at this place. You're totally worthless. The dishes are still around from last night's dinner and you haven't even bothered starting the laundry. Face it, Chantal. You're a slob and don't deserve anyone's respect."

"I hate you." My mom's voice was trembling as she fought with her tears. "I bet you're still screwing her."

A sly smile crawled on Marcus's lips. "So what if I am?" He laughed. "What are you gonna do, Chantal? Leave me." His arms spread out in an inviting gesture. "Go right ahead. See if I care."

The smack of the slap that landed on Marcus's cheek went straight to the core of my bones. I stared at my mom with wide eyes before gazing at him. His face was absolutely thunderstruck.

"Bitch, did you just seriously slap me?" The words were so cold that they froze my blood. His fingers wrapped around my mom's throat and he lifted her up without any effort. Her body flew across the kitchen and crashed into the wall next to the trash can. She couldn't keep her balance and toppled to the floor, taking the bin with her. The garbage spilled out and covered half her body.

Marcus chuckled. "There you have it. Trash belongs to trash."

"Arghh." My mom was back on her feet. Without hesitation, she lunged at Marcus.

He blocked her punch, his fist burying itself in her stomach. When she doubled over and gasped for air, I wanted to scream, but my vocal cords were paralyzed. In absolute horror, I watched as he tossed her across the floor once again. This time, he followed. As he kicked the shit out of her, her crying and pleading was ignored.

My voice finally returned. "STOP! You're hurting my mommy!"

He gazed at me through cloudy eyes—it was as if he was in a daze.

After that, the whole kitchen disappeared behind a curtain of tears. I jumped up and ran into my room, slamming the door behind me. Sobs battled my body when I slumped onto the bed. I was utterly confused. Though I blamed my mom for hitting Marcus, I was scared out of my mind that he kicked her so much. What if he really hurt her? What if she had to go back to the hospital, or worst yet, what if she died?

"Patrice." Marcus's knocks on the door were insistent. "Can I please come in?"

"Go away!" I yelled through my hiccups.

His head poked around the door before I could even take another breath. "Please, honey, we'll have to talk about this."

I nodded but scooted away when he sat down on my bed.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that, Patrice. My dad used to beat my mom and I know how scary it is."

A few tears rolled down my cheeks. "Why did you hurt my mommy?"

"I'm sorry"—his fingers played with the tips of my cornrows—"but it was your mom's fault. She made me angry. I know it's difficult to understand, Patrice, but some women don't know when to stop. They want you to hit them because that's all they understand."

Fresh tears filled by eyes. "Will you hit me, too, when I don't behave?"

"Never." He pulled me against his shoulder, stroking my trembling back. "I love you, Patrice. I'll never hurt you."

I was still really confused but had to admit that my mom was really mean to him, too.

"Look." His thumb wiped away a few of my tears. "I'll give you some space, so you can calm down. I'm in my study if you need to talk."

"Okay." All of a sudden, I had the urge to check on my mom. When I tried to get up, he looked at me with questioning eyes.

"Do you need anything else?"

"I want to see how my mom is."

"Oh, honey, your mom left. She's probably getting drunk somewhere."

I stared at him. "She left and didn't even tell me."

"That's your mom for you. Always thinking of herself first." When he saw more tears, he pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Patrice. I promise we'll get through this."

I nodded. I hated my mom for just disappearing on me—she didn't even bother to check if I was okay. I felt like a reject and it stung.

Later that night, my mom's scream awoke me. It was only brief and at first, I thought I had been dreaming, but then I heard Marcus hissed voice through the wall.

"I warned you, Chantal. From here on in, I'm the only one who will get some respect around here. If you don't obey and live by my rules, I'll take away everything and that includes the kids. No judge in their right mind will give an alcoholic and former drug addict custody. I will destroy you, Chantal. You'll be lucky if you don't end up in the gutter when I'm through with you."

My mom's whimper was the only response. The whole incident upset me again, but I was too exhausted to get out of bed and snoop. When the front door slammed, I wasn't even sure if Marcus left or my mom. In a sense, it didn't matter. Those were adult problems, way too complicated for me to handle. Best to just stay out of it.

~~~~

The next day, my mom raged when Marcus wasn't around, throwing things and constantly mumbling threats of what she would do to him. Yet, as soon as he walked through the door and glared at her, she shut up. I was walking on eggshells, afraid to set one of them off. Hiding in my room appeared to be my best option, and I only ventured outside to pee and grab a snack.

On the 4th of July, Marcus woke me up early, in the best of spirits. "You wanna help me prepare for the barbecue?"

I nodded eagerly. When we came into the kitchen, I noticed it was spotless. There was no sign of my mom.

Marcus had to have noticed my puzzled eyes. "Your mom went with Alyssa to your grandparents and won't be back until later."

That stung even more. She didn't say goodbye and only cared about my sister. If I didn't have Marcus, I would be all alone.

The morning flew by and the first guests arrived when Marcus was just starting the grill. I was in the kitchen, slicing tomatoes, and a knock on the open kitchen door had me look up.

"Need some help?"

I frowned at the lady. She was maybe a few years younger than my mom with hair the color of honey and the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I liked her smile, though I was leery of her at the same time. My mom wasn't fond of white women in general, always complaining that they stole eligible black men away. I had no idea what that meant, but figured it wasn't a good thing.

Since she was friends with Marcus, I wanted to be polite. "Sure. I still need to wrap the potatoes."

She grabbed the pack of aluminum foil before swinging herself onto the barstool in front of the bowl of potatoes. "I'm Kerry, by the way."

I froze as my jaw dropped. Quickly, I diverted my gaze back on the tomato in front of me, hoping she hadn't noticed my utter shock.

"So your dad told me you just switched schools to Lessing Academy. How do you like it?"

"It's tough." When I cut the next tomato slice, my hands were shaking so hard that the knife almost caught my finger.

"Yeah, I struggled for a while but got my grades up in the end. Teachers there can be pretty demanding."

"Did you go there?"

"Oh yes." She smiled at me. "Didn't your dad tell you? I was the one who recommended the school and also made sure you got this house. Properties in this area are hard to get and you have to know the right people."

I was wondering if she was rich but was too afraid to ask her. "So how do you know my dad?"

"We went to college together at Northwestern." The last potato disappeared into the foil. "Well, I'll better go and check if your dad needs anything. Why don't you join us when you're done with the salad?"

"Do you think I'm allowed?" I regarded her with big eyes. When my mom had friends over, I was always banned to my room.

"Of course. There'll be other kids, too."

I watched her as she strolled out. Everything about her was graceful, from the perfectly applied make-up down to her high heels that made her taller than my mom. I admired her looks. My mom had never made such a big deal about her appearance unless she went on a date.

The yard was full of people when I stepped out onto the terrace. To my surprise, the majority of the guests were white, although there was a family with a couple of black kids.

"Listen everyone." Marcus grabbed my hand. "This is my daughter Patrice." The pride was practically oozing out of every pore and I had never felt more important.

My cheeks stung when all the guests wanted to greet me, mumbling "hellos" while they shook my hand. Even though it was a little awkward, I also relished the attention. A few times when I gazed at Marcus, he returned the biggest smile. It felt good to be the one person in his life that made him happy.

One of his friends took over the grill and he played basketball with me and some of the other kids. By the time dinner was ready, my body was covered with a thick layer of sweat and I was panting, but Marcus's attention made all my efforts worthwhile. Though he was a good host, I was his number one priority. He cooed around me like I was a princess.

My mom showed up just as it was getting dark. She didn't even say hello, but only hauled Alyssa into the house after taking one look at Kerry. Her eyes were burning with rage, her face twisted like she was plotting a murder. She was totally exaggerating. I had watched Kerry and Marcus all afternoon, but there was nothing between them other than some friendly teasing.

Marcus was going to follow my mom, but Kerry held him back. "Let me talk to her. I don't want this to escalate."

He nodded, forcing a smile on his lips when he turned back to his colleague who had been discussing a case with him.

Curiosity grabbed a hold of me and I quietly went into the house when no one was watching. Though I knew I shouldn't eavesdrop, I was dying to know what Kerry and my mom were talking about. They were in the kitchen and my mom was already having a go at her.

"Get out of my house, bitch."

Then something smacked against the wall and the sound of breaking glass filled my ears. I took cover behind the shelf in the pantry.

"Look, Chantal, you need to calm down. Marcus has a lot of important guests out there. If you freak out, you could really hamper his career."

"Do you think I give a fuck?" My mom's speech was a little off and I was sure she had been drinking.

"Now listen." Kerry's cold voice sent shills down my spine. "I could arrest you right now for driving under the influence, but I don't want to do that to Patrice. Bad enough to have a mother who's a lousy drunk. She doesn't need to see you being dragged away in handcuffs."

"Fuck you."

"You really are trash." Kerry snorted. "And just so we're clear. I will protect Marcus, no matter what, and won't have some bitch who got pregnant on the sly destroy everything he's ever worked for. You can call the police as often as you want when he hits you, but those charges won't go anywhere. No one will ever believe you over his word."

"You're a fucking bitch."

"Shush." The word was spit like a growl. "My mom's a family court judge with a ton of friends and if push comes to shove, I'll make sure Marcus gets sole custody. You'll never see your kids again, so I suggest you get on with the program and treat him with the respect he deserves. He got you out of the ghetto, but instead of being grateful, you're just a total disgrace. For Christ's sake, do yourself a favor and get into rehab."

The last part just summed up my mom to a T. Even though I didn't like that Kerry talked to her this way, I could see she had a point. My mom was destroying Marcus, only caring about herself.

I heard someone leave and peeked around the door. My mom was slumped on the floor with her back against the refrigerator. She looked like total crap. In that moment, I felt embarrassment on top of everything else. Maybe it would be best if Marcus kicked her out and we could live as a family without her.

After that day, my mom's and my relationship was permanently damaged. Any time, I didn't like her rules, I ran to Marcus and complained. They argued constantly and there was rarely a week where he didn't punch her. After a while, I didn't even pay attention to her whining, convinced that she brought all his anger on herself with her smart mouth. I blamed her for everything and it wouldn't be until a few years later that I realized that I might have been too hard on her—but by then, it would prove to be too late.

So this was pretty much the end for Marcus's and Chantal's relationship. As you know, their war was still raging when Rena met them, but Marcus always had an ace in his pocket with the right connections. Kerry had his back, which helped cover up the abuse for all those years.

Next week, we will make a big time jump, going back to a few days after Marcus first raped fourteen year old Patrice. Hope you're still up for the ride. Share your thoughts and please don't forget the star button if this chapter deserved it. Thanks for reading :)