Part 5

Josh's POV

"Well, well, well," my mom smirked.

"Look what the cat dragged in," my dad smirked as he held on to a crying Michael.

"What are you doing with him?!" I asked. "Let him go!"

"Listen here," my dad said, walking towards me which allowed me to smell the alcohol on his breath. "I'm tired of you trying to protect your little brother."

My eyes widened.

"That's right, we've noticed that you keep him hidden away," my dad said.

"Leave Michael alone, he's just a kid," I said.

"Who said I had to take orders from you?" my dad snapped.

"I'm not ordering you to do anything, I'm simply asking you to leave Michael alone. He's only six years old for crying out loud," I said.

"And what's your point?" my dad asked.

"He's six and already prefers being at school because he can't stand being at the house, " I said.

"Stop it!" my mom said.

"Why?! What I'm saying is true!" I yelled.

My dad lunged towards me and I ran to Michael. I tore him out of our mom's grip and he ran to his room.

"You little son of a bitch!" my dad growled.

My mom, who I was still standing next to, grabbed me by my ear and dragged me around the house. After making sure I hit almost everything, it was my dad's turn. He grabbed my ankle and dragged me to the door to the basement. My mom swung the door open and my dad drug me down the cold concrete stairs. I winced as my head hit the bottom step and my dad yanked me through the basement. Finally, he let me go and left to grab a torture device. I tried to escape until my mom grabbed the same ankle my dad had held onto and she yanked it. Hearing a pop and a yelp, my mom let it go. Meanwhile, my dad came back with a smirk.

"What do we have tonight?" my mom asked.

"Leather belt, three inches thick," my dad said, handing it to her. "And I have a horsewhip."

"This is going to be fun," my mom smirked.

And that's when the torture started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About an hour later, they were done. My mom gave my dad the belt back and he went to take care of it and the whip. They then left me in the basement. I waited a few minutes for my head to stop throbbing before I slowly stood up and walked up the stairs.

Once I was at the top of the stairs, I shut the basement door then went up more stairs to my room. Feeling too weak to get into a pair of pajamas, I laid on my bed.

"Josh," I heard Michael's voice say.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Can I sleep with you tonight? I'm scared," Michael said.

"Of course bud, " I said, patting the spot next to me.

Michael crawled in bed with me and before I knew it, he was sleeping. Then before I knew it, my eyes closed and I was in a deep sleep.