FicWad

April 22, 1979


The ever increasing volume broke him out of his reverie. Putting his book aside, Ray headed into the hallway to see if things were really as bad as they sounded.

They were.

The girls were peeking wide-eyed over the banister, little Sophie crouching at the top of the stairs as if she couldn’t decide whether she ought to venture down or not.

“What’s going on,” he asked as the angry shouts from the kitchen grew louder.

“They’re fighting again,” Sophie whispered, her voice choked. “I knew this would happen. I had a bad dream. Daddy’s going to leave and it’s all my fault…”

While he had his suspicions about both Derrick’s motives and Sophie’s nightmares, Ray decided to opt for the path of neutrality.

“It’s not your fault Sophie. No matter what happens, it isn’t going to be your fault. Not now; not ever, okay?”

“But it is,” she insisted passionately. “It is! It’s because I’m different, like you used to be!”

That left him silent for a moment. The past-tense still struck a nerve, but Sophie’s acknowledgement of her own abilities hit even closer. As long as he could do something about it, there was no way she was going to grow up alone the way he had, with only her secret for company.

“It still isn’t your fault. If your daddy can’t deal with you having a special gift, then that’s his shortcoming, not yours.” Stooping, he kissed her head and gave the smaller girls each a pat on the shoulder. “You three stay here. I’m gonna go call a time-out, okay?”

Each nodded and mumbled a tiny, bewildered “okay”. Turning, he crept downstairs towards the site of the battle. Approaching the swinging kitchen door, the muffled words became clearer.

“NO! Either they go, or I go!” Derrick was shouting, his deep baritone voice booming off the tile floor and wooden cabinets. “I’m willing to make allowances for a child, she doesn’t know any better, but she’s got to go to a special school, take medication, get counseling, something! As for that freak of a brother of yours—“

Leah cut him off, rage shrilling her voice to the timbre of an over-heated teakettle. “Don’t call him that! He’s not a freak! He couldn’t help the way he was any more than Sophie can help the way she is! He’s been through what she’s going through, no one knows better than he does what kind of help she needs! Our parents almost killed him because they didn’t want to believe the truth! She doesn’t need medication or counseling, she needs training! And I want Ray to stay and teach her!”

“I said, NO,” Derrick barked. “He’s well enough he can go out and find his own place. I will not have that demented,” he stammered for a moment, apparently having trouble finding a suitable epitaph, “fairy in my house another minute! Aren’t you worried about your own daughter?! I don’t know how you can trust him alone with our chil—“

The last syllable was hacked off by a vicious SLAP.

“How dare you,” Leah’s voice was quiet and deadly calm. “How dare you accuse him. How dare you even think of something like that! Ray is my brother and he is the kindest, most gentle man on earth. You know perfectly well he’d never lay a hand on them. Why he’d sooner slit his own throat than see the girls harmed! As for what he may or may not have done behind closed doors, that is certainly none of your affair! As long as he’s lived under my roof he’s been a perfect gentleman to my girls and to everyone else, so you just bite your tongue, Derrick Langlon. I will not stand here and listen to you slander my family with groundless accusations!”

“SHUT UP!” Derrick bellowed, lunging and seizing Leah by the upper arms. She immediately raised her small fists to defend herself, canines bared, when Ray pushed the door open the rest of the way and knocked lightly.

“Hey guys, you’re scaring the kids,” he said mildly, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. “Everything okay? Anything I can do?”

His entrance had the desired effect. Derrick had all but dropped Leah on the floor and had taken a full pace back. However, his anger was still boiling and with a new target presenting itself to so readily, he turned his fury on Ray.

“Yes,” Derrick growled. “Pack your bags and get out. I don’t want you in my house a minute longer.”

“Don’t you listen to him!” Leah snapped. “Ray,” she stated more calmly, “please stay as long as you like.”

“Look, I’m not trying to cause problems—“ Ray began.

“Well you are!” Derrick shouted, his face so close to Ray’s that his breath left steam on his glasses lenses, before rounding on Leah again. “I told you before, either he goes, or I go!”

Leah gave a derisive “hmph” in answer to Derrick’s threat. “Go, then! See if I care!”

Without another word, Derrick roughly shoved Ray out of the way and into the kitchen table as he stormed out into the hall. Ray hoped the girls had sense to run back to their rooms. However, there was one girl who still needed his attention. Leah had sunk into one of the kitchen chairs, a strained look on her face and her breath coming in panted gasps.

“You okay?” he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah,” she nodded, enough conviction in her voice that he half-believed her. “I’ll be all right. When he calms down, he’ll listen to reason.”

Ray had his doubts about that. Upstairs, the sounds of innocent furniture being unfairly abused as Derrick packed was clearly audible. He seemed to be taking a long time. At length the walls shuddered making the shelves clatter as Derrick thundered down the stairs. Without stopping for so much as a goodbye, he pushed through the kitchen and out the back door, suitcase in one hand, and dragging something else in the other.

“MOMMY!” Sophie screamed, pulling with all her tiny might against her father’s grip.

Her mother echoed her panicked cry. “SOPHIE!”

Ray was on his feet and out the door before his sister had even stood. Darting in front of her enraged husband, he stood blocking the path that led toward the garage.

“Hold on a second, Derrick, don’t you think you’d better leave Sophie here?” he asked, the question light and friendly.

Rather than release his daughter, Derrick let the suitcase fall.

“Listen you perverted little mental case,” he growled, advancing a step into Ray’s personal space. “I am not letting you destroy this family. My daughter needs help, not your brainwashing. I am not going to let you warp her the same way those faggot friends of yours warped you.”

Given the situation, Ray forced himself to let the remark slide. Backing down was not an option.

“You know how my dad exaggerates,” he offered congenially. “I’m not trying to do anything other than help Sophie learn to use her gift. That’s all. So why don’t you just let her stay here. I’ll even go and stay at mom and dad’s place tonight, that way you won’t have to wor—“ He got no further. Derrick had seized him by the throat.

“Nice try, but your little Jedi mind tricks aren’t going to work on me.”

Ray would have liked to remind him that he was no longer able to employ Jedi mind tricks, but was too busy choking for air. Derrick’s thick fingers pressed unpleasantly into the heavy scar tissue masking the Rainbow as well as his windpipe, making his struggle for air doubly difficult.

“Some hero,” he smirked. “Dangling and wiggling like a worm on a hook. That’s all you are, really. Just a sick kid pretending to be something he isn’t.”

Derrick’s handsome, tanned face had softened from its enraged glare into a cold, self-satisfied smirk. Ray knew that look entirely too well.

“Just like when your dad brought you before the church elders to have you exorcised.” Derrick said, talking more to himself than the smaller man struggling for air beneath his fingers. “I was just an assistant pastor back then. We never did get to finish.”

Panic, cold and crawling, began to form in the pit of Ray’s stomach. Oh God, he wouldn’t. Except Ray knew perfectly well that he would.