Juliana Cade

The Begining

                          Johnny's POV

     I jolted upright in my bed to the sound of my parents arguing and a glass bottle shattering against a wall. Surprisingly, this was already considered a good day. Just yelling and nothing else was all I ever asked for. It's good, but for one reason only. Some days, at random, Dad will barge into my room and beat me senseless. It doesn't matter what time it is, what day it is, what holiday it is. I get beat every day almost, except for when it was Christmas. Christmas is the only holiday where he'll lay off a little, but not by much. It don't matter how drunk or how high he is, he just beats me until I can't even move. He never cared anyway so why does it matter that he hits me? I really do hate it at home.

     I sighed and rubbed the sleep out of me eyes. Everything seemed to be going like normal. But the yelling seemed off, like it was a serious fight and not just a fight about nothing like the other times. From the yelling I could hear some words that've never really been yelled back and fourth before. I heard a few words but most of it was inaudible through the walls. I held my head against the wall and tried to listen harder.

     I just heard stuff like "baby", "Little shit", "It's not yours, either!", "you whore!" "fuck you!" and a whole lot more I choose not to say. This was definitely one of the oddest arguments I've heard in this house by far. I pulled my head back and sat there thinking. Why are they arguing this time?

     I got out of bed and quickly got dressed, my limp made it hard but I managed. This time I had to wear a grey t-shirt 'cause the brown one had too many holes in it to be considered a shirt any more. Quickly, I searched my room for a clean-ish pair of jeans and changed into them. Right as I picked up my jean jacket off the floor Ma yelled throughout the house. Her scratchy voice made me flinch.

     "Johnny, get your fugly ass down here right now!" Her voice was so scratchy from all of those cigarettes. I shrugged on my jacket and slowly made my way down the stairs, preparing myself to get beaten and yelled at like they always do to me. Ma and Dad would argue and then one of them would beat me for no apparent reason other than they want to. They never cared anyway. I'll probably just crash at the Curtis house tonight. Just from the way Ma yelled, I knew it wasn't going to be a safe idea to stay for a day or two. Hell, sometimes I don't come back for a whole week, they don't care.

Making my way down the stairs ,I saw Dad pacing around the room while Ma just glared at him on the couch. A glass bottle was shattered in one corner of the room, staining the paint and carpet with whatever was left in there. Ma glared at me when she finally noticed me. I gulped.

     "Yes, Ma?" My voice was shaky, I'm surprised the words even came out. I was so scared. They just beat me the other day, I don't want to get beat again. Ma rolled her eyes at my question before speaking, obviously pissed off about something I didn't know about.

"We gotta talk, Johnathan." She started, all while the fire in here eyes burnt through my soul. "I'm just gonna cut to the chase...I cheated on your father, again, and I'm pregnant again. I don't want the little shit and neither does your father. So it's gonna be your responsibility, you'll be the one to take care of it if ya want. Hell, burn it for all I care, even give it up to the state! I don't give a damn what you do, I just don't wanna see this little shit after it's born. Got it?!" She snarled. The look in her eyes was enough to kill, not to mention her voice.

I stayed quiet looking at my shoes, contemplating if I should really do what I was about to do. I stood there and kept nodding my head, absorbing all of this brand new information. What she said defiantly shocked me, but not at the fact she was pregnant and cheated. All of that happened all too much. She's cheated too many times to count and she's gotten pregnant once before. She didn't care just like with this one and lost the baby from drugs.

     He was a still-born. My brother died about a year and a half ago. Ma and Dad didn't care about him, not even enough to name him. I named him Jared Anthony Cade. The day Jared was born and the doctors said he died, she smiled so wide. It scared me that she was happy that day, so were the doctors. They were more concerned than scared. I was just shocked from what she had said about the baby. I knew it would get her upset but I had to keep asking questions. It was a shock she hasn't throw me out yet. That was bound to happen.

     "H-how far along are you?" I stuttered. She was a scary women, to say the least. Saying I was scared was an understatement, I was terrified. Ma rolled her eyes before answering my question. She was clearly livid yet I'll never know how she kept it in.

"Four months or somethin'. Prolly gonna be born 'round October." She huffed. I knew what was about to be said next, well...I knew to an extent on what she was going to complain about. She did it last year with Jared.

     "Wanna know what's the worst 'bout this whole thing?! I can't even drink or anythin', I mean ya, I've laid off a lot ever since I found out but I still have another five fucking months of Hell!" She said. Her teeth were clenched as she spoke. I was visibly shaking, I'm sure.

'Of course! All she's ever gonna do is complain that she can't get drunk or high until the baby is born! Of course that's all she cares about! What else would she give a rats ass about?! Me?! The baby?! Nope only booze, drugs and money, OF COURSE THATS ALL IT IS!' I wanted to scream at her. Tell her how instead of worrying about that stuff she should be worrying about me and my future baby brother or sister. But I couldn't, that would probably get me killed. Despite how mad, scared, or fed up I was, I had to keep trying to get as much information as I could possibly get without upsetting Ma even more.

     "H-How long have you known?" Again, she rolled her eyes annoyed before answering the question. I was treading on thin ice, maybe even walking on water.

     "How the Hell should I know?!" She got angrier as she talked. Her fists were clenched so tight that her knuckles were white. Dad left to the bar while we were talking, which was good and bad. Ma glared at me and stood. Her eyes said it loud and clear. I already knew what that meant just from past experience, but I fought me off guard every time.

     "Now get out of here!" She yelled, and boy you didn't need to tell me twice. I rushed through the house into the kitchen grabbing an apple and bolted out the door. Standing on the sidewalk outside my house, I started heading in the direction towards the Curtis house. And boy do I have some drama to tell when I get there!