Celebrate Me Home

Cassie Martin was restless. Anxiety and the impossible heat, and humidity gathered forces to prevent her from sleeping. She grabbed the clock on the wicker nightstand next to her bed, the hands glowed in the dark and pointed to three. It seemed an eternity until daylight. She fumbled for a rubber band on the nightstand to fasten her long auburn hair at the nape of her neck. Feeling hot and miserable, she abandoned any further attempts to sleep and got out of bed. She fanned the hem of her yellow pajama top but the effort was useless. The two windows in the bedroom were wide open and offered little relief in the way of a breeze. It was a typical summer night in Florida. Cassie glanced out at the perfect full moon and then to the twin bed opposite hers, feeling amazed at how her older sister, Patsy, managed to sleep through anything.

The hardwood floors beneath her bare feet held the heat and dampness that permeated the old, two-story, wooden house, as she paced methodically like a cat. Her mind retraced the last few hours... the unmerciful battle-- the terrifying and incessant beating at the hand of her father-- followed by the piercing cries of pain from her mother. The act was not unfamiliar, but the silence that remained was unnerving. Cassie felt a compulsion to do something. She stopped pacing to lean against the doorjamb, listening for a sound, any utterance from the room across the hall. An infinite silence prevailed.

Bending down on hands and knees, Cassie began to crawl down the small dark hallway, careful not to make a sound as she passed her parent's bedroom door. Her heartbeat drummed with a thunder in her ears as she crept on to the end of the hall.

Sitting on the floor outside her brother's bedroom door, she leaned back against the wall to contemplate her next move. Her father was a huge man, well over six feet tall and two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. She knew it was a ridiculous thought that she alone at fourteen, could defend her mother, but she had to try. During these nights of aggression, Cassie lay awake, instinctively bracing herself, grief stricken for her mother as she heard each thrust delivered. All of them had been casualties of his abusive nature, but she never understood why, and that fact frightened and angered her most of all.

Cassie reached up to wrap her hand around the doorknob. The trepidation she felt caused beads of perspiration to surface on her face and arms. She opened the door quietly, painfully aware that the slightest noise could cause her father to emerge like a raging bull, making her the next victim. She closed the door behind her and crawled to the end of her brother’s bed. A dim light from a small lamp on the nightstand filled the room.

Cassie was not surprised to find him awake, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Josh-- I'm scared. It's too quiet," she barely whispered.

"I know, Cassie, I’ve been thinking the same thing," he sighed. His six foot, three inch frame filled the small room as he stood up and stepped over to the window. As he peered through the glass, he slid his hands in the back pockets of his cutoff jeans, his normal sleeping attire in summer.

"Something's wrong. I have a real bad feeling this time. There has to be someone that can help us."

Josh turned to look at her and whispered, "Help? Where? Come on, Cass, you know there's not a damn thing we can do," he emphasized, "you do know that."

"Josh, this has got to stop. He can't keep getting away with this. I think we should call the sheriff."

"Are you kidding... in this town? They won't get involved and you know it. Besides, it would only cause more problems for mom, and us." Josh raised a hip to rest on the edge of the windowsill, folding his arms in front of his chest.

Cassie rubbed the tears that stung with the heels of her hands. "Josh, she might need a doctor. What if we pass this off and then find out later we could’ve done something? I could never forgive myself. Could you?"

Shaking his head, Josh stood up and faced the window again, "Okay, Cassie-- Okay. Just give me a minute to think this through."

Relieved at handing off the decisions to him, she sat on the floor and leaned back against the bed, watching him.

Josh drew a deep breath from the abysmal pit of his stomach, feeling frustrated and helpless, knowing he’d been down this road before. His mind rattled-- Damn Cassie-- you’re just not thinking straight! Well aware that the fallout from what they were considering was dangerous; heavy decisions for a boy of fifteen. He struggled for a rational approach while weighing the tremendous guilt he had at the thought of doing nothing. The empathy he felt for his mother was standing in the way of any logical conclusions, because this time, he had a bad feeling too. With arms stretched out, he rested his hands on the windowsill, staring down at the street lamp below. The thick humidity formed a nimbus around the light; oddly reflecting his present mood while his mind played a tug of war with his emotions-- Maybe I could crawl in there, just to see if mom’s okay-- No-- better not-- if dad’s awake I’d be crucified-- He’d hear me if I used the phone-- Oh man-- you are one sorry bastard-- Standing straight, Josh rubbed his forehead in frustration. Okay--Okay--this isn’t helping-- think, damn you, think! He glanced out the window again and noticed the kitchen light on in the house next door. I could call and say that I’d heard screaming-- just maybe-- Poor, Katie, I’ll have to use her phone-- He turned around to grab his sneakers and noticed that his sister had fallen asleep on the floor.

A few seconds later he was on his feet, popping out the screen. He climbed out the window onto the porch roof, thinking-- God, help us if this doesn’t work, Cassie--God, help us all.