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Author's Chapter Notes:
I realized I never did the disclaimer thing, so here it is - I don't own anything. Thanks again to Jess!
Chapter Four

Over the next few days, we tried to make our room more comfortable. We unpacked our belongings, putting up our personal effects to try to make it more like our bedrooms at home rather than a prison cell. Pictures of dad and the rest of us on family vacations at Disney World and the beach were placed on the nightstand, bureaus and desk. Dawn and Connor’s favorite stuffed animals sat on the bed, as well as my favorite stuffed pig Mr. Gordo. A Ramones poster was taped to the closet door by Will. True to her word, Dru had Adam bring us a refrigerator where we stored water, soda, fruit and other snacks. I hated to admit that it wasn’t that bad once these items were in place, but at least it seemed livable.

After three days, mother finally made an appearance. As soon as the door opened and we knew who it was, we all ran to her to give her a hug. Dawn and Connor’s cries of “Mommy! Mommy!” were music to my ears. We didn’t notice her wince when we hugged her but Drusilla would be sure to let us know of her pain.

“Joyce, show them your back so they will not have to learn their lesson the hard way.”

“Mother, I will not!” My mother seemed outraged at this suggestion.

“Please dear. You don’t want your own children to suffer the same fate as you. This will teach them obedience without them having to be broken down. Besides, I told them that your punishment would be used as an example of what they may expect.” There was too much pleasure in Drusilla’s voice when she said those last words.

“Fine.” Mother seemed exasperated. “Kids, I don’t want you to be alarmed and I also don’t want to hear that this ever happened to you. So please, follow your grandmother’s rules and everything will be ok.” While she talked, mother unbuttoned her shirt. Once the task was complete, she turned her back to us and lowered the garment to reveal long puffy gashes all over her back – whip marks. We could see that some of them were already healed, leaving the skin discolored in blue and red hues. But the deeper gashes looked raw and very painful, some with pus still oozing from the wounds.

An angry outburst to my left brought me out of my horror. “What have you done to my mother?” Will yelled while barreling towards Drusilla. Adam quickly jumped in between them and easily held William at bay. Drusilla’s icy smile was in place when she backhanded Will hard across the cheek. Blood spilled from where her large diamond ring connected with Will’s face.

“Enough!” Drusilla’s eyes burned with fire as she took her time to look at each one of us. “I think I made myself perfectly clear as to what would happen to you if you did not obey the rules of this house. Your mother got the punishment that she deserved, twenty lashes with a switch for each year she defied her grandfather’s rules. I will not hesitate to lay a switch to any of you if I feel you have been disobedient. You must learn respect and if we have to do that the hard way then we will.” Despite the fire in her eyes, her words were cold. “Adam, come. Let’s give Joyce some time alone with her bastard children.”

I had no time to be angry at grandmother’s bastard comment as my only concern was for Will. Both mom and I rushed over to him as soon as the door closed. Of course, he leaned into mother. “Elizabeth, go get some antiseptic and a bandage from the bathroom. Help me get William cleaned up.” When I returned, mom tended to Will’s cut just as she would have when we were younger. The gentle mother of our youth was back.

Once finished, she hugged the twins and gathered us all on the beds. “I know this isn’t exactly what we all expected, but mother says that until I spend some more time with father, you being in the house should remain a secret. I don’t think it should take me long to gain father’s love again. As you know, Ethan is very sick and eager to make amends. I’ve already been spending time with him by reading to him every night before bed. I think within six months you should be able to get out of this room. We’ll get you all enrolled in school and everything will be back to normal. You just need to be patient for six months and follow Dru’s rules. I don’t want you being punished.” Her voice was laced with concern.

“I have a secret though to help you make it through the coming months. Behind the desk, there is a panel. If you push at the knot in the wood, it opens up to a staircase that leads to the attic. It runs the length of the whole wing and there are all sorts of things up there. Books and clothes, I think there may even be a bar up there for you to practice dancing Elizabeth. I think you’ll find a lot to keep you entertained. Plus there’s a lock on the inside so no one can go up there if you don’t want them to. And the best part is that your grandmother won’t go up there, she’s claustrophobic and afraid of the narrow stairway. Use the attic as your sanctuary. I know I did when I used to live here.”

“Mommy, when are we going to see you again?” Dawn interrupted mother’s talk of this supposed gift she was giving us.

“Oh, Dawnie. I don’t know. I’m going to try to come at least once a week. It really just depends on how much time I spend with Ethan. Hopefully, I can see you quite often. But even if I don’t come, know that I love you and everything that I’m doing that’s keeping me away from you is because I love you. You will all be in my hearts always. These next few months are going to be trying, but we will come out of this stronger than ever. I promise you.” She said this in such a caring tone, but her words seemed hollow. She was already making excuses for not coming by often.

“What if six months isn’t enough time?” I asked skeptically.

“Elizabeth, I am doing this for your benefit. I will evaluate how close we are then and determine whether we should continue this plan or start thinking of another. Just remember I will have your best interests in mind.” She was clearly irritated with my questioning of the plan and her previously caring tone was quickly replaced with indignation.

“Like now? You think this tiny room with bars on the window and an attic is in our best interest? What about school, going outside, seeing other people our own ages?” I pushed back. Mother was not the one suffering, we were and if she couldn’t see that, I would make her see it.

“Stop it Elizabeth!” William yelled at me. He grabbed my arm and spoke harshly. “We already had this conversation, didn’t we?”

I stared at him feeling both angry with him for taking her side, and guilty because of the twins. But it was mom who spoke next, “Elizabeth, I understand how you feel but you have to believe I’m doing this for us. We have to stick together in this. We cannot turn on each other; otherwise we’ll never survive. This is our time of sacrifice and then life will be better than ever afterward. You guys need to take care of each other and my thoughts of you will get me through the days. I love you all more than anything.” She was pleading now with tears in her eyes.

“I’ve got to go now but please remember what I’ve said and use the attic as your haven.” She kissed us all on the cheeks and once again, we were alone.

Will and I got the twins into bed and then he dragged me into the bathroom to defend mother. “Why do you doubt her so much? She’s our mother Elizabeth. She’s not going to hurt us. It’s grandmother who’s punishing us.”

“How can you say that? Can’t you see how she’s changed since dad died? I know Drusilla is evil but mom should be able to stand up to her.”

“You saw mom’s back. She’s trying to protect us by doing what grandmother says. She doesn’t want us to get hurt.”

“I just don’t understand why we have to stay locked in this room like we don’t exist. This isn’t healthy for the twins or us.” Will had to realize this plan was insane.

“Once she gets back into Ethan’s good graces, everything will be fine. We can come out of hiding and we’ll be a family again. Six months is not that long.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself as he stood up from the edge of the counter and began to leave the room.

As he got to the door, I said to him just barely above a whisper, “I hope you’re right William.” He hesitated for only a second and let out a small sigh before walking out of the bathroom, the only sign I had that he heard me at all.





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