Curious

Clad

"Go on, read the words aloud."

The voice boomed through the abandoned basement.

A tremor racked my small frame.

"READ THE DAMN WORDS, THEODORE! FUCK—FUCK, YOU MADE ME DO IT NOW! YOU MADE ME BE AS THE UNSCRUPULOUS WOMAN YOU CAME FROM!"

"I—I..." I couldn't speak.

How could a seven-year-old boy speak up to a man whose very presence made the air too thick to breathe?

"You what?" he snarled.

"Kneel. Right now."

His voice cut through the air like steel.

Instinct made me look up — a mistake. My eyes locked with his, pleading, begging.

I knew what came next.

I always knew.