.self para.
TW: abuse, mental illness, violence
âChester.â
Her voice always sounded so sweet, more so in person than anything else. Itâd been two years since heâd seen his mom face to face. But seeing her now...like this? He would rather be dead then for her to see her baby crumbling right in front of her eyes. He hadnât told her any of what was going on. Heâd kept his distance, face timed her every once in a while. But he didnât want her to worry. He wanted to protect herâthatâs all he ever wanted was to protect her.
âHow many times do I have to tell you, Chester?!â His voice was deep and it tumbled in his like an earthquake.âPut your god damn video games away!â Chesterâs little chest felt as though it was caving in as his back hit the wall. He never was the biggest kid, heâd always been a little smaller than the rest of them. It was like the rapid beat of his heart and the ringing in his ears was all he could hear, but his fatherâs lips moved so fast.
âChester, hey.â
The spat out words and phrases his mother begged his father not to . âWorthless! Absolutely fucking useless around this house! When are you going to get up and fucking do something?! When are you going to start pulling your fucking weight around here?!â He was only 10, what kind of weight did he need to pull? âItâs like Iâm the only one with the capability of doing jack shit in this house. And you! Shut the fuck up Laura before I make you shut up.â He snapped at Chesterâs mom, but Ches couldnât do anything...nothing but sit there against the wall and watch his motherâs cheek turn red at the hand of his nightmare father. Nothing but watch him push her to the wall and back hand her yet again. The bruises would be bad the next morning. And he knew he was next.âDaddy stop! Please stop!â Was all he could said as he struggled to stand.
âChester, please look at me.â
âOh, so you think you can tell me what to do now too? Laura see that? First itâs you who talks back and now itâs the fuckinâ kid.â And even though he kept speaking all he got was sobs in return, from both his wife and his son. And Chester begging for him to stop.
He shouldâve shut his mouth. He should have shut the fuck up because now it was him that was feeling his fatherâs heavy, booted foot against his stomach. That was sent Chester to the floor, holding his stomach tight as he curled into himself and tried not to throw up.
âFuck the both of you.â And with that the door was slammed shut and Chester was crying in the arms of his mother once again.
âChester!â
âMom.â He snapped out of it, looking up to his mother with teary eyes.
âItâs okay, baby. Itâs okay.â Laura had her arms around him, his head in her chest as he cried. âRichie called me and told me what happened...Iâm proud of you for getting the help you needed. You made this decision...a good decision. And this was something your father couldnât do...you know he went through everything youâre going through right now?â
âHe did?â Chester looked up to his mother, Laura melting that those big sweet watery eyes. It was like she could see her little 10 year old son again, worried and scared. âHe did. He was hearing and seeing all kinds of stuff, some of which told him to kill me or you...or told him that his family was a burden or that we were worthless...he didnât want to hurt us. But that confusion mixed with that temper of his? That was a tragic combination for everyone involved. You, me, Richie, Bren, Kian...and especially Lyle...â she sighed.
âI knew he had some stuff going on his brain but...I didnât know it was that bad.â Chester felt that ping of guilt he hadnât felt before when it came to his father. âI killed him before he had a chance to figure it ouââ
âNo, Chester.â Laura cut him off and furrowed her brows.âYou killed him before he killed us...and you protected your mother. You did exactly what your instincts told you to. And you were my little hero...that night I think wouldâve been it for me or you. And you were 13 you just didnât what he taught you to be like.â She shrugged.
âBut...I donât want to be like him.â
âAnd you wonât...youâre not like him at all.â
âBut Iâm going through the exact same thing he went through. I just donât want to hurt my family, mom...I donât want to hurt Audrey.â He could hear his voice crack and his mother shushed him sweetly.
âYou are not, Lyle. You will never be like him. You have to stop worrying about what might happen and start thinking about how you can get better right now...today.â
âBut what if I canât do it, mom? What if they pump me with so many meds I canât think for myself? What if I donât remember you? What if I donât remember Audrey? What if they take him away but they take away everything else too? You canât let them take you away mom...please...â his biggest fear had always been losing the people he loved. And bigger yet, to his father. It scared the everloving fuck out of him and it seemed like it was so close to happening. Just one day of meds had him sedated and unable to do much but look out of a window. Today was the first time he felt like a person in a week, and that was only because they gave him a smaller dose. But he was still seeing him even now...standing right behind her. Heâd learn to start ignoring him. Ignoring his harsh words and temptations. But it was all too much for one man to handle. Too much for Chester to do by himself.
When his mom had to leave he could feel his heart breaking all over again, but it was time for another dose. He stared up to the ceiling while he laid in his bed, the medication taking effect. He looked to his right to see his father, smiling towards him. âItâs going to take a lot more than meds to get rid of me, son.â He chuckled as he faded away, Chesterâs eyes blurry with fearful tears while he turned back to look at the ceiling. Lyle was right. The ghost of his father would forever hang over his head. And as he realized he would never truly get better, he was sedated once again.

















