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@jdelac25
Beer? Chocolate? And Wine?! Well hello new favorite place in New York! #ilovechoclate (at Nunu Chocolates at Westfield World Trade Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqBSw7Mg_Dm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h2m8x0oxuttb
After an early train ride, a mini shopping spree in Mall of America, and a flight that had a three hour delay, we made it everyone! We're over this travel already. #yawn #finallylanded https://www.instagram.com/p/BqAA3vhAk39/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=lae7frsp4hwh
Sunday Brunch with wifey and friends @skyscloud9. Got my favorite drink the wakey wakey old fashioned and a lobster roll. (Don't judge me. It's brunch I can eat what I want.) #delicious #brunch #latepost (at Skys Fine Dining) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpzM5olAx4H/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1dz06y2q1ob54
Jack requires so much attention that if he isn't satisfied he will let you know. #extra #spoiled https://www.instagram.com/p/BpSSbhcldP0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17bivb1x8zs2d
Day 5 of Daddy Doggy time. I went to make myself lunch and come back to this. I'm just trying to do laundry guys! #laundryday #sleepingpets https://www.instagram.com/p/BpNsdyLFzEw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8llrcs8yrwaw
Day 4 of Qualtiy time with puppers. While I was cleaning all day someone just got to nap all day. What a nice life he must have? #dreaming #mustbenice (at Grand Forks, North Dakota) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLAtOqFCsY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1lhkq5we90g1d
Day 3 of Doggy and Daddy personal time. Not all the moments with Jack are wonderful, like when you have to have a late dinner. Someone doesn't like when you eat without them or away from him. #doggyproblems #ijustwannaeat (at Grand Forks, North Dakota) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpJDB_8lf70/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=mdezlafmes4k
Another Rocky rehearsal done, another chance to sing Disney afterwards. This time I got Riff Raff to start an appropriate Aladdin song. Can't wait for you all to see the show. #rockyhorrorpictureshow #rehearsal https://www.instagram.com/p/BpGU0UClVLK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ci863y8m7y7o
Day 2 of Puppy and Daddy quality time. I overslept a bit and Jack the puppers was not amused. The glowing eyes behind me are of an enraged pup. #baddogdad #makingitwork #angrypuppy https://www.instagram.com/p/BpE0lIwFw_F/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=qspg9xzy86nv
When you and your home girl start singing Disney at the end of your Rocky Horror Rehearsal, you know it was a good night! Sorry for my terrible singing, I'm getting over a cold. #rockyhorrorpictureshow #disney #tangled (at Grand Forks, North Dakota) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpDze2zFiNj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=30j8k49wbzwa
The Monster
Crash!
Henry was in his kitchen looking when something fragile hit the ground and broke into pieces. He was at the counter pouring himself a bowl of cereal and he could see a red liquid beginning to spread on the floor. The red spot getting closer to him before the room went dark.
Henry didnât think, he only felt fear. As the red spot grew he had only a few moments to react. So, he did the only sensible thing a nine-year-old can do when overcome with fear - run.
Henry knew he had to get away from where the glass had broken and he had to do it fast.
Henry bolted from the kitchen, bumping into a chair behind him. It toppled over, but he didnât bother to pick it up. If he wasted any time in his escape, it would catch him.
His bare feet crossed the floor, turning from cold tile to carpet. The sudden change in texture gave him a shock, but it signaled to him he was getting closer to the stairs. His haven was close. Behind him though, he felt it looking at him. He didnât need to turn back to know that it was now on the hunt for him.
As he reached the stairs, a bellowing scream resonated throughout the house and it made Henryâs stomach churn. He gripped the handrail and for some reason he waited at the bottom. Henry was looking up the stairs but broke his gaze and looked to the kitchen.
âPlease,â barely louder than a breath. âNo!â It, the monster was walking towards him. No, stalking towards him.
Henry! Donât stand there, move before it catches you! A voice said.
The monster began to pick up its pace.
RUN HENRY! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
He tore his eyes away from the beast and ran up the stairs as fast as he could. He could hear it behind him stomping towards the stairwell. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
âPlease donât let it catch me!â Henry thought to himself as he kept his eyes on the stairwell that seemed to stretch on forever. He was almost at the top but despite having a head start the monster was already halfway up the stairs. For every step he could make, it could leap three with no effort. He could feel the warmth of its breath on the back of his neck.
Donât stop! A voice encouraged. Keep running!
The top of the never-ending staircase was within in his sight. Some relief came into him allowing his body to relax ever so slightly. Henryâs foot hit the edge of one of the steps to the top. He fell to his right, grabbing on one of the steps before his head could hit it or against the wall.
His hope drained from him as he could feel something graze his leg.
Donât. Look. Back. Keep. Running. The voice said firmly. DONâT LOOK BACK.
Forgetting the wise advice from his head he turned to see that it had caught up to him. Reaching out, with a claw and nails that were chipped and red, slowly closing its grasp on its legs. He yanked his leg back, the nails grazing his bare skin that his shorts didnât cover. Stumbling to the top he darted like an animal on all fours. After finally making it, Henry ran down the hallway straight to his room.
He had practiced this situation in his head a hundred times before. Henry knew what to do next.
He shut the door and locked it. Next, he moved his heavy toy chest in front of the entrance. Then he propped his coat hanger against the doorknob for extra support. His final touch was to move the heaviest chair in his room on top of the toy chest for more weight.
Once that was all done he stepped back to check his work. But a loud boom behind the door made him jump back before he could asses his blockade any further. He had to choose to hide somewhere incase his barricade didnât hold. He saw his closet and he wanted to go in there, to lock another door and hopefully keep himself safe. Then he remembered there was nothing to hide behind if it managed to get past the door.
The bangs and growls from the other side were getting louder, giving the appearance that the door and his things might give.
Henry dove under his bed where a stockpile of clothes, and his favorite blanket, lay waiting for him. The blanket, a gift from his sister, was a bright green and had blue spots. Seeing it again after so long made him feel safe, so he wrapped himself in its fuzzy warmth. Though it offered protection he wanted to blend into his surroundings. Wiggling out a free hand he scooped clothes on top of him.
The banging was relentless at the door as Henry kept shoveling clothes.
Bang!
âPlease donât let it hurt me.
Bang!
Please donât let it find me.â
Bang!
âI promise. Iâll be good.â
Tears were flowing from Henryâs face.
âPlease. Oh God, please help me!â
The banging stopped, and Henry stopped shoveling. The lock on the door was making a reigned tumbling sound. He hurried to shove his arm back into his blanket.
With the little crack the door allowed, items started moving. The toy chest slid back against the wall, the propped-up coat hanger fell uselessly to the floor, and the heaviest chair was pushed behind the door, clattering as it hit the wall. The monster walked in slowly, strutting, taking in its surroundings. It was familiar with the layout and walked around the room one time, leaving red imprints on Henryâs carpeted floor.
Finally, it stopped, and Henry peeked from his little cocoon of clothes and blanket. He could see its feet from where he was laying, the soles showing the light discoloration of where it must have stepped into the red liquid.
Stopping in the center of the room it started to search for him. Henry had grown accustomed to having little in his room, leaving his walls empty so his posters and pictures wouldnât fall constantly. He only ever kept one picture visible and that was the one he had next to his bed on a little nightstand. It was a wooden frame painted blue with a picture of his family; his Dad and Mom in the middle. His mom behind him and his Father behind his sister.
The monsterâs heels were facing towards Henry as the front of it was focused on his closet door. It calmly walked towards the door and slowly turned the handle. When it heard click of latch separating the calmness of the creature disappeared. It flung the door open and dove into the closet, ripping out clothes with hangers in them, shoes, socks, and his backpack. It was screaming and wailing out of control.
Henry could see them falling like hail and thudding on the ground. When his backpack hit the floor, he winced in fear and covered his head in the blanket. No longer wanting to see any more of the carnage coming from his closet.
Covered in a world of green and blue he could only hear what was going on around him. The rampage seemed to last for hours and then suddenly stopped. He could hear heavy panting and steps coming out from his closet followed by a loud slam of the door. Then he could hear the steps vanish and felt the weight of his bed above him start to change. The monster was climbing onto his bed and he could hear the squeaking of the spring supporting it as it got closer to where he lay under.
He felt the fabric of the bed push down lightly over his head and he nearly screamed. But before he could he covered his mouth and bit his tongue as hard as he could. The weight stayed on his head for a few moments, barely grazing his head, and then suddenly relieved itself. He could hear steps again, first loud and getting softer, as if they were going away. Henry was relieved and was waiting for the door to open and shut, finally ending his nightmare.
But the sound never came.
He wanted to look past his green and blue vail, but he knew he shouldnât. It was the only thing protecting him after his piles of clothes. He had to stay hidden.
Donât look.
He told himself, but the noises seemed to stop.
DONâT LOOK.
It was quiet for a moment. Nothing seemed to be moving.
DO NOT LOOK!
Telling himself one last time before caving into his curiosity. He lowered his blanket and peeked through his clothes.
He had made a mistake.
In front him lying on its stomach was the monster staring back at him, eyes black as charcoal. He opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Its arm had reached out grabbing his face and its palm covering his mouth.
Squeezing his head, the rugged and jagged nails of its claw dug into him and started to drag him out. His neck felt like it was going to snap but it just wouldnât, not willing to give the sweet escape of death. But he did something that was out of his character, he fought back.
Swinging as hard as he could, with blanket in hand, at the claw on his face. It had gotten him out from underneath his bed and was dragging him on the floor. The carpet burning his back through his shirt. It let go of him and pounced on top of him, screaming as it landed it face in front of his and spit flying over his face.
Try as he might and flail his arms in protest to protect himself the monster easily evaded his efforts. With all his might he was able to wiggle through the monstersâ secure position and got one leg free. With that, he put all his energy, all his fight, and kicked it straight in the chest.
The monster was holding onto his arm and as it was sent flying it left four deep cuts. Henry repositioned himself to be by his bed as the monster hit his closet door. A thunk was heard when it made contact with the door.
It wasnât dazed for more than a second and was rubbing behind its head where the doorknob must have hit her. The monster grew angry but regained a calm composure. Henry stared it down, feeling the dots of blood coming down his arm. It hurt, and tears started to well in his eyes, but though his sight grew blurry he didnât break eye-contact with its deep black eyes.
It smiled with all white teeth and Henry knew what that meant. He was covering his arm where the blood started to pool but took his hand off, wiping his face from the tears. He stood up straight and looked at his monster, âI didnât do anything wrong.â Full of fear his voice was cracking but that is all he could say before a sudden weight was put into his gut.
He fell to the ground and stared to the ceiling. Then a black silhouette crawled on top of him and her black eyes were staring back at him. He didnât scream, he didnât even bother to try. Roaring into his face, saliva flying everywhere, he faced his doom.
A flurry of pain started to take over his body. Its claws tearing at his chest, arms, and face, causing red marks to form. Claws turning into fists pummeling his face and chest, almost rhythmically.
Each blow hurt but was drowned out by the blinding pain of the next. Henry lay submissively, crying, tears flying in any direction his face turned from the impacts. Snot and blood ran down his nose, which only seemed to make the creature delight more in his torture.
Henrys eyes were starting to get heavy, his sight getting blurry. Then he could feel the barrage of hits beginning to slow. Each strike came with a grunt from the monster, every motion starting to wear it out. A final blow came from overhead, intertwining its fingers together and slamming down its fists into the center of Henryâs chest, the tender space between his ribs. It knocked the air out of his lungs, causing his tiredness to disappear. His head sprung from the ground and his eyes looked blankly to the ceiling. Suddenly falling back, he moved no longer and no longer wanted to move.
She rose from Henryâs motionless body, taking mucous-thick breaths. Gazing at the window where light seemed to be creeping back into his room. Henry, before slipping into a deep sleep, could hear it murmuring something, ââŠâŠ. thatâs what you get.â She spat these last words out, âYOU LITTLE SHIT!â Followed by a quick, powerful, and violent kick to his side.
âHenry,â she said in a kind voice, âif you tell mom, or dad, about this Iâll kill you.â Taking a pause and delighting in the word kill. Despite his pain and his attention fading, he nodded to indicate he understood.
Henryâs sister, Naomi, sighed with satisfaction and walked out of the room. Closing the door, she said, âWhen youâre done faking make sure you clean the broken glass and juice you broke downstairs.â
The door clicked behind her and he allowed himself to fall apart. He cried as softly as he could, gasping for air in between his bursts. He held himself and curled into a ball, rubbing his arms for warmth. He started to whisper underneath his breath, âyouâre okay. Youâre okay. Youâre okay.â He continued to say that calming down his heart and his fits, wiping away his tears as he kept repeating, âYouâre okay. Youâre okay.â Wrapping himself in the blanket Naomi gave him and fading into sleep.
Epilogue
Henry wakes up after an hour of sleeping. Getting up from the floor he could feel the pain from the kick and his body was sore from Naomiâs beating. As he began to get up, he had to muster through the pain that was covering his body. When he could finally stand, and stand firmly on his two feet, he walked to his mirror.
This isnât the first time a beating like this has happened and he knows this wonât be the last. Henry has gotten used to it and to make life easier on his mother, his father, his sister, and himself he had certain tricks to hide the pain, the marks, and bruises. But before he could do that he had to go into his checklist and take count off all the damages he has taken.
Starting from the top down he took careful note of everything he saw. Messy hair can be explained away for sleeping and napping. Red and puffy eyes can fade without any help, but ice will be applied around the area to ease any pain and swelling. Red marks on left cheek, forearm, chest, and right leg; make-up will need to be applied to hide any extreme marks that canât be explained away. This time crawling underneath the bed and getting laundry out caused the cuts on the arms. Everyone believes a child is reckless, so this works perfectly.
Next, a light pat down of his body and slight motions to make sure everything was working properly. Arms, neck, shoulders, legs, and feet were all fine by his standards. His midsection; his chest and left side to be precise, were painful and Henry lifted his shirt to analyze the damages. In the center of his chest his skin showed a minor discoloration. Explanation ran into a doorknob, solution found. His side though would be more of an issue.
His left side was starting to turn purple and the slightest touch made Henry wince in pain. This was going to be a problem for Henry. The bruise was growing, and the pain was more than he was used to handling. As he went through his head for solutions he found himself stuck. Make-up can cover it but doesnât stop the pain. Pain relievers might not work and would cause suspicion if I started taking them without being sick or if they start going faster than expected.
The only solution he came up with was hiding the pain for now and possibly finding a bully to blame for it later this week. He wouldnât allow Naomi to get caught for what she did. Henry, despite everything he went through, goes through, he still loves his sister. He wouldnât get her in trouble and he would do his best to be a good little brother.
He picked up his blanket folding it with such care and love and placed it on his bed on top of his pillow. After placing it down he picked up the photo of his family, placing his hand gently on it and putting back on his nightstand by his bed. He did his routine of hiding his bruises and marks, using make-up to hide what wouldnât heel fast enough, and put on a long-sleeved shirt that was too big for him and sweatpants that would sag past his feet. He looked at the mirror one more time and did a final check. Acceptable.
He walked to his door putting his Star Wars chair back in the corner and placing his coat rack back standing upright. When his cleaning was done he made his way back to his door and opened it, every step feeling the pain on his left side. He had to ignore it though, he had a mess to clean. Henry had to be a good little brother, he had to be a good little boy.
What a fun weekend! Got a new hat, dressed up for party, tried to solve a mystery, got shot and died. A good time with the wife and friends. #murdermysteryparty #halshapone (at Grand Forks, North Dakota)
Last night was the last time I got to see one of my good friends @ellerejbonifacio before he left. This man was and still is one of best influences in my life and made my stay in Grand Forks fun and full of great memories. Thanks Kuya for all you have done for us, all of us from Elite love you and will miss you. #loveyoubro #goodluck (at Grand Forks, North Dakota)
After a great day in Bemidji ,we stumbled onto a fair. We pigged out on some foot longs before heading home. #delicious #yummy #daytriptobemidji (at Bemidji, Minnesota)
Breakfast Pizza? Don't mind if I do! #nomnom #freefood (at Grand Forks, North Dakota)
When you have to talk to your dog and assure him that he is a good boy. Even though he chews on the wall.đ§ . . . . #dancer #writer #filipino #pinoy #bboy #yugioh #actor #fitness #htown #grandforks #northdakota #und #hiphop #ballet #youtube #blogger #vlogger #puppy #dogdad #germanshepherd #mix #doggy (at Grand Forks, North Dakota)
Winter is here! Now is the time of waiting in your car while the ice melts as the heaters turn on. #winter #ice #itscoldoutside #blackandwhite (at Grand Forks, North Dakota)