Running From Monsters Chapter 4/?
Title: Running From Monsters Chapter 4/?
Author: CSI_Niteowl
Pairing: David/Nick
Rating: PG -13
Warnings: slash, language, mentions of child abuse
Spoilers: none
Summary: David continues his story
Disclaimer: I don’t own CSI or its characters. If I did there would be a new episode every week. All original characters came from my twisted mind so I guess I own them.
A/N: Please read and review. ( :
“I’m so sorry, baby.” Nick whispered as he held David close to him.
“Everything is kind of a blur after that.” David continued. “I think they beat me until I was unconscious because hours later I woke up in my room. Mary was standing over me, crying.
“Davey, please wake up.” Mary cried. “I’m scared."
David slowly opened his eyes. “Mary, what’s wrong?”
“Davey!" She yelled and jumped on top of her brother.
David bit back the urge to scream in pain. He was confused. Why did he ache so much? Why was his throat scratchy? Why was his sister crying? He knew something happened. Something bad. What was it? He glanced over at the other bed and wondered where Petey was? He remembers screaming. Yeah, that’s why his throat hurt. Now, if he only knew why he was screaming.
“Davey, they left us here. Brenda said they’d be back later.” The seven year old started crying again.
“Shh. It’s alright. I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.” David reassured her.
Mary looked up at him. “I think Petey is sick. I saw Teddy and Johnny carry him to the car.”
That’s all it took for David to remember everything. “You saw Petey?”
“I didn’t see his face but I could tell it was him by the clothes.”
David shivered as he remembered how Petey’s face had looked after Brenda was through. Thank God Mary didn’t see that. He felt numb. How was he going to survive without Petey. He wished he was died too. Suddenly he realized Mary was looking up at him with those big blue eyes. Stop it, David. You have to take care of her. You can feel bad later.
“How long have they been gone?” he finally asked.
“Hmm, the big hand was on 5 and the little hand was on 3.”
David glanced at the clock. It had been almost five hours since they left. “Are you hungry?”
“Yipe, I starving.”
“Ok, let’s go fix you something to eat.”
“You cook?” she asked doubtfully.
“Yes, I’m going to cook. Now come on.”
They went into the kitchen. Mary laughed as David got out the peanut butter and jelly.
“That’s not cooking.” she giggled.
“Don’t be picking.” He stuck his tongue out.
She sat watching him make sandwiches in silence for a few minutes.
“What? Am I not using enough jelly?”
“No, it’s perfect. Don’t forget to cut it into squares.”
“Now would I forget that?” David smiled even though that was the last thing he felt like doing.
“Davey?”
“Yeah”
“When do you think they will start?”
“Start what, angel?”
“Start hurting me like they do you and Petey.”
David froze. The lump in his throat making it difficult to speak.
“I sorry. I know we aren’t supposed to talk about it.” She was on the verge of crying again.
David picked her up and put her on his lap. “It’s ok, angel. You can talk about anything with me.”
“Petey too?”
“Yeah." He hugged her so she couldn’t see he was crying. “Nobody’s gone to hurt you as long as I’m around. I’ll protect you, angel.” Sure, like you did Petey.
*****
David heard Teddy’s car coming down the road. He jumped up, handed Mary a box of animal crackers and told her to go to her room. He was scared. How could he face the people who killed Petey? He had to be strong for Mary, he kept telling himself.
Both men jumped when the phone started ringing.
“Ignore it.” Nick said.
David looked at him like he was crazy. “What if it’s the lab?”
“Grissom is insane if he thinks I’m coming into work.”
“Some people think he is.” David sighed as the answering machine came on.
“Hey guys, it’s Jacqui. Don’t want to disturb you. I was just wondering how things are going. David, call me if you need anything.”
“Lord, I’m going to have to explain this to everybody, aren’t I?”
Nick shook his head. “Not if you don’t want to. If anybody bugs you about it, tell me. I’ll take care of it.”
“My hero.” David smiled.
“Damn straight.” Nick grinned. “Hey, it’s almost lunchtime. Want to go grab a bite?”
David frowned. “I don’t really feel like going out, Nick.”
“That’s cool. We’ll just order something. How’s pizza sound?”
“Fine. Thanks for being so understanding.”
“That’s why you love me.” Nick said, trying to lighten the mood a little.
“Damn straight.” David laughed. “Among other things.”
*******
They had finished eating and were once again on the couch. David leaned against Nick and began talking.
“I felt like I was going to puke when they walked into the house. They were laughing, Nick. As if it was all a big joke. I was so angry. I started yelling. I have no idea what I said but whatever it was made Brenda furious. She said I hadn’t learned my lesson. Maybe, they should go get Mary and show me again. I begged her not too. Told her I had learned my lesson and would behave.”
“Did she hurt Mary?” Nick asked.
“No, I think she realized she could use Mary to keep me quite.”
“Now here’s what we’re going to do, Davey. If anybody asks, Petey ran away. We haven’t heard from him since.”
“No, you aren’t getting away with killing him. I won’t let you.” David yelled.
Brenda walked over and grabbed his face. “You listen here. You will do as I say or you’ll be sorry.”
“What are you going to do, kill me? I don’t care anymore.”
“Really? What about Mary?” she grinned. “Let’s make a deal right now. You keep your mouth shut and your sister will be treated like, what is it you call her, an angel. But you say one word and that little angel will get worse than you or Petey ever got. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes, Brenda” David mumbled as his brothers laughed.
“Now come here and give your momma a hug.”
David stared. She couldn’t have said what he thought she said.
“I said come here.” she repeated.
Fearing what she’d do to Mary if he disobeyed, David walked up to his mother and hugged her.
She pulled back from him and said “Tell me you love me.”
No way, David’s mind was screaming but he knew he had too. “I-I love you.” David choked out the words.
“That’s Momma’s good boy.” She kissed him on the check.
“That’s just sick.” Nick cringed.
David nodded. “After that night I did what I was told. I still got beat but they left Mary alone. That’s all I cared about.”
“Weren’t they ever caught?
“No, the body was never found. Everybody believed he had run away. That lie came back to bite Brenda though.”
“How?”
“Petey and I had always wondered why Brenda took him in. I know she promised his parents but who would have blamed her if she decided she couldn’t raise five kids by herself. Anyway, about six months after Petey was killed, Brenda was arrested for fraud. Apparently, Petey’s parents had left a sizable trust fund for him. She was getting $300 a week for his expenses. She kept it all. When he ‘ran away’ she didn’t bother to inform the people handling the trust so she kept getting the money. Somehow they found out. She went to jail for a year.”
“What happened to the rest of you?”
“Johnny and Teddy took off the day the police came and arrested Brenda. Mary and I went to live with our grandparents. We’d never met them before. They’d had a huge fight with my dad over marrying Brenda. They didn’t like her.”
“Can’t imagine why.” Nick said.
David smiled. “Yeah. Anyway, they hadn’t talked to Dad since.”
“Were they good to you and Mary?”
“They tried to be. Grandma was bedridden and Gramps could barely take care of the two of them. And we were two pretty screwed up kids. Mary wouldn’t listen to anybody but me and I rarely spoke to anybody but her.”
“So really you took care of her.”
“We took care of each other.” David nodded. “By the time I was twenty-one both Grandma and Gramps had died. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I figured I was going to have to quit college and get a job to support us.”
“But you didn’t?”
“No, Gramps had taken care of us. He left us everything. I sold the house and car and rented us an apartment close to school. We put the rest of the money in the bank. It wasn’t much but it was enough for us to live on till I graduated.”
“You never told me you raised Mary.”
David shrugged. “If I had told you what would have been your next question?”
“Why?”
“Exactly. I didn’t want to have to explain.”
Nick nodded. “Why aren’t you and Mary close now and why in the world would she try to get you to see Brenda before she died? Doesn’t she know what she did to Petey?”
“Mary and I got along fine till she turned nineteen and decided she wanted to see Brenda. I wasn’t very happy, as you can imagine. We fought a lot about it. It hurt me that she wanted to see that bitch knowing everything she did. And yes, she did know about Petey. As for why she wants me to see Brenda, I don’t know. She said maybe it would bring me peace.” David sighed and fell silent.
Nick knew he wanted to say something else. “What baby?”
David hesitated for a moment. “I guess you think I’m a terrible person for not going to see her.”
“A terrible person?” Nick repeated, shocked. “My god David, after everything you just told me how could I possible think that? You took whatever they dished out to protect your sister. Why would you want to see Brenda? She killed the boy you loved, abused you and ruined your childhood.”
David shrugged as if all that didn’t matter.
“You survived David and you came out of all that a good person. You really are my hero, you know?”
David laughed and started to argue but Nick put a finger on the man’s lips to silence him.
“Don’t.” Nick whispered. “I’m serious and I don’t want to hear you disagree with me.”
Nick was surprised when David only sighed
“Wow, you must be tired. Wanna go to bed?”
“I’m not tired but bed sounds good.” David smiled.
Nick laughed. “Anything you want, baby.”