Tiny Tim

Chapter 7

I woke up at Seven the next morning with mixed feelings. On one hand, I felt like shit because my whole torso hurt. I accredited it to the fitful sleep I got whenever I dreamed of Tess. On the other hand, the muscles in the rest of my body felt strangely relaxed. I actually had to check and make sure I didn’t come in my pants while asleep. To my amazement, I noticed my shorts were missing, but I was so beat the evening before, I couldn’t remember if I even put them on after I overexerted myself in the bathroom.

I slowly - very slowly - got dressed while checking the bandaids for blood. Then I carefully made my way downstairs to the kitchen. Normally, I’d just grab a Coke from my fridge in the morning to satisfy my caffeine and sugar needs, but it was missing from the room. After I moved out, someone probably took it for themselves.

When I stumbled into the kitchen while holding my stomach, Ava, Claire, and Aaron were already in it. The grandparents were probably still sleeping, and Logan was probably still running away. Aaron noticed me first, lowered his newspapers, and wished me a good morning. That alerted the others of my presence.

While Ava looked up from her cereal to give me a short and somewhat shy greeting herself, Claire’s reaction was kind of unnerving. Her body froze while her head snapped up, and she looked at me with big, sad, and somewhat reddened eyes. The dark rings underneath those eyes gave me the impression that she didn’t sleep much last night. Once again, she looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn’t decide on what or how. I felt my suspicion from the previous day confirmed. It was just like the last few times. Eventually she would get over her guilt, and I’d hear her and Logan make the beds squeak again.

When I reached up to the cabinet to get myself a cup for the coffee, I grunted as the pain shot through me and stilled my movement. Immediately Ava jumped up and took a cup out for me. That confused me. I blinked at her for a moment, not sure if I should thank her or prepare myself for some kind of mean prank. When she noticed my reaction, she turned and went back to her breakfast without saying a word. Then Aaron spoke instead.

“Why are you up already, ... son?” That almost made me spill my coffee. I could almost hear the strain he was under, trying not to call me ‘Tiny’ AND acknowledge my position in the family tree. “You’re not planning on going to work, right?”

“Sure I am.” I replied and sipped on my cup. “I’ll drop off the doctor’s note into the school’s mailbox, so they have it as soon as Thanksgiving break is over. Then I need to get an appointment with our GP to check the staples and stitches, go to the pharmacy to get more painkillers, and then I’ll spend the rest of the day drugged up in the office.”

“Y ... You don’t have to do all this yourself!” Claire suddenly burst out, a little too loud for comfort. “I can take care of all that! Well ... except the drugged up office part, but I don’t want you working despite having a sick note! The doctor wouldn’t even release you without someone to look after you!”

“Thanks, but I’m good. I can work while sitting in front of a computer. Not that strenuous.” I dismissed her while taking the last sip of my coffee.

“You can rely on us from time to time, you know?” Aaron offered. Was he joking?

“Sure. Because asking you for help has always worked out so well for me.” I replied with a sarcastic tone and turned to leave the room.

Looking around, I noticed three embarrassed and almost hurt looking faces. Maybe I should get myself one of those automatic coffee makers with these little capsules. I could keep it in my room, so they could enjoy their mornings in peace.

As I stepped into my shoes after getting dressed, Claire suddenly showed up next to me in the hallway.

“I know we weren’t the best family for you, Honey. But please ... I’d really like to help you! I am here for you!” she pleaded.

“Uh huh. I had cracked ribs before and was perfectly fine taking care of myself.” I replied, ignoring her obvious wince upon hearing my words. “So, thanks, but I’m really good.”

“Be safe. I love you!” she quickly added as I stepped out of the door, but the only answer she got was the sound of the door closing behind me.

As planned, I first dropped off the doctor’s note at school. Then I got to our GP who immediately let me in after seeing my face to make sure the incisions were still good, and gave me prescriptions for more of the opiates to sleep. He also gave me a new sick note for the next four whopping weeks!

Since he had my medical history, he didn’t want to risk anything, and this was apparently how long it would take until it was “safe to ‘bump’ into people in the hallways” as he phrased it while making air quotes with a meaningful look.

This was fucking awesome! The sick note spanning four weeks would mean that the first day I could go back to school would be the first day of the two-week long Christmas break. This meant that I wouldn’t have to go back into that shithole for the next six fucking weeks! I made a mental note of calling the school as soon as Thanksgiving break was over, to check if they had some kind of online study program. The pharmacy was right next door to our GP and, within fifteen minutes, the ibuprofen had taken the edge off the pain, so I could spend the day working somewhat effectively.

After a few hours, however, I noticed that I wasn’t just sitting around like I had claimed in the parents’ kitchen. My chest started hurting whenever I let my left hand rest on the keyboard for more than two minutes, which turned typing into a quite tedious task. I was just groaning again when Bill came through the door, looking somewhat pensive.

“Hey, Kid. You know you don’t have to be here, right? Why don’t you at least stay home until you can use both your eyes again?”

“Nah, I can manage. But thank you for the offer.”

“Oh, thanks for dropping the adapter at my office yesterday.”

“No problem, Boss! Did it work? If not, I could take another look.”

“Worked perfectly fine.” he waved me off. “Got the first three videos digitized already. I came because of something else, though.” he said, but didn’t elaborate further. I had never seen him so hesitant before.

“Did I screw up something?” His behavior started to unsettle me...

“No. But maybe I did. I just got a call from John. Did you ever tell your folks about ... what happened with ... Tess?” he asked disturbingly cautiously. Bill knew how badly I had taken her death. He was the only one I had talked with before I came back from my vacation. And I’m pretty sure my behavior at Tess’ funeral wasn’t lost on him either.

“No, I didn’t. Wasn’t really eager to discuss it with them. Especially John’s wife. She has that tendency to meddle in things, trying to help, but making everything worse.” I answered, while shifting my attention back to my monitor.

“Well, they somehow heard. And, since they knew about the two of you being together in the office, they called me to confirm it. Sorry, Kid.” he explained.

“Not much you could do there, Boss. Thank you for warning me.” I said, with sincere gratitude in my voice, and he left after giving me a short nod.

How did they suddenly hear about Tess? They didn’t have any mutual friends or even acquaintances ... except for me, that is. Why did they even care now? They saw me when I was obviously grieving, but couldn’t be bothered to ask about my mood then. I didn’t understand these people, but I was sure there was a surprise waiting for me back home. I spent the remainder of the workday trying not to think about it and, on my way home, actually picked up a coffee maker with a full assortment of different capsules, and a few cups fitting the model.

When I entered the house with my new coffee maker under my right arm, Claire, Aunt Danielle, and the grandparents were in the living room. When they saw me enter, they all regarded me with the very same sad look Claire had given me in the morning. I turned to get up the stairs, but Aunt Danielle sensed my reluctance, sprang up from the sofa, and stood in front of me.

“Tim...” she started but didn’t come very far.

“Nope.” I just said, as I walked around her.

“But, Tim...” Claire called after me this time, in a pleading voice.

“No.” was, again, all I said as I walked up the stairs to get into my room, although a tad more insistent than the previous time.

“Pumpkin! Please! Talk to us!” Granny called after me.

“If I didn’t talk with any of you about Tess when she had just died, I sure as hell won’t do it now.” I called down the stairs before entering my old bedroom and closing the door.

The next few days came and went quietly. Don’t get me wrong, I was tempted to take their offer to talk. I was angry they ignored my obvious troubles before I moved out, and they were now trying to do the right thing. I just simply couldn’t talk about Tess yet, and seriously didn’t expect those people to provide me with any useful advice about anything. On top of that, my opinion of Danielle hadn’t changed in the slightest, so I avoided further confrontations until it was Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle John’s again. This was when things got interesting.

I had absolutely no motivation to attend, but the family managed to coerce me into it. They achieved that by showcasing a noteworthy deviation from their usual tactics. There were no demands, no ultimatums, and nobody tried to simply drag me along as a last resort. Instead, the grandparents showed up in my room after my refusal of Claire’s plea for my participation had left her close to tears again, and told me that it would be important for me to be there. They hinted that it may have something to do with the things I pointed out when the grandparents visited my apartment.

Of course, my lacking eagerness to attend this get-together was noticeable when it came to interacting with me. At least Uncle John’s sense for tradition, that suddenly manifested at last year’s Thanksgiving dinner, thankfully didn’t resurface. I had already pictured myself sitting at that table, telling everyone how thankful I was for the invention of Coffee Makers.

They still made a seemingly honest effort to try and include me in the conversations they had, asking for my opinions on every single topic that came up. Problem was, I simply didn’t have any opinions on those topics. I went to school as a loner, so I was out of the loop of current events that the teenagers would find interesting. And ever since Tess died, I fully focused on whatever project I was involved in at work, leaving me just as uninformed about topics the adults would find interesting. In essence, I had no idea what they were talking about, while they had no idea about the topics that would have interested me. The “geek stuff” as Aaron still liked to call it.

While I wanted to appreciate their efforts, too much had happened for me to just forget about it and play happy family. The fact that Logan was still running his interference game whenever one of the Women showed an interest, while nobody but me seemed to notice, also killed any inclination I might have had to return their effort. This was how the evening was progressing, until they inadvertently caused it all to go to shit.

“I’m sorry it’s so late” Aaron suddenly said after dinner, as he handed me a little envelope. “I admit, we really didn’t know what to get you. I hope this is Okay.”

I looked at him slightly confused but interested. Then I opened the envelope, and my interest was replaced by utter disappointment. They actually did it! They actually got me a $100 Amazon voucher!

“Wow ... thanks.” I replied in obvious disappointment. “What’s this for?”

They shared a short look, then Claire answered.

“Honey, we’re sorry we forgot your birthday. I promise we’ll do better.”

It was remarkable how sincere she sounded while handing me a present that proved, yet again, how prevalent their disregard for me was.

“Sure. Forgive me if I don’t hold my breath. You had the same resolve last year, after all.” I responded, as I dropped the envelope back on the table, making sure they knew how little it was appreciated. I fully planned on just leaving it there when it was time to leave for the parents’ house again.

“Kiddo, I know it’s coming late.” Grampa said, before throwing a disapproving side glance at Aaron. “And I admit, it’s not what I would call an especially thoughtful gift. But they are trying. Can you at least not dismiss them completely?”

I looked at him in disbelief.

“Look, I understand that you probably don’t know why this is the most thoughtless and borderline insulting ‘gift’ they could’ve possibly come up with, and once again proves how they never thought about the shit they put me through. But even you should realize by now that I have damn good reasons to blow them off, so why shouldn’t I?” I asked him.

“Because family is supposed to support each other!” Aunt Danielle proclaimed, in a voice that, halfway through saying it, sounded like she realized how utterly ridiculous this statement sounded when it was directed at me.

It was exactly the wrong thing to say to me at that moment. I was already well on my way to talk myself into rage, and decided to set things straight and make sure everybody knew where we stood.

“Let’s clarify this for you all, since you seem to purposefully ignore what’s going on in this ... family.” I started, looking from one face to the other, so they knew I was talking about all of them. “For four years, I’ve been treated like unwanted garbage by each and every one of you! For years, you either ridiculed and humiliated me for no other reason than your own fucking amusement, or you all straight up ignored my existence. You like to claim to be a psychologist, Aunty. Did it ever occur to you to warn them what effects it could have on an insecure, thirteen-year-old boy, if people insist on constantly making fun of his penis’ size? And don’t you fucking dare tell me you didn’t know about it, because I damn well remember you being around!”

She looked apologetic, but didn’t say anything. So, I turned my head to look at Claire and Aaron before I continued.

“How many fucking times did I literally beg you all to stop? You gonna tell me you never noticed the effect it had on me? When I basically locked myself in my room, just staying in bed for days without eating, before I started stress eating like a pig? Aunty, what does that sound like to you?”

I knew that I had developed depression back then. And they really didn’t care. Or, if they did, they didn’t show it. Going by the weird questions I was asked by Granny the day she showed up at my apartment, they seemed to finally suspect that my mind was still not exactly in a good place. And that it just got worse after Tess’ death.

“Are you aware that I’m seventeen and never had a real girlfriend? That’s because my oh-so-loving family made me the laughingstock, and painted me the target for bullies, in every social circle they had access to. If I tried to ask a girl out, she would laugh in my face because of my micropenis! Because fucking Princess over there absolutely had to tell the whole student body about it as soon as I stepped foot into her school, making the entire Cheer team ridicule me on a daily basis.” I said, as I pointed at Ava, who looked like she wanted to vanish when she saw the look Claire and the grandparents gave her. Noticing Claire’s glare set me off even more. “Don’t look at your daughter like that, Claire! ‘This is Tim, the smallest in the family!’. Remember that shit before you try to scold anyone else about that!”

A Hearing this, Claire’s face showed confusion at first, then recognition, before it finally morphed in embarrassment. Then I pointed at Logan.

“And of course, your fucking Golden Boy wasn’t to be outdone either, but, being the man he truly is, he didn’t stop at mean jokes. He stood by and watched his football team beat the shit out of me after stealing my phones and wallets!”

“Baby, I had no idea!” Claire pleaded.

“OF COURSE YOU FUCKING KNEW!” I shouted back, causing her to cringe. “You’ve SEEN me come home bleeding and bruised, every fucking day! You paid the bills whenever I had to see a doctor afterwards! And until your fucking husband and son told you how this is a ‘necessary experience for a boy to grow some balls’, you even knew it was serious enough to call the school about it! But you went along with their decision to NOT help! Think back to why I had to get a job in the first place! Because you refused to keep paying to replace the stolen phones! And because you refused to pay for my textbooks, after one of their pranks had them covered in horseshit!”

When Aaron remembered, he seemed to finally realize what damage he had caused with this.

“But ... Baby...” Claire started in a desperate voice, while openly crying now. “We won’t ... I promise! We’ll never do it again!”

“Oh how nice of you! You still haven’t realized the extent of the damage you’ve caused, have you? I had to ask John for a reference for a real job because I got fired from the student job I had first. I couldn’t work a single shift without some assholes somehow recognizing and throwing dick jokes at me. Or tripping me while I was carrying plates. And it wasn’t even just other students. There were also a few of your friends in the mix!” I said, gesturing to Claire and Aaron. “It caused so many disturbances that the owner of the Diner had to let me go. So THANK YOU for FINALLY stopping to humiliate and verbally abuse your own fucking child! Good luck getting everyone in the school and your friends to stop as well! Maybe your favorite shrink can finally do her damn job, and help YOU to get YOUR shit together, instead of demanding me to simply forget about all this crap!”

Claire looked devastated. She never thought about what she had really done to me. She had realized they neglected me, but she apparently never understood the reasons for why I had distanced myself from them before the neglect became a problem.

“And now you pull this shit!” I spat those words out while grabbing the envelope from the table and waving it in Aarons direction. “So, let me get this straight. I pay rent, while your other two kids live rent-free. I bought my own car and pay for its insurance and gas, while your other two kids got their cars bought and paid for, including fucking gas money! I pay for my groceries myself, because most of the time you don’t remember me when cooking, while your other two kids get whatever the fuck they want. I even pay for my own damn clothes! I ask you for NOTHING anymore! Still, over the weeks since Golden Boy left for college, you felt entitled to more than TWO THOUSAND FUCKING DOLLARS from MY hard earned savings, to pay for your favorite son’s shit! And then, you present me with a $100 voucher, and call it a fucking gift!? Give me twenty-one more of these, preferably in cash, and THEN you can think about giving me any money as a present!”

Everyone but Aaron, Claire and Ava stared in shock. I think, even after I had pointed out the highlights to the grandparents, they still only accepted exactly those highlights. None of them had any idea just how big the rift in our family really was, or how far removed from our relationship as parent and child we had become. None of them had ever realized how lost I had felt in this family for years.

I really didn’t know why Logan looked shocked, though. Claire, however, was now also sobbing in addition to her crying.

“It was for college!” she blubbered “His education ... we didn’t think ... we just...”

“Oh, sure! Like always! He made it sound so reasonable, right!?” I seethed. “So reasonable, in fact, that you didn’t even consider that it could possibly be unfair to me! Tell me, ’parents’, if I had to get a job to pay for my fucking schoolbooks when I was fifteen, why is it that your grown-ass Golden Boy gets my money thrown at him, no questions asked!?”

Logan immediately looked extremely uncomfortable, and I didn’t think it was embarrassment. He looked perfectly fine the whole time I was ranting, nothing I said had phased him in the slightest, until I started talking about him getting my money. Only then did his expression rapidly change. He quickly tried to change the topic and, in his usual manner, tried to shift the blame on me and defuse my claims in the stupidest way possible.

“Dude, stop blaming us for what’s going wrong in your life! So you never had a girlfriend. That isn’t our fault, or that Tess chic wouldn’t have left you!” he called out.

My mind went blank for a second. While I was pissed before, absolute fucking rage built in my stomach now. I heard the others’ dull voices protest in shock as soon as Logan had closed his mouth. Either he was the only one who didn’t know that Tess didn’t just ‘leave’ me, or he just made a grave mistake by showing his true colors. Either way, he was going to pay for it!

“What the fuck, Logan!” Came from Ava and Maggie, followed by a scared “TIM!” as Danielle noticed my chair flying back, causing everyone’s attention to shift back to me.

I moved towards Logan in purposeful strides, my eyes focused on nothing but him as he himself got up and quickly tried to build some distance between us. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Aaron trying to get in my way, but without slowing down, without even taking my eyes off Logan, I just extended my right arm and jammed two fingers into his upper stomach, right below his sternum. When my fingers connected, he groaned loudly as his upper body cramped up and he stumbled backwards away from the pain.

When I reached Logan, he tried to hit me. Since he never was a fighter, though, he was not just slow, but also clumsy as hell. I easily evaded his punch with a simple step to the left, raised my left arm, and slapped him across the face as hard as I could muster. Which wasn’t as much as I would have preferred, since, sadly, my ribs didn’t allow that. As soon as I strained my muscles to move my arm inwards, the pain in my chest made me slow down considerably.

My hand still connected perfectly. The heel of my hand landed square on his jaw with my cupped fingers across his ear, yet not nearly as hard as I had intended, which probably saved him from being completely knocked out. He went to the floor and just sat there disoriented for a while, unable to focus his view and disoriented from the beeping he was undeniably hearing in his left ear now.

“Damn.” I said in wonder, looking at Aunt Danielle. “That felt really good.”

The family stared at me in shock. I really meant it, though. Not just bitchslapping the douchebag, but finally letting out all the shit I had held bottled up within me for the last four years. Just then, Claire jumped up and ran to Logan to check on him. I watched her frantically dote over her fallen darling.

“Why am I not surprised you don’t see this as a ’necessary experience to grow some balls’, when it comes to him?” I asked, contempt thick in my voice. I actually considered spitting on him for good measure.

“Timothy! That’s enough!” Grandpa shouted at me. “I know you’re angry, and I admit it’s warranted, but throwing punches goes too far!”

“I disagree.” I said, as I stood in front of him. I guess he saw how much of a threat I was at that moment, because he took a quick step away from me. “The little pissant should thank the heavens that I’m not like him. Because, if I were, I would’ve called two of my friends over and told them not to stop when he was on the ground!”

He paled slightly as his eyes darted from me to Logan.

“If you want to call the cops on me, I’ll be waiting for them at home. My home.” I finished, and turned to leave.

I couldn’t believe how they still cared about the asshole so much, especially after everything I had just pointed out. He even had videos of quite a few of their little orgies on his phone, placing them all in danger if he ever lost it. Or had it stolen. Or got hacked. Which happened. I hacked him...

I froze.

My hand hung immovable in mid-air, halfway to the doorknob, as all those little pieces of information suddenly fell into place. After I had summarized the past four years to my family and gotten it all off my chest, I could finally connect the dots!

Logan had talked the parents into giving him money. They had never touched any of my savings before, despite having access to it for years, so they probably didn’t do it out of disrespect to me, but because he needed more money than they could afford. And his explanation about it being loosely related to his education made them comply.

He never told any of us what he needed the money for specifically, making me think it was embarrassing for him. But the way he reacted now, when I pointed it out in front of the family, made me think he tried to hide the reason from the family in particular.

The people who came after him for that money were armed and had no problem making threats, so he was probably involved in something illegal.

He had lied to the police about not knowing them. If he was just scared, he could have asked anyone for help, like John, who was best friends with the owner of a security company. But he didn’t, so they probably had something over him to keep him in line.

The people who came after him recognized Ava and Claire just by looking at them.

They made clearly indecent proposals to those two.

Logan had videos of them fucking.

“You. Fucking. Muppet!” I shouted out, after turning back towards Logan. I was staring at him with amazement, big eyes and open mouth, after the realization hit me. The others looked at me like I had turned crazy, staring like that after I had just attacked him. “They’re blackmailing you!”

Logan, suddenly fully conscious again, looked scared as all hell when I said it. That was the confirmation I needed.

“Blackmail? Who? What are you talking about?” Claire asked in confusion, but still cradling his head.

“They got hold of your videos, didn’t they?” I asked Logan with a calmness that surprised even myself, while a strange smile grew on my face that must have looked quite unnerving to the others. “That’s how they recognized Ava and Claire.”

Logan freed himself from Claire’s hold, stood up, and stepped away from everyone else, frantically looking from face to face like a scared caged animal.

“What is...” Aaron started after seeing Logan’s reaction, but I just kept talking.

“You pay them, and they don’t publish the videos? Or are they threatening to send it to the police instead?” I asked him.

“Timothy Michael Brown! Explain what is going on RIGHT NOW!” Granny shouted, clearly done with me persistently ignoring their questions while Logan looked like he was ready to jump through a window to get away. I shifted my attention to her.

“The people who came after him four days ago and stabbed me. They’re blackmailing him with the videos he took of you guys.” I explained, but they all looked confused as to what kind of video could be used to blackmail anyone. “The videos he took at your orgies?” I added impatiently, waving my hand across the room.

“WHAT!?” I heard a chorus of voices.

“You FILMED US!?” Maggie screamed at Logan in horror.

I remembered how, after I had first found these videos on Logan’s phone, I had a quick thought about the angles in some of them. How they looked like the others may not even have known he was filming. Apparently, they didn’t know about ANY of the videos.

All of them, even Logan, looked at me like I lost my mind while I laughed my ass off. I laughed so hard I had to hold my stomach because it felt like the staples would fly out. They just didn’t get the joke.

Their beloved Golden Boy had betrayed all of their trust, violated their rights, and placed them all in grave danger. THAT was the guy they kept defending and supporting. THAT was the guy they wanted as their son, while I was downgraded to either tenant or servant. THAT was the guy they all chose over me. As far as I was concerned, they deserved each other. Sadly, I couldn’t just leave them to their fate without knowing exactly what happened because, until I turned eighteen, I would be affected by this as well. Though, at that point, I wasn’t yet sure as to what degree it would affect me.

Logan tried to make a run for it, but Aaron, John, and Grampa Mike had him pinned down surprisingly quickly.

“You ... You know about...” Claire stuttered, making her priorities known while her shaking hand was covering her mouth.

“Yes, ever since I walked in on you all on Ava’s sweet sixteen. Gotta say, made the difference in treatment between your children very clear. You were all a little too busy to notice me, though.” I added when she looked shocked and despaired at the same time. “Just add it to the long, long list of activities your family excluded me from. But now we need to deal with the mess your favored child has caused.”

I had said it with just a smidge of vindictiveness in my voice. It was still enough to make her fall to her knees and break down completely. Especially after the barrage of accusations she had just taken from me a few minutes ago, that already had her in tears. Her parents were quickly by her side to support her, but I had more pressing matters to attend to.

The moment the others had sat Logan down on the sofa, they started bombarding him with questions and demands. They wanted to know exactly what was going on, what the videos showed, and, most importantly, how he could be so “fucking stupid”. That last part made me smile again.

Thinking about what the best approach for this situation would be, I decided that Logan wouldn’t be able to come up with any half-coherent cover stories while being hammered by the others. If he hadn’t prepared one in advance, that is. In that case, it wouldn’t matter how quickly I got to him anyways. I wanted to let him enjoy this moment, when, for the first time in his life, they wouldn’t support him unconditionally, and went outside to smoke a cigarette first.

As I stood outside, I hoped the cool air would help me cool down as well. Sadly, before it had a chance to work, Grandpa appeared at my side.

“How do you even get these? You’re not old enough to buy smokes, kiddo.” he commented in some kind of exhausted disapproval.

“Uh huh. Shouldn’t you be inside with the rest of your family, trying to figure out how much compromising material Logan spread around?” I answered, not eager to take any kind of lecture after what had just happened. He was preparing to speak up when he heard my dismissive tone, but the wording I chose regarding ‘his family’ gave him pause for a moment.

“Your mother is crying badly in there. She could use a hug right now.” he said carefully, in a soft voice.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Danielle turned out to be his secret love child. Of all people, he chose me to go and make sure Claire was happy again. After he just learned how I had spent the last four years under her care.

“Then I suggest you go and take care of your daughter. It’s kinda a parent’s job to make sure their children are happy, don’t you think?” I responded, hoping he would take my hint.

“That’s what I’m doing. It would work best if it came from you.”

He didn’t say this like he actually meant it. Like he knew how big of a favor he was asking of me. No, he said it in a tone that suggested he was disappointed at how slow on the uptake I was. Looking at him, I saw that he actually expected me to simply ignore everything that happened, and make his daughter happy again.

“Wow!” was my sole quiet comment before flicking my cigarette bud into John’s garden, earning me another disapproving look from Grandpa, and walking back inside.

They were staring Logan down as he was sitting on the sofa looking like a beaten dog.

“What did I miss?” I asked them.

“Nothing.” Uncle John sighed.

“All right. Let me take over, then.” I said, as I turned towards the sofa.

Instantly there were a lot of concerned glances coming my way while Logan pushed himself further into the cushions, as if he hoped the piece of furniture would swallow him up. I guess they thought I would try to beat the truth out of him, because there was a breath of relief going through the room as I sat down in the armchair opposing him.

“I already know about the videos, Logan. I also already know how many you took and what they show.” I informed him, so he knew how useless an attempt at lying would be.

“How!?” Maggie asked.

“I have remote access to all of his devices. Phone, laptop, even his Smart-TV.” I said, matter of fact.

“Wait! Do you have access to all of my ... our devices as well?” Maggie asked, afraid.

“Anyway,...” I said, answering her question by ignoring it. “No sense in telling me made up crap, Logan. Just tell me what’s going on so I can deal with it.”

“So we can deal with it!” Aunt Danielle corrected me. She was really getting on my nerves.

“And just how exactly do you plan to contribute?” I asked, while rubbing the bridge of my nose. This was just going to be one of those days. “Do you have any experience in dealing with blackmail? Or data recovery? Or device security? That’s all things I deal with at work. You feel confident in going against armed men trying to extort money and sex from you? Remember, with the material Golden Boy gave them, getting the police involved would be a guaranteed prison sentence. For you!”

When Aunt Danielle didn’t respond, I continued.

“Logan?” I said in an expectant tone.

“I owe them some money.” Logan finally spoke in resignation.

“Define ‘some’ money.” Uncle John asked.

“About ... sixteen-thousand dollars.” he answered quietly.

“How much have you already paid back?” I asked.

“Maybe eight?” he said, uncertainty in his voice.

How the fuck could this moron not know EXACTLY how much money he gave away!? And how the fuck could it be just $8,000!? Claire took $2,200 from my bank account after she already gave him as much as she could!

“Does that number line up with what you gave him?” I asked Claire and Aaron, who looked at each other for a moment before nodding, though the shared look told me they had given him a lot more than six grand. Even after all this, they still covered for him.

“Fine...” I sighed, feeling my anger rising again. “How many of your videos do they have?”

Logan hesitated, his eyes wandering over the people surrounding us. “All of them.” he finally answered quietly, causing the rest of the assembly to look at me questioningly.

“Everyone but Granny and Gramps are on those. And me, of course.” I answered their silent question, causing a collective wail to ripple through the group. “And they are explicit enough to earn each and every one of you a prolonged prison stay. Apart from Ava and Maggie, of course, since he hasn’t made any videos since he left for college. They were still underage in the ones he has.” I added.

Uncle John went to a cabinet and got himself a Whisky, but was quickly joined by all the other adults in the room.

“Good Idea.” I said and turned to Ava. “Princess, go to the kitchen and get us some beers.”

She looked at me in amazement, then quickly at the parents who gave her a short nod, and finally at Logan. Logan, she watched longer. He was still sitting there, shoulders slumped, and head bowed. Ava’s eyes came back to me, and I felt like she was appraising me in some way before she finally got up and walked into the kitchen.

I used the time to go over my options. When she came back and we had taken our first sip of our beers, Maggie spoke.

“So ... at least we’re fine?” she asked carefully.

“Sure!” I cheerfully confirmed, but the cheerful tone slowly morphed into annoyance as I further explained the situation to her. “If your definition of ‘being fine’ involves your parents going to prison for a decade or two, and me into a group home after the media told the whole nation about your sexlife, then yes, we’re absolutely fucking fine!”

That caused her to keep quiet for the rest of the discussion.

“You wouldn’t go into a group home!” Grampa argued, accompanied by Granny, who was still comforting Claire, nodding vehemently. “You just said Susy and I are not in those videos, so you could just stay with us!”

I had thought about the possible consequences of their activities since I learned about them, so I knew what this situation meant for us. How could they have done all this for so long, and never prepared themselves for being discovered? I was growing more frustrated and irritated with these people by the minute, and it made its way into my voice.

“No, I couldn’t. At least not until the interrogations and psychological evaluations were through. Even if those went fine, they could take weeks. And if either Ava or Maggie made even a single suspicious comment, they would start investigating you next! Even if those investigations turned up nothing, there is no way in hell they’d let a minor live with a relative who was even suspected of committing incest in concomitance with statutory rape. I’d be stuck in the system for the next eleven months! So, if we’re done telling each other how this really isn’t as bad as it seems ... can I PLEASE continue now?!”

That caused the two of them to also keep quiet for the rest of the discussion.

“Why did you single out Maggie and me? You could make a suspicious comment too.” Ava said quietly, like she was offended by me thinking I was better than her. I did think that. But that wasn’t the reason why I singled them out.

“Because I never participated, Princess.” I said after taking a deep breath. “Since Granny and Gramps weren’t in any of the videos, and they also weren’t at your sixteenth, I never saw anything that could even indicate their involvement. I wouldn’t have to lie when asked about it. I wouldn’t have to check my own answers for irregularities. I wouldn’t have to worry about saying too much. That’s why I didn’t include myself. I could just honestly and earnestly answer all their questions without even thinking about it. Can you say the same?”

That seemed to satisfy her, and I hoped they would shut the hell up now.

“Logan!” I said loudly to get his attention back. “What do you owe them money for?”

“I ... eh ... thought, with my insight from the football team, I could place a few surefire bets. But ... I lost. A lot.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Aaron breathed out.

I could not help but notice how this was the very first time I had ever heard Aaron express any kind of disapproval with his beloved son’s behavior. After everything that asshole did, it was placing bad bets that finally elicited a reaction from Aaron.

“And how did they get the videos?” I asked.

“After I lost the last bet, I avoided them for a few days ... Until they grabbed me off the street, drove me to their shop, and took my phone. When the guy came back with it, he told their boss about the videos he found.”

I was hoping that he would just start talking freely, but I really had to pull all the details out of him, and it started to piss me off even more. But I had to control myself or he would probably just stop talking altogether, like when I left him with the others.

“Their shop? You mean a betting shop? In Austin?” I asked with hope, formulating a plan.

“Yes.” Logan answered.

“What’s the front?” I followed up, but Logan just looked at me in confusion. “Gambling is illegal in this state, Logan. Even online betting sites are prohibited from being operated from here. I know that for a fact, since I was asked to create one a year or so ago. They’d need a front to cover that up.”

“Oh!” Logan said. “A sports bar.”

“Well visited?” I asked.

“Yes? It’s pretty full in the evenings.”

So, it probably wasn’t just a front. They’d actually have something to lose if it went down. But that would be a ‘last resort’ type of option.

“All right. I can work with that. When we met them in the parking lot, one of them said something about interest. How much would you have to pay to at least settle the debt?”

“Uh ... I’m not...” Logan stammered.

“Christ, Logan! You owed sixteen. You paid ‘maybe’ eight. Do you have ANY way to find out how much you still owe them!?” I asked, finally losing my patience with him.

“They didn’t give me receipts!” he defended himself.

“And I assume you’re secretly so damn loaded that you don’t have to worry about giving away eight or nine grand, so you wouldn’t have to keep track of it yourself either?” I asked, before sighing “Spoiled fucking bitch.”

Did I have the means to start a war with people like that? Fuck, no! Did I have the means to get rid of the videos and keep them off my ass? Probably ... If they were pacified by at least getting the money they were actually owed. Anyway, I could work it. I’d just have to bring $8,000. If they try to push the interest thing, I’d use it to check on the videos.

If all went well, I could get the police involved if they tried to threaten me afterwards. Logan could go to jail for all I cared. He gambled. His problem. Of course, since they had already taken $2,200 from me, the parents were probably at the point where they couldn’t provide those additional $8,000. I would have to come up with that money as well. Were they worth $10,200 to me? I wasn’t too sure at that moment. Not being forced into a group home certainly was worth that amount. I’d still have enough saved away to furnish and renovate my apartment.

“How did you communicate with them?” I asked him.

“Mostly by phone calls.” Logan answered.

“Show me the sports bar on Google Maps.” I ordered, and he complied. I’d have to check them out myself.

“All right.” I announced after a while of contemplating. “I have some things to prepare. See you in a few days.”

I got up and started for the kitchen. Just as I opened the fridge and took two more beers, I heard Aaron call out to me.

“What ... Where are you going!?”

“Covering my ass.” I called back, before leaving the house through the backdoor in the kitchen, leaving a whole living room full of confused people behind.

I got into my Jeep and drove to the house. When I was in my room, I sat in front of my Laptop and started researching the sports bar. I sent them a quick email with a spoofed UTA email address, asking for reservation possibilities. The answer came surprisingly quick, and I discovered in the email header that they were using a long outdated version of Outlook. Then I made sure the exploit I intended to use would work with that version of Outlook. By the time I was done with it, I heard the front door slam closed and, shortly after that, my bedroom door flew open. Almost the entire family rushed into my room. Only Logan and Grandpa were missing.

“You can’t just run off like that without explaining what you’re planning to do, Tim!” Aaron said angrily.

I looked at him for a moment, remembering their collective inability to understand ‘geek stuff’, and decided to use that. If I had to explain how this was really going to work, I wouldn’t get to actually do it until next year, but time was ticking.

“Fine. Here’s my plan. I already found out they’re using an outdated version of Outlook that has long lost its mainstream support to fix the known exploits. So, I’m going to send them a PDF invoice with a little extra payload embedded, that’ll cause a privilege escalation to allow my malware to install itself onto their system. From there it will automatically spread itself to every hard drive and device they connect to the initial machine. I’ll also gain remote access to the infected devices, so I can check their wireless network for any devices that might not be connected physically, or are incompatible with my malware. I already have a C&C-server up and running from a former project, so I don’t have to worry about that. When I’m confident I’m in every device and drive they could have stored the videos on, I’ll brick them all. Clear so far?”

I was met with blank stares; they obviously hadn’t understood half the words I just used.

“Great. So, here’s the part you all actually need to worry about. Since I just sent two of their guys to the hospital and a third one directly to jail, they probably won’t be too happy with Logan and me right now. They might just use the videos to retaliate anyway if they get any more pissed at us. So, I need to work fast! But since your Golden Boy obviously didn’t think of that, he didn’t see the need to speak up, and we just wasted an entire fucking week sitting on our asses, while they got more irritated with each day Logan keeps avoiding them! To work fast, I need to work without interruptions. Is that possible or do you need to make any more angry demands, Aaron?”

They looked at each other, but were obviously concerned about the conclusions I had drawn regarding the time-issue. That part made sense to them. They nodded and started to file out of the room. I called out to stop them.

“Claire! I’ll need eight-thousand dollars in cash. Get it from my bank account, since you probably don’t have that much lying around anymore and obviously think it’s yours anyway. When you’re in the bank, pick up a nice money pouch to transport it. Favorably one that comes with a little window for business cards. And John, do me a favor and call Bill. Make sure he knows I’ll need to borrow one of the armored SUVs for a few hours in about a week.”

Then I got back to work, ignoring their stunned stares.

On the social media pages of the sports bar, I had seen them advertise an event that happened a week before. I prepared an invoice for the date of that event from a liquor distributor in their area, but addressed it to a different bar. The email itself looked completely legit, and simply thanked them for their business without mentioning any names.

The usual M.O. of any accountant, when presented with a legitimate looking invoice they can’t place, is to simply open it to check what the distributor wants to charge them for. When they see the invoice is actually addressed to a completely different company, they will just assume a typo in the recipient address and dismiss the whole thing with a relieved chuckle. They usually won’t even contact the supposed sender to notify them of their mistake, since that would just mean more work for them. But even if they do, they’ll have clicked on my manipulated PDF that embeds a Word document by then, and the damage is already done.

About an hour later, I was done and had sent the mail. To my surprise, I received the notification from the C&C-server not even twenty minutes after I had hit the send-button. Seemed like the guy operating the bar did his own books. The device he read my mail on was a laptop, and when I activated the built-in camera and microphone, neither turned out to be covered. Despite this being good for me, I couldn’t help but shake my head. I could literally see when it was safe to go through his files. Why do people think we nerds have been covering the cameras on our laptops and phones for the last hundred years, and every electronics store sells those fancy adhesive slide-covers by now?

I managed to activate the Wake-on-LAN function, so, in case he shut the thing down before I could accomplish anything more, I would just log back in when I was confident he would be gone home.

By now, I was getting somewhat tired, not to mention my ribs were hurting again. I tried to get my shoulders and neck to stop hurting when Claire walked through my door. The indecisiveness in her behavior confused me for a moment, until I remembered the events of the day so far.

“Hey, Honey. I know you asked us to let you work, but ... do you need anything? Something ... something to eat, maybe?” Claire asked carefully.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks.” I groaned back, rubbing my other shoulder now. Claire perked up and quickly stepped behind me.

She inspected the shoulder I was rubbing and started doing it for me. My initial impulse was to tell her off, but whatever she was doing with her hands felt orgasmic! My planned protest was replaced by a surprised, yet appreciative, moan. Soon I was leaned back in my chair, eyes closed, the back of my head resting between her breasts, just enjoying the feeling of pain leaving my tensed-up body as it relaxed. If she wanted to serve me, who was I to tell her off? After a few minutes of this, I heard Granny’s voice from my door.

“Any progress?”

When I looked at her, she wasn’t looking at me. She was grinning at Claire, making me realize that she wasn’t inquiring about my attempts to break into those peoples’ systems. She had sent Claire in here to start mending our relationship. Fat chance for that. If that woman ever wanted to have any kind of relationship with me again, she shouldn’t need her mother’s order to work for it.

I decided, however, that this was not the time to have that kind of discussion. Instead I gestured to the monitor, meaning for my grandmother to check on my work progress.

“What’s this?” she asked after she had walked over to us and came to stand next to Claire.

“That’s the guy doing the books in Logan’s sports bar. We’re watching him in real time through the camera on his Laptop right now.” I explained. Claire’s hands stopped working.

“You can do that!?” they both asked at the same time.

“Sure. Can do more!” I proudly announced, disconnected the earbuds I had used to listen, and switched to the laptop’s speakers instead. We could hear him talk on the phone.

After a minute Granny spoke again.

“This is ... weirdly captivating. I’m watching a complete stranger talking about toilet stalls, but I just want to keep watching him!”

“Yeah. It’s like the Truman Show come real. It just turns you into a voyeur.” I commented. Then groaned again when I moved in a bad way, so my belt pushed against the wound on my stomach.

“Are you okay?” Claire asked concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Belt buckle pressed into my stomach. And I overexerted my chest again, to the point where the ibuprofen doesn’t cut it anymore, but I don’t wanna take the stronger pills.”

“Because you had alcohol?” Granny speculated, placing her hand in my neck to lightly scratch it, while Claire was again rubbing my shoulders.

The light scratches on my neck had a disturbing and alarmingly obvious effect on me. I immediately felt goosebumps spread from my neck, across my entire back, and down both of my arms. My upper body even erupted in an involuntary trembling as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the light touch.

As weird as it sounds, nobody had ever touched me like this. This simple loving caress of my neck and shoulders felt almost intimate after years of missing out on any physical closeness that was not intended as foreplay for sex.

Sure, Tess and I had cuddled and spooned. Though, when it came to caressing one another, she was the type who greatly enjoyed having her body played with, while she herself simply concentrated her efforts on my lower body parts when it came to returning the favor. I had no fucking idea I had sensitive areas on my body aside from my dick! So, what my mother and grandmother were doing to me at that moment was starting to feel too good, and even made me slightly uncomfortable.

With Claire still standing behind me, I had no way to see her face, but at least Granny did indeed notice my reaction to her touch. Though, I doubt she understood why my reaction was so intense, and simply took it as my acceptance of their advances. While she refrained from commenting about it, she displayed a satisfied smile as she continued her speech.

“I admire your acting responsibly, Pumpkin, but it’s just beer. And not that much for someone your size. But don’t take that as our approval of you drinking beer, young man! You’re still only seventeen!”

“Well, then I’ll better not tell you about all the times the guys at work took me to that strip club.” I told them with a resigned voice. “And no, not because of the beers. The opiates make me super sleepy, and ... weird. But I’m not done here yet.”

“How much longer do you think you’ll be?” Claire asked.

“Well ... the bar closes at midnight. Then he’ll have to shut everything down and lock up. Only then can I start copying files in earnest without the danger of anyone noticing the bandwidth usage. Until then I can at least look through their network. So ... probably an all-nighter.” I concluded. “At least I don’t have to worry about school for five more weeks. If I had known, I would’ve gotten myself stabbed a lot earlier.”

When I said that, I immediately felt Claire’s hands clamp down on my shoulder, and Granny stopped scratching my neck. Then I heard Claire’s whisper.

“Please don’t joke about that, Honey. It scared me senseless when I saw you lying on the ground after hearing the gunshot. And then I saw all the blood ... and the knife ... I never want to see something like that ever again. When they rolled you into surgery and I had to wait for any word on how you were doing ... I thought I’d lose you!”

“Since when do you care whether I’m around?” It was not a vindictive or even accusing tone I used. It was a simple statement, calmly telling her what I truly and honestly believed.

“Of course I care! I’m your mother!” she said, appalled at the notion of me believing anything else.

“You’ve been my mother for quite some time already, but still didn’t notice that I was gone for a week. Last year alone, I spent months at Tess’ place. Did you notice me missing then? As far as I could tell, none of you showed any concern for my wellbeing in years. The only reason you claim to care now, and are even here at all, is because your mother is standing next to you demanding you do your parental duty.” I told her, in an equally calm tone.

“Pumpkin, I know you’re angry. But she is still your mother. Mother’s care for their children, we can’t turn that off.” Granny protested.

“Are you going to tell me, you didn’t expressly send her up here to start fixing our relationship?” Hearing my comment, they both took a step back. I was tempted to turn around just to see what kind of expressions they were showing. “I’m not saying this to hurt you, or to get back at you. I need you to understand that, after four years of leaving me on my own, you shouldn’t throw claims like that around. Don’t tell me how much you care about me simply because you’re my mother. You’ve already disproven that claim.”

I had noticed that I felt better than I had in years after getting it all off my chest in that blowout at Uncle John’s. If, and that’s a big ‘if’, they really intended to work on this, they first needed to know exactly what my problem was and why I wasn’t going to give them the benefit of a doubt.

“Is that why you call her ‘Claire’ instead of ‘Mom’?” Granny asked.

“And why I call her husband Aaron. Yes.”

“Will you at least give us the chance to make this right?” Claire asked, sounding like she was crying again. “You won’t suddenly vanish, right?”

“I promised Tess to finish that damn high school, so I’ll at least stay in town ‘till I graduate. After that ... maybe longer. I like my apartment, and I owe Bill a lot.” I said.

“Then I have more than a year to be an actual Mom for you and make you want to stay.” Claire whispered, before squeezing my shoulders again and kissing me on the top of my head. When I turned my head to look at her as she left the room, I could see her shoulders jump a little every time she released a sob. Granny stayed though.

“Please, Pumpkin, give her a chance. She really wants to make this right.” she said.

“No, she doesn’t. She seemed perfectly fine with how things were before you showed up, and as far as I know, nothing changed. Same for you. You knew about the shit going on here for at least a year. You never told me what stopped you from helping. You told them to fix it and then went M.I.A. for a year. So, it seems to me, you were just as fine with the situation as they were. Why should I give anyone yet another chance?” I simply said.

She was taken aback by being put on the spot so unexpectedly and had to think for a moment.

“Maybe we just realized what we did wrong and want to fix it.” she tried after a few seconds.

“Or, maybe, the only thing your daughter cares about in a person is how fuckable they are, which would explain the difference in treatment between their Golden Boy, Princess, and me. Given how that’s the same values your son has imparted on your other granddaughter as well, I wonder who both of your children learned that from.” I offered.

“You can’t actually believe that!” Granny said angrily.

“Of course I do.” I replied casually, refusing to acknowledge her anger. “I spent the past three years trying to figure this shit out, and spent a lot of time reading up on this topic. Do you know what natures most effective safeguard against incest is?”

She just stared at me, so I continued.

“It’s a little tweak in our brains called ‘The Westermarck effect’. It’s the same reason marriages grow stagnant over time. Basically, the more intimately familiar you become with someone, the less interested you are in fucking them. It’s to ensure more offspring with genetic diversity or something. So, parents should be VERY intimately familiar with their children after spending more than a decade caring for them. Unless, of course, they never really cared for them in the first place, but were only waiting for them to start puberty and have sex. I mean, sure, if that was universally true, we wouldn’t need laws against incest. But then again, how did we get to this point in our non-existent relationship again?”

“That’s absurd!” she protested again.

“Save it, Granny. Claire admitted it herself the day I came back from the Hospital, though she didn’t know I was home and could hear them talk. She and Aaron were so consumed in fucking their other children, that the one they didn’t deem attractive enough completely fell off their radar. No sex for them meant no love for me. All the shit their Golden Boy and Princess did to me was never questioned, as long as they got to sneak into their beds at night. Parents of the year, right there. And the rest of you were so happy with what you had, you refused to look for flaws in that little arrangement beyond your own satisfaction. It would’ve meant a possible end to your fun times. So, trust me, as soon as this shit is settled, I’m gone for good!” I concluded.

Granny stood there for a while, realizing the gravity of the situation while contemplating the finality of my words. Not knowing how to effectively respond to anything I just threw at her, she quietly left.