Collision Part IV: The Past I
Chapter 7
The first week of the new arrangement was tense. Saraid had paid the rent through June, and Paula Kawolski was in no hurry to find a new tenant. Dan spent his days at school, and the afternoons in his old apartment sorting through his family’s things, deciding what to send to storage and what to donate to charity. After dinner, Tessa would join Dan in the lounge and they would do homework together. Since all he did in Archie’s apartment was sleep, Dan was able to mostly avoid his noxious would-be stepfather. He quickly learned to hold his breath between the front door and his room in a vain attempt to avoid the haze of cigarette smoke that so often filled the living room.
The trouble began on Saturday. Mrs. K was in the kitchen preparing to bake. She asked Dan and Tessa to run down to the pantry in the garage and bring her up some pans and other supplies. Equipped with keys, they went to do her bidding. Sitting in the middle of the garage was a shiny red sports car. Tessa stopped short.
“Dan?” she asked. “Whose car is that?”
“That,” Dan said. “Is Archie’s baby. It’s not just a car. This is a 1967 Corvette 400 Ragtop Convertible Coupe and it is in cherry condition. I don’t think he even drives it. He just turns it on and runs the engine every once in a while.”
“It’s a pretty red sports car, but it’s just a car. What’s the point of having a car if you don’t drive it?”
“This is a collector’s item.” Dan lovingly ran his hand down the hood and back. “Marlboro Maroon is the color thank you, not ‘red’. Saddle leather interior, 427/400 horsepower, four speed engine. It has air conditioning, power brakes, power steering, power windows, and an a.m./f.m. radio. This,” he leaned against the bumper and grinned at her. “This is not a car. This is a wet dream on wheels. I’d kill to drive it.”
“Get your thieving hands off my car!” Dan and Tessa both jumped at the furious shout. Archie stood in the doorway, lit cigarette in his left hand, his right clenched in a fist. His face was red with anger, and his normally beady eyes were bulging.
“Whoa. Calm down!” Dan raised both of his hands and stepped away from the car. “We came down to get stuff from the pantry. We were just looking. That’s all.”
Archie moved swiftly toward Dan, shaking him roughly as he pinned him against the garage wall. “I know all about your sticky fingers, you little punk,” he hissed, his foul breath heavy with the stench of beer and cigarettes. “You keep ‘em off my ‘Vette or you’ll regret it.”
“I already do. Don’t you ever brush?” Dan mumbled. He instantly regretted his comment, as Archie moved quickly, his forearm across Dan’s throat, cigarette pointed at his face.
“You have a smart mouth, you little bastard. I guess someone should teach you some manners.” Almost casually, he moved the cigarette to his right hand and pressed its lit end against Dan’s jaw, directly in the hollow behind his left earlobe.
The pain was sharp and endless. Dan gasped and fought to keep from screaming as his skin burned and blistered. A low moan followed by a sharp whimper had managed to escape, when suddenly, Tessa was there, pulling on Archie’s arm and screaming at him to stop. Released, Dan caught himself before he dropped to the floor. Plastering his hand over the burn, he glared at Archie.
“This will go over good with Mrs. Ramirez.” Dan spat the words.
“You won’t say anything boy!” Archie retorted.
“Who’s going to stop me?” Dan’s ear felt like it was on fire, but he was defiant.
“You are.” Archie spoke calmly. “Because if you don’t keep our personal business personal, I might have to extend it to your little girlfriend.” He reached out and grabbed Tessa by one of her braids, waving his cigarette in front of her face. “How would she look with a couple of broken teeth? Maybe minus an eye?” He poked the cigarette at her eye, forcing her head back against his shoulder. “Accidents happen, you know. Especially to kids no one knows what to do with.”
“You bastard. You rat bastard. Leave her alone!” Dan’s voice was hoarse.
Archie grinned meanly. “Watch your mouth,” he said, advancing on Dan again, dragging Tess with him. “You need to show some respect to your step-daddy.” He backhanded Dan across the mouth. “And you want to stay away from what’s mine. I think I’m justified in protecting my property, don’t you?” He hit Dan again, this time drawing blood. “Answer me.”
Dan refused. Archie hit him again, knocking him to the slab floor. “I said answer me, boy.” Archie pulled Tess close to his body, his arm holding her tight. He ran his hand up and down her body as she struggled against him. “Answer me, or else. Am I justified in protecting my property?”
Dan looked up into Archie’s furious eyes, which were gleaming with excitement. The man was insane, of that he was now sure. Tessa’s eyes were wide with fear. Closing his own eyes for a moment, Dan muttered, “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, sir.” Dan spat the words through gritted teeth, but fortunately Archie seemed satisfied. He chortled triumphantly, and thrust Tessa away before leaving the garage. Tessa stumbled over Dan and landed beside him. Throwing her arms around him she burst into tears. Dan returned her embrace, as they huddled on the cold concrete. He buried his face in her jasmine scented hair, holding her while she cried. He wished he could cry. His head felt as though it could explode at any moment, his ear was throbbing and his face was hot and sore. What was worse was that he was trapped. There really wasn’t anywhere to turn. He knew that he would die before he let Archie hurt Tessa. Licking the blood from his split lip, he just hoped he wouldn’t have to.
Chapter 8
Dan held Tessa there on the floor until her crying stopped. Wiping her eyes, she apologized. “I’m sorry about the hysterics. I didn’t mean to get all girlie on you.”
“Yeah,” Dan teased gently. “Girls make me sick.” Turning serious, he asked, “Did he hurt you?”
Tessa shook her head. “Not really. He pulled my hair, that’s all. And he touched me.” She shivered at the memory. “It was disgusting. He hurt you though. Are you going to be okay?” She touched his face, and he flinched.
“Yeah. I’m tough.” Dan met her gaze and couldn’t lie. “My ear is killing me though. When he put that cigarette on me, I thought I was going to be sick. God, I hate him.”
They collected themselves and the requested supplies and returned to Mrs. Kawolski, who nearly had a conniption fit when she saw Dan’s swelling lip and the burn. She didn’t even ask how or why; she just handed Dan an ice pack, the first aid kit to Tessa, and went barreling down the hall yelling, “Archibald!”
The argument that ensued was loud, but indecipherable. A lot of yelling and a couple of loud thumps later and Archie went storming out the front door, slamming it behind him. Mrs. K returned to the kitchen, her eyes red and puffy. She saw Dan and Tessa frozen where she had left them, and pasted a smile on her face. “Let me have a look at that burn,” she said, pushing Dan into a chair. She worked methodically, spreading cooling gel on the burn and bandaging it to keep it clean. While she worked, she cautioned, “You two need to be careful with Archie. He is very protective of his car. It used to be his father’s car, you see, and Archie worked very hard to restore it. I’m not excusing his actions; he should not have done this, but I just want you to try and understand. Just try not to provoke him. He’s usually very sweet, as long as you don’t provoke him.”
Neither Dan nor Tessa could believe what they were hearing. Neither could manage a comment about Mrs. K’s defense of her son. After she finished ministering to Dan, Paula Kawolski returned to her baking, and the two teens escaped to the sanctuary of Dan’s old apartment. Tessa nervously worked through a series of ballet exercises, trying to calm down, while Dan paced. Finally she asked him, “What are we going to do?”
Dan stopped. “I don’t know, Tess. I don’t know. Did you hear her? Try to understand Archie’s feelings? Don’t provoke him? What’s that about? I thought ... I thought I could trust her. I thought she was supposed to help us, but she didn’t do anything when her stupid son lied about marrying my mother, and she isn’t going to do anything about this either.” Dan’s frustration was spewing forth, and he didn’t try to stop it. “I don’t know how we can stay here, but I don’t know where else to go.”
“I think you should call Mrs. Ramirez.” Tessa chewed on her lip. “You can’t let him hurt you to protect me.”
“But I won’t let him hurt you.” Dan was adamant. “He’s crazy, Tess. Did you see his eyes? He... he was enjoying himself.”
“I know.” Tessa moved closer to Dan, putting her hands on his arms. “If we both tell, then maybe they’ll take us out of here, to someplace safe.”
Dan sighed. “Yeah. They might, but we won’t be together. Foster care is tricky. If we stay here, we’re together. If we get out of here, we get separated.” He looked into her eyes and said shyly. “I don’t want us not to be together.”
The smile she gave him was blinding. “Me either. I know we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks, but I feel... like we’re supposed to be together. I feel happy when I’m with you...”
“... Even when we’re not doing anything.” Dan finished her sentence.
She nodded.
“I feel that way too,” Dan continued. “It’s like you’re what keeps me wanting to wake up in the morning. I get up because I want to see you, be close to you.” H touched her cheek with his fingertip. “Touch you, talk to you, to just be with you.”
“Do you want to kiss me?” Tessa asked shyly. “Because I think about that a lot. You. Me. Kissing.” She blushed. “I never really thought much about it before, but when I’m with you...” the words trailed off.
“All the time.” Dan’s voice was husky, barely more than a whisper. “I never used to think about kissing before either. But I want to kiss you. I want that a lot.”
“Have you kissed a lot of girls?”
“One.” Dan grinned a little. “Misty Harper in second grade. She wore my baseball cap all season. Before we left California she kissed me goodbye, and I kissed her back. On the cheek. How about you?”
“I’ve only kissed one girl too.” Tessa nearly laughed at the strange expression that crossed Dan’s face. “Last year,” she explained. “My best friend Lili and I were messing around after recital and we pretended to kiss goodnight. We both thought the car window was up, but it really wasn’t. I think we spent hours rinsing and spitting.”
Dan laughed with her, and then asked, “How about boys? Have you kissed many boys?”
“Nope. Not one. Should I start with you?”
In response, Dan led her to the sofa and pulled her down beside him. He licked his lips, and confessed, “I’m not sure where to start.”
Tessa giggled. “Me either. This is the blind leading the blind.” She thought for a minute, before saying, “Let’s try this.” She raised her face to his and gently brushed her lips against his. Dan was so caught up in the touch that he forgot about his swollen lip. He caught her hair in his hands and pulled her closer, breathing her in, moving his lips against hers just as gently, but with a little more force. Tessa pulled away slightly and dropped small kisses on Dan’s mouth, tracing the contours with her lips. She shifted her position, entwining her fingers in his dark hair and pulling down his head so she could rain kisses on his eyes and brows.
Dan’s mind was racing and so was his heart. Other parts of his body started to think for themselves, as he pulled the girl closer and captured her lips again. Finally, they came up for air.
“Wow!” said Dan. “I think we need to stop.”
“Definitely,” Tess agreed. “But if I had known kissing was this much fun, I’d have started a lot sooner.” She leaned against him and smiled. “I think I’m completely warm for the first time in ages. I’m actually toasty.”
“I’ve moved way past toasty,” Dan admitted. “But I’ll say it again. Wow! Misty Harper’s got nothing on you.” This last comment sent Tessa into peals of giggles, and Dan was unable to keep himself from laughing. They snuggled together on the couch, and for a short while the world disappeared.
Chapter 9
The first test came and went. Mrs. Ramirez dropped by two days after the incident in the garage. She chatted with Mrs. K and Archie, and then asked Dan how things were going. The damage to his lip was hardly noticeable, and his hair covered the cigarette burn. For a moment Dan considered telling the truth. He opened his mouth and closed it again as Archie casually moved to place a hand on Tessa’s shoulder. To Mrs. Ramirez, it was an innocent gesture. To Dan, it was a threat. He shrugged. “I don’t like him. He didn’t marry my mom. He smokes up the house. But everything else is okay.”
Archie’s eyes narrowed, but he kept the smile on his face and left Tessa to stand next to his mother. Mrs. K smiled nervously. Mrs. Ramirez looked from one to another and hesitated. Then she nodded and said, “Very well.” She turned to Archie. “Mr. Kawolski,” she said. “Please remember that your guardianship is still under review. It might be best if you refrained from smoking in front of Daniel. Smoking is quite unhealthy, and it obviously bothers him.” She picked up her purse and gestured to Dan. “Daniel, will you walk me out, please?”
Dan fell in step with the social worker. At the door, she turned to him and asked, “Is everything really all right? If there is a problem, you need to tell me.”
Dan looked back down the hall. Archie was standing next to Tessa again, his arm slung around her shoulders. Tessa looked very uncomfortable. Archie’s face was a blank. Dan took a deep breath and stared at his shoes. “No, ma’am,” he said. “There aren’t any problems.” He could tell that the social worker didn’t believe him, but she left anyway, assuring him she would be in contact, and reminding him to call if he needed her.
Dinner was unpleasant. Archie was angry. His fury simmered all through the meal, effectively halting all of Mrs. K’s attempts at conversation. Dan and Tessa ate quickly and cleared their places so they could get away from the table. As they did their homework, Dan waited for the explosion. It didn’t happen. At nine he said goodnight to Tessa and Mrs. K and headed into the apartment.
Archie was waiting for him. He sat in his recliner, staring at the door, a beer can in one hand, and the ever-present cigarette in the other. He had moved the chair so that Dan had to pass it in order to get to his room. As Dan passed, Archie blew a huge stream of smoke directly at his face. Then he laughed.
“You stupid, stupid little punk.” Archie didn’t move from his chair, but his voice stopped Dan cold. “Did you really think you could screw with me? Get your social worker to make me stop smoking? In my house? Fat chance, sucker. Tell her you don’t like me? Call me a liar? It won’t work, sonny. Your ass belongs to me. I own you.”
Dan tried to force himself forward, but he couldn’t move. His brain told him not to antagonize the madman before him, but his pride overtook common sense, and he shouted, “You do not own me, you creep!”
Archie was on him in a flash. Dan’s much smaller body slammed to the floor under Archie’s weight, the air knocked out of him as Archie pummeled him. Dan tried to get away, but he couldn’t breathe. Then Archie sunk his hands into Dan’s hair, and rose, dragging Dan to his feet and sending him stumbling into the recliner.
Holding the back of Dan’s head down with one hand, Archie pulled his belt from his waist and looped it around his other hand. “Now you little bastard, you listen to me. I already told you I don’t like your smart mouth.” He brought the belt down across Dan’s lower back. “I don’t like you messing with me.” This time the blow landed higher, on Dan’s shoulders. “I especially don’t like you pissing and moaning to the social worker.” A series of blows randomly lashed Dan’s back and legs. Yanking Dan’s hair, he forced the boy to look at him. “You do belong to me. That judge is gonna come back in my favor. I’m your daddy now, boy. Get used to it.” He struck again and again. “I’m following the stellar example of my own daddy, now. You can get used to that, too.”
The beating continued, interspersed with comments, slaps, kicks, and punches. Dan wasn’t sure how long it went on, because he couldn’t force air into his lungs. With each shallow, gasping breath, the edges of his vision ebbed and flowed.
Finally, it stopped. Archie dragged Dan to his feet again and half carried him to his door before shoving him into his room. The door slammed at the same time Dan hit the floor. Still struggling for breath, he dragged himself to the bed. As he lay on the bed, he slowly brought his breathing back to normal.
With the return of oxygen came the realization of pain. Pain streaked through his body from his neck all the way to his knees. In all of his nearly fourteen years, no one had ever treated him like this. Dan drew his knees close to his chest, whimpering uncontrollably. He heard a quiet tap from the other side of the wall. He laid his hand flat against it, and eventually fell asleep.
On the other side of the wall Tessa heard the small sounds of pain, and realized what the yelling and thumping noises she had heard had been. Her heart hurt for Dan; she wanted to stop what was happening to him, but she didn’t know how. With tears in her eyes, she tapped lightly on the wall, and laid her hand flat against it. When the whimpering ceased, she too fell asleep.
Chapter 10
“We can’t stay there,” Tessa spoke quietly as they walked toward the school bus stop. Dan was stiff and sore, and he hadn’t spoken all morning. Tessa stopped, grabbing his arm. He flinched and she loosened her grip. “Do you want to talk about it?” No response. “Please? Danny, please don’t shut me out!”
Dan sighed. “I really don’t want to talk about it, Tess. I should have just walked away, but I didn’t. I made him mad.”
“I know.” Tessa shrugged at the expression of surprise in Dan’s eyes. “I told you the walls were thin. I heard what he did, and I heard you, after.” Dan flushed, unable to look her in the eyes. “Don’t be embarrassed. It wasn’t your fault. It’s him. There’s something really wrong with him. He likes hurting people. Last night, I was wishing so hard that I could just stop him. I wanted to help you, to touch you. I reached out, but then the wall was too thick.”
“I felt you there,” Dan admitted. “I reached out to you, too. It helped.”
“We can’t stay there,” Tessa repeated.
“We don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“We’ll find some place. Some way.” Tessa reached for his hand. Dan hesitated, but allowed her to take it. “Together.” Dan nodded and gently squeezed her hand. They walked the rest of the way to school without talking.
School was difficult. Dan usually enjoyed school, but on this day his body ached, his mind raced, and he found it hard to concentrate. Mr. Foster, his science teacher asked him twice to describe photosynthesis. Both times, Dan was trying to figure out how he was going to change for gym without anyone seeing the marks Archie had left on him. Finally, Mr. Foster approached Dan and, putting a hand on his shoulder, asked once again, “Please describe the process of photosynthesis, Mr. Mangan.”
Startled, Dan nearly jumped out of his seat. He flinched away from the teacher’s hand and mumbled, “I can’t sir.”
Mr. Foster looked at Dan through narrowed eyes, and said, “Very well. See me after class, please.” Dan groaned quietly as the teacher moved on to another student.
After class, the students filed out; Dan stayed in his seat. Mr. Foster approached him, casually sitting on the desk next to Dan, being careful not to touch him. “What’s going on Dan?” he asked. Dan shrugged, “Come on buddy, something’s up. You turned in a four-page report on photosynthesis two weeks ago and you can’t describe it to the class today? Your mind isn’t here. It’s been like this the last few days, but today it’s really bad. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Dan struggled between honesty and hedging. He liked Mr. Foster. He was a good teacher who made science interesting and fun, but he was an adult. Dan was having a hard time believing he could trust anyone, especially another adult. Finally he said, “It’s been hard since my mom died. I haven’t been sleeping well, and now I really don’t feel good. I think I might be coming down with the flu or something.”
The teacher looked at him closely. The boy did look pale and tired, but he was pretty sure there was more to the story. Flu symptoms didn’t usually include the wariness and jumpiness he was seeing in Dan. Nor did they usually manifest in the faint shadow of bruising along a person’s jaw line, or the slight swelling of the lips. “Very well,” he said. “Why don’t you head down to the nurse and have her take a look at you.” He stood up and gestured to Dan. “Come on,” he said. “This is my prep period. I’ll walk you down.”
Reluctantly Dan rose and followed the teacher out the door. Part of him resented the fact that Mr. Foster felt it necessary to escort him to the health room; another part was relieved that he could miss his P.E. class playing sick for the nurse.
The nurse took his temperature: It was slightly elevated, but not enough to warrant getting sent home so late in the day. She handed him a blanket and saw him stretched out on a cot, before heading to lunch. Dan feigned sleep for the last two classes, and then rose, folded the blanket, and went to meet Tessa at her locker.
“What happened?” she asked anxiously.
“How do you know anything happened?” he asked.
“I have French with Tully,” she reminded him. “He told me Mr. Foster held you after class, and that you didn’t show up for P.E." She bit her lip and whispered, “I was worried that he found out, and they took you away.”
“No. I told him I wasn’t sleeping and thought I was getting the flu. He took me to the nurse. That’s where I was. How was French?”
“Considering I speak it better than the teacher?” Tessa asked sarcastically. “It was tedious and très mauvais. And you are changing the subject.”
“Yes, I am,” Dan replied wearily. “Will you please let me?”
“For now,” Tessa told him. “But only because you look half dead. We will need to talk about it soon though. We need to have a plan.” At Dan’s blank look, she explained. “An escape plan.”
“Okay,” Dan agreed. “But not here. Not now.”
“Let’s go... home.” Tessa grimaced as she closed her locker and reached for Dan’s hand.
