‘Forgive them father for they know
not what they do.’
‘Revenge is a dish best served
cold.’
‘Vengeance is mine, so sayeth the
Lord.’
‘But you can hurt him; break him
like he broke you.’
‘He has fear in his eyes. You don’t need to do this.’
“Shut
up! Just shut up!”
“Bu…
bu… I di… d… didn’t say…”
Jerry
punched Sonny across his jaw. He did not
want to hear Sonny speak. He did not
even want to hear Sonny crying but Jerry knew he could not stop that.
“Still
don’t remember me do you, you sorry piece of shit!”
Jerry
pushed the barrel of a .45 semi-automatic pistol into the side of Sonny’s head.
“I
ought to blow your sorry ass away right here, right now.”
“Please,
I’ll give you anything you want. Ju… ju…
just don’t hurt me.”
“Who
would have guessed that big BAD ASS Sonny Flores, Captain of the football team,
would be cryin’ like a little girl?”
Jerry
hit Sonny in the back of the neck with the butt of the pistol. Sonny fell
forward into a puddle of dirty grimy black water. The two of them were standing in a dark alley
behind Murphy’s Bar in Detroit . The bar was located in a rundown area on the
“wrong side of the tracks.”
The
alley was completely dark except for the single light mounted over the back
door of the bar. The light shined on the
two men like a spotlight. Jerry and
Sonny were the only things visible in the alley.
Both
men grew up in the ghettos of Houston ,
attending the same schools since elementary.
Sonny was the cool guy that everyone wanted to hang out with. Jerry was the fat kid that Sonny use to pick
on and make cry. Hence why Sonny became
the cool kid.
As
they got older teasing and calling Jerry names was not enough. Since Sonny always had four guys hanging
around him, “yes men,” Sonny decided to get more aggressive.
One
day during seventh grade gym the five boys cornered Jerry in the locker
room. Jerry tried to run but Sonny
tripped him. Jerry fell hard on the tile
floor, cutting his arm on an open locker.
The
boys laughed and walked out. Sonny got
the taste of blood and wanted more.
Whenever Sonny got the urge to inflict pain he would go looking for
Jerry. The boys would beat Jerry on his
body, making sure never to hit his face.
Sonny
use to tell Jerry that if he ever told anyone Sonny would kill him. Then Sonny would beat Jerry so bad that Jerry
use to wish he was dead. Jerry learned
to hide the bruises and pain very well.
By
the time high school rolled around Jerry had slimmed down a lot. Eighty-five pounds to be exact. Jerry also grew to the height of six foot
even. Summer was the only relief Jerry
got from Sonny and his goons.
Sonny
always had to leave for the summer and his “yes men” were lost without their
leader. Jerry thought that this year was
going to be different. He himself was
different.
Sonny
would not have a fat kid to push around anymore. In fact Sonny was going to have to look up if
he wanted to talk to Jerry face to face.
First
day of school was always the worst for Jerry.
Sonny figured he had three months of ass whippings to dish out and he
wanted to get it all done on the first day.
At
school Jerry tried to stand up for himself but that would only make Sonny
angrier. However, since Jerry was taller
and skinnier, it was not as much fun for Sonny as it use to be.
Most
of the year was better for Jerry. Sonny
and his goons only beat up Jerry once a week.
Jerry would fight back now of course, but he was always outnumbered.
Since
the beatings were not as frequent or as bad as before Jerry was able to make a
few friends. His friends would tell
Jerry to stand up for himself and how they would back him up. When Sonny and his goons showed up it became
a different story. They talked big but
when it came right down to a fight they would disappear, leaving Jerry alone.
Sonny
decided to go back to teasing Jerry mostly.
He would trip Jerry in the cafeteria, causing Jerry to drop his food
tray. In gym Sonny would try to pull
down Jerry’s shorts. A few times he
succeeded. The mental torture would get
worse as school went on.
Jerry
wished that Sonny would go back to the beatings every day. That, at least, Jerry knew how to deal with
and no one would ever know. Sonny,
however, was having too much fun tormenting Jerry and was not about to stop.
Senior
year rolled around and Jerry had met a girl over the summer. She had moved from New Hampshire and was a knockout, the
hottest girl in school. She was Jerry’s
neighbor and for some unknown reason she like Jerry very much.
Two
weeks into the school year Sonny decided he should have the hottest girl in school
not Jerry. Sonny tried embarrassing
Jerry in front of her. But the more
Sonny tried the more she felt sorry for Jerry.
The
week of Fall Semester finals Sonny had enough.
His popularity was beginning to go down because Jerry was not as
affected anymore by Sonny’s cruelty.
Sonny decided time came for Jerry to really suffer.
Jerry
was always the last person to leave the locker room during gym. Sonny waited till everyone left the locker
room and locked the doors. Jerry thought
he was alone so he never seen the bat coming as he got to the door.
The
room began to spin and Jerry touched his forehead. His nose was broken and bleeding badly. Jerry looked up to see Sonny holding a metal
bat. Jerry’s eyes grew large as Sonny
swung the bat at Jerry’s jaw, breaking it upon impact.
Sonny
wanted to break Jerry’s jaw first so that Jerry could not scream. Sonny continued to beat Jerry with the bat,
swinging with all his might.
WHUMP! CRACK!!
With
every blow Jerry’s bones were breaking.
Sonny made sure to hit Jerry all over his body. His legs.
His arms. His ribs. His back.
The last blow was to Jerry’s testicles.
The pain was so severe that Jerry began to black out.
Sonny
dropped the bat and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Sonny grabbed Jerry by the hair on his head
and dragged him to the showers. Sonny
handcuffed Jerry around the shower stall, facing the wall and forcing Jerry to
stand on his broken legs.
Sonny
yanked down Jerry’s gym shorts. He went
back and grabbed the bat. Sonny came
back and tied a gag around Jerry’s mouth, tying it tight. The pain in Jerry’s jaw increased with the
pressure of the gag.
Without
warning Sonny shoved the handle of the bat into Jerry’s ass. Jerry screamed, despite his broken jaw, but
the screams were muffled by the gag.
Sonny pushed until the lip on the bottom of the bat was inside Jerry.
Sonny
then yanked out the bat. He swung with
all his might at Jerry’s hands. The
cracking of Jerry’s fingers as the bones broke was a deafening sound to
Jerry. Sonny took two more swings. One at each of Jerry’s knees. The weight of Jerry’s body fell as his knees
were broken.
Sonny
turned the hot water on full blast. It
did not take long before the water was scolding hot and burning Jerry’s
skin. His body began to go into shock. Jerry passed out.
No
one ever saw Jerry again.
* * *
*
‘Kill him. Shoot him in the head. He tried to kill you.’
‘Thou shall not kill. Vengeance is mine, so sayeth the Lord.’
‘Where was God all those years when
he was killing you? DO IT!’
“Aaaah!”
Jerry screamed as he put both hands to his ears. “Just shut up and leave me alone!”
Sonny
looked at the man holding him hostage.
Sonny had no idea who he was. The
man seemed to be going crazy and Sonny saw a chance to run.
Jerry
noticed Sonny was trying to get up. He
pointed the gun back at Sonny.
“Don’t
you move you sorry piece of shit. You’re
not going anywhere. Why the fuck did you
follow me here? Huh?! What did I ever do to you for you to hate me
so much?”
“Look
mis… mister, I swear I don’t know you.”
Sonny was trying to suck up his tears.
“I think you got me confused with someone else. If you let me…”
“The
hell you don’t know me! It took fifteen
reconstructive surgeries and four years in rehab to heal the damage you did to
me. Because of you I can never have
children. Now I’m going to die a virgin
you sick fuck! I just wanted to be left
alone. You just couldn’t stand for me to
be happy. All because I was FAT!!”
Jerry
kicked Sonny in the gut, making Sonny double over and fall back into the dirty
water.
“You
ruined my life. You killed me before I
ever had a chance to live!”
“Jerry,”
Sonny murmured, “you’re Jerry?”
“That’s
right motherfucker,” Jerry shouted as he kicked Sonny again. “I thought I was rid of you for good. Then you show up here. Can’t you just leave me alone?!”
‘You know he won’t. Do it!
Do it! Shoot him in the
head. Death is the only answer. It’s the only chance you have at peace.’
“Yea. Death is my only chance at peace.”
“Jerry
you weak ass pussy. You aint got the
guts. That’s why you are a loser. Always have been and always will be. Your girl realized that after you left. We fucked and laughed at you for the rest of
the school year.”
‘Shoot him! He deserves it! After everything he did to you. Come on, you know you want to. Just pull the trigger and it all ends.’
“No! Shut up!”
Jerry turned to his left and pointed the gun at the shadows. “Why can’t you just shut up and leave me
alone! Just leave me in peace!”
“Who
the fuck are you talking to,” Sonny
began to stand up. “Jerry I’m going to
take that gun and shove it up your ass.
Just like old times.” Sonny was
laughing as he walked toward Jerry.
Jerry
snapped the gun back in Sonny’s direction.
‘Do it Jerry. Kill him!’
‘No, death is not the answer.’
‘Don’t listen to that pussy. That’s why Sonny beat you up. Be a fucking man and kill him. DEATH IS THE ONLY ANSWER FOR YOU JERRY!’
“Just
leave me alone! All I ever wanted is
peace and quiet!”
“Losers
never get what they want Jerry.”
BAM!
Thump.
Silence.
BAM!
Finally
peace and quiet is found as a lone figure departs into the shadows… smiling.