When Smiles Fade

by Paige Dearth

Emma raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time, until she had reached the bedroom she shared with Gracie. She shoved herself between her sister and Jake and screamed, “Don’t you fucking touch her, you motherfucker! I’ll fucking kill you if you do!”

  Jake laughed heartily at her threat. “Shut the fuck up, slut!” he sneered. “I’ll do whatever I want to in this house. You don’t see your mother in here, putting her nose in where it doesn’t belong, do you?”

  “That’s because my mother is a fucking cunt!” Emma retorted. “Now get out of our room!”

  Jake strolled out slowly, still chuckling to himself, as if the girl had told him a really good joke.

  Emma slammed the bedroom door behind him and ran over to Gracie. “What did he do to you?” she asked her sister anxiously. “What happened?”

  The side of Gracie’s face was red and swollen from Jake’s slaps. “He was taking a bath and called me into the bathroom to wash his back,” the younger girl explained. “And I said I didn’t want to. I don’t want to wash his disgusting back, Emma. Besides, he was naked. I just don’t want to live here anymore! Can’t we go live somewhere else?” Gracie begged, wanting to be as far away from Jake as possible.

  Emma held her sister in her arms for a long time. Then she went over to Brianna’s, taking Gracie along. She explained to her friend what had happened as they sat in the living room with a drunken Pam slouching nearby and mumbling incoherently, her slurred words running into each other.

  By the time Emma finished her story, Brianna had put a comforting arm around Gracie. “Don’t you worry, little sister,” she soothed. “We’ll protect you.”

  Feeling safer now that she was with Emma and Brianna, Gracie began to relax.

  “Here’s the deal,” Brianna began, looking at Emma. “You and Gracie are going to live here with me and Pam.” She looked over her shoulder at her mother. “RIGHT, PAM?” she hollered.

  Brianna’s mother looked at her. “Yeah, sure, Bri, whatever you want,” she mumbled passively. “Just don’t call me ‘mom’ in front of my johns. Otherwise they’ll think I’m over the hill.”

  The girls already knew why Brianna had called her mother Pam from the time she was a small child. She had told them when they first met how Pam always lied to her clients about Brianna, claiming that the girl was the daughter of her dead sister. The motherless child, she explained, had no one else to take care of her and Pam had volunteered to take her in and raise her as her own. During one of the rare moments when she was sober, Pam had explained to Brianna that knowing she had a daughter would be a turn-off for her clients.

  “Nobody wants to fuck an old lady,” she had said matter-of-factly. “I was very young when you were born and I could probably pass you off as my sister, but we’ll just tell them you’re my orphaned niece. In fact, some of them might actually get turned on by my kindness and fantasize that they are fucking a real Florence Nightingale!”

  Brianna’s plan for her friends was finalized, and Emma and Gracie headed back across the street to pack some clothes. They found Jake at home, sprawled on a recliner he had brought from his apartment and placed in front of the television.

  “Where the hell did you two go?” he demanded to know.

  “None of your fucking business!” Emma shot back. “You don’t belong here. This is our house. So if you’re staying, we’re leaving. Fucking asshole,” Emma mumbled as she turned to walk away from him.

  Jake sprang up from his chair, grabbed hold of her neck, and jacked her up against the living room wall.

  “Who the fuck are you talking to like that?” he snarled. “I’m the man of this house, sugar bottom. You might talk to your mom like that, but there ain’t no snot-nosed little bitch gonna talk to me that way!”

  He looked over at Gracie, who was mortified as she watched the horrors that were unfolding. “And what the fuck are you looking at?” he barked at her.

  Emma kept silent, pushed him off her, and led her sister upstairs. While they were in their room, stuffing their clothes into a grocery bag, Valerie walked in.

  “What’s going on, girls?” she snapped. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Since you insist on having that asshole live here,” Emma told her, “we’re leaving. You may want to live with that toxic prick, but we don’t have to. We’re going to stay at Brianna’s. Her mom’s fine with it.”

  “Actually, Emma, you’re not leaving,” Valerie said authoritatively. “You are not old enough to live on your own, and even if you were, you would definitely have no right to take Gracie with you. So settle down and stop being such a drama queen. Haven’t you caused enough trouble for this family already? It’s always about you, Emma! It was the same way with your father. You just don’t know when to stop. Do you?”

  Emma couldn’t believe her ears. She was convinced now that her mother was the bride of Satan. “My God,” Emma grunted, “you’re fucking delusional! Seriously, Mom, you’re as far from reality as anyone can be. You’re living in some fantasy world that you made up. What the hell is wrong with you? We hated Dad! He was a total dickhead that beat us for no good reason.”

  Valerie chose to ignore her accusations. Instead, she warned her older daughter a second time against leaving home. Emma disregarded her as she finished packing their clothes. As the girls made their way for the door, Valerie moved to block it. Emma forced her way past her mother, holding fast to Gracie’s hand.

  “Really, Mom,” was her parting shot, “you are a sorry excuse of a person!”

  The moment they were out of the house, Jake confronted Valerie upstairs in her bedroom.

  “What’s your problem, woman?” he sneered. “You just let your kids shit all over you!”

  He inched closer to her, making Valerie uneasy. Then, taking her by surprise, he backhanded her, sending her crashing to the floor. The moment she was down, he pounced on top of her.

  “You dense half-wit!” he yelled, punching her in the face and upper torso. “I uprooted my whole life to come and live here with you and those rotten kids of yours! I did it so that I could have a real family. And now you’ve gone and chased them away!” Grasping a fistful of her hair, he yanked her head up and banged it on the floor. “You get those two back here tomorrow or you’ll see how ugly I can be!” he ranted through clenched teeth.

  Valerie lay still on the floor. It was the first time any man had ever hit her so hard. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t know what to do about it. She waited until morning to give Jake time to calm down. Then she called 911 and reported her children missing.

  “I know where they are,” she said to the person who answered her call. “They’re living with a prostitute across the street. It’s my older daughter that’s to blame. She took my younger one along with her. I need you to send an officer over right now, so he can help me bring them back.”

  Valerie hung up the phone and walked into the bathroom to cover her fresh bruises with makeup before the police arrived. Jake had reminded her that all the guys on the Norristown Police Force were his friends and he wanted her to make a good first impression. As she slathered on makeup, she thought, this will never happen again. My daughters will come home and give Jake whatever he wants. He will love me again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Within thirty minutes, the police were knocking at Brianna’s door. Roused from sleep and only half-awake, she opened it and stopped short. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw the police standing on the porch.

  Pam hurried up to the door and peered out from behind her daughter. “Yes, Officer,” she said politely to the first man, “how can I help you?”

  The larger of the two officers sized them up before answering, “We received a call that two young girls from the house across the street are staying with you. Is that true?”

  Pam looked at Brianna questioningly. Shit-faced drunk the night before, she had no recollection of who the hell was still sleeping in her own bed. She had no idea if one of her daughter’s friends
had slept over.

  “Yeah, Emma and Gracie are here,” Brianna acknowledged. “Why?”

  “Well, they have been reported as runaways. We want to come in and talk to them,” the officer said with authority.

  By then the two sisters had come out into the hallway that led to the front door. The moment she saw the police, Emma realized that Jake had bullied her spineless mother into calling them. Putting a protective arm around Gracie, she led her into the living room with the policemen following.

  “You’re Emma and Gracie, right?” the burly officer asked.

  “Yeah, that’s us,” Emma replied in a voice that did not hide her resentment.

  “Your mother has reported you missing,” the officer told her. “In fact, she said you were a runaway and that you had taken Gracie with you. I want you to understand that’s considered kidnapping. Now, I doubt your mom would press charges, but I hope you recognize the gravity of the situation. What you did was very wrong and could invite serious repercussions. Can you tell us why you ran away from home last night?”

  Emma was unfazed by the officer’s threats. “Well, let’s see,” she said coolly. “My mother is a piece of shit who lets the men in her life beat us up and then tells us it’s our fault. Oh, and right now, she has a man living with us who is a complete asshole. He’s trying to take over our lives. Let’s see, what else?” Emma did not hide her sarcasm as she tapped her fingers on her forehead. “Yes, he’s a big dick who likes to pick on little girls. I think that about sums it up.”

  The officers were not amused by Emma’s cocky performance. They were used to tearful stories that emphasized the helplessness of the victims being questioned. This young girl seemed far from vulnerable and her rebellious stance failed to gain any sympathy from the two men. The impression they gleaned of Emma was that of a smartass troublemaker. The officers stood and firmly escorted the girls back across the street to their house.

  Jake stepped out onto the porch when he answered the door and saw his friends.

  “Ed, how are you, buddy?” he called out to the burly officer. Turning to Ed’s colleague, he said, “Mack, how’s it going?” He shook hands with both men.

  Valerie stood in the doorway in full view of the officers, acting the role of the worried mother, but more concerned that Ed and Mack should notice how beautiful Jake’s girlfriend was.

  “We’re doing good, Jake,” the officers replied. “I guess you know that your girl Valerie here called about her daughters. We’re assuming she won’t press kidnapping charges against the older one.”

  The girls pushed past Valerie and went into the house without another word. Their mother quickly followed them in, after Jake gave her a look that said, “Scram!”

  Alone with the officers, Jake tried to act nonchalant. “Nah!” he said. “Valerie just wanted to give Emma a good scare. She’s a handful, that one.”

  Ed laughed. “Yeah, she has quite the mouth on her! She was swearing up a storm over there!” Then his expression became serious as he leaned in closer to Jake. “Listen,” he said, “I think you need to sit those two down and have a serious talk with them. Going by our conversation with the older one, it seems to us that she isn’t too fond of her mother. You know how teenage girls and their mothers can get! I’m sure you can help them straighten this mess out. They’re lucky to have you here, pal! Good luck to ya, Jake.”

  When the police car had pulled away, Jake went back inside. Emma and Gracie were sitting on the old sofa, just as Valerie had instructed them to. Jake stood before them with a mean, twisted smile plastered across his face.

  “Yeah,” he said, “you’re pretty stupid for trying to be so smart. You never asked me what I did for a living, did you? I work for a counseling service and deal with juvenile delinquents. So I know all the police around here. They know what a great guy I am, and thanks to your big, fucking mouth, Emma, they now know what a handful you are for your mom and me. We decided not to bring kidnapping charges against you, but if you push us, we can change our minds and put your sorry ass in jail.” He leaned in really close to Emma. “You got that, sugar bottom?” he said in a stage whisper. “It means you would be locked up and we would be here to take care of Gracie all by ourselves.”

  Emma swallowed the rebuttal rising in her throat. She didn’t want to push him, not now. She had to consider her sister first. The time would come when she could make things right again. For now, she would go along with his game. He had shown her his hand. He wanted to provoke her into fighting with him over Gracie. The anticipation of friction gave him as much sadistic pleasure as his assumption that, given the odds stacked against Emma, he would emerge victorious. The thought of the ensuing stress and chaos warmed him. So did the excitement of the hunt. Well, Emma was ready for battle. Jake was a piece of trash and she would throw him out of their lives the way she would any other garbage. As for Valerie, well, she was another story altogether and Emma would deal with her in a different way.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Over the next several weeks, the girls were forbidden to go over to Brianna’s. They had to come straight home from school, but Emma talked to her friend every day in school anyway. On a few occasions, they ditched classes and hung out at a local pool hall. They shot a few games, but mostly they obsessed about how to get Jake out of the picture.

  The man hadn’t hit Gracie again since the night the two sisters had walked out, but he had shoved her around a lot. Each time, Emma had stepped in and stopped him, but she didn’t know how long it would be before he got to her little sister again. It was impossible for her to be with Gracie every minute of the day, but she tried her best. Jake had also started drinking in the house. While he was nowhere near the raging alcoholic that Pepper had been, he did drink every day, and Emma had noticed that he couldn’t really handle his liquor. When he drank, he lost control of himself and staggered around the house, half-cocked, before falling asleep on the sofa.

  One night, having polished off a pint of whiskey, he lay on the sofa, snoring and emitting strange animal sounds. As she observed him, it dawned on Emma that she had found his weakness. She tucked the information into the back of her mind to be used later if she needed to. As long as he kept his hands off the two of them, she would stand down, she decided, but the minute he caused them any harm, she would make sure he paid for it.

  Three weeks later, Jake told Emma before he left for work, “Your punishment is done today. Let me warn you that you better keep yourself out of trouble, sugar bottom. If you don’t, you may find yourself locked up. Now Gracie, on the other hand: who would ever lock her up, innocent and naïve as she is? Mind your business and keep your fucking mouth shut! Understand?”

  Emma smiled at him tauntingly and hissed, “Fuck you, Jake!”

  He cackled scornfully and was still laughing as he left the house and went off to his job that involved “helping” children.

  When Jake arrived home that night, the girls were setting the table for dinner. He sat down in his usual chair and gawked at them as they scurried around the kitchen. He liked his new home, which he could enjoy thanks to his beautiful, stupid girlfriend. He liked thinking dirty things about the girls. His mind lingered on Emma as he imagined her giving him a rough ride on that long, lean body of hers. While Gracie, with her overwhelming fear of him, turned him on so much, he had to keep fucking Valerie to prevent his balls from exploding. The woman wasn’t a half-bad-looking broad either, but compared to the promise her two young daughters held, she was nothing.

  After dinner that night, Emma scooted over to Brianna’s house and Gracie went up to their bedroom to finish reading a book for a report she was doing at school. Emma had only intended to be gone for half an hour or so, since she and Brianna were pulling their money together—what little they had—to buy fake IDs from a kid at school. With their counterfeit IDs, they could buy their own beer and get past the bouncers at night clubs. Emma was surprised when she looked at the clock on Brianna’s nightstand and realized that s
he had been at her friend’s place for almost three hours.

  When she hurried home and walked through the front door, Valerie was sitting on the sofa alone, staring into space. She looked startled when Emma asked her where Gracie was.

  “Well, um, Jake took her out to get ice cream,” Valerie stuttered. “They’ve only been gone a short while. I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

  No sooner had the words left her lips, Jake walked in through the front door. Gracie was not with him.

  “Where is Gracie?” Emma demanded.

  Jake sized her up, obviously amused by her outburst. “Little bitch ran off,” he said casually. “I took her to buy ice cream. She was sitting at the table, and when I came back from getting our stuff, she was gone. I looked for her, but I couldn’t find her. I figure when she gets hungry enough, the little whiner will come home.”

  Emma made the mistake at that moment of taking a swing at Jake. He dodged her fist and landed a powerful punch on her nose. Blood splattered everywhere. She remembered then, in that one moment, all the physical pain she had endured at the receiving end of Pepper’s hands. She reached up and grasped Jake’s hair, holding onto it as if for dear life. He lunged at her breasts and grabbed them, pinching the flesh so hard the pain forced her to release his hair. When she was able to focus again, she charged at him. In one swift motion, he punched her in the throat.

  Emma was down for the count. She lay on the floor gasping for breath, fearing that Jake had broken something and she would suffocate to death. Slowly, she began to feel air entering her lungs and eventually she was able to sit upright on the floor.

  Jake had been sitting in his chair the whole time, watching her. While the scuffle was on, Valerie had turned on the television to divert her attention from what was happening right in front of her.

  When Emma was finally able to get up, she walked over to Jake. Although she was barely able to force the words through the insane pain in her throat, she managed to say, “I want to know where she is, Jake. If you don’t tell me, I’ll call the police.”