Man of the House

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This is differne tthan anything I have written before. I had to write a story for my writing class.

The barking echoed through the house. He knew it wouldn’t be long before his stepdad came down the hall yelling at him. He tried to calm the dog down all the while shoving clothes in front of the door to try and muffle the sound. He turned and just glared at the dog. Instantly when the dog stopped he could hear the door down the hall open and heavy footsteps coming his way. He kicked everything away from the door as he backed up to the bed where the dog was.

“What did I tell you about that damn dog? It goes outside, now,” His step dad demanded as he pounded on the door.

With just a couple of pounds the door flung open. There he stood in front of Kevin in boxers and a white tank. He took a step inside and the dog started growling and trying to get to him. Kevin tried to hold Levi back.

“Boy, you better control that dog.”

Kevin was trying to stand his ground holding onto Levi’s collar as he tries to claw his way across the room.

“If you and your friends would have left him alone earlier he would be fine now.”

His step dad knew he was right and just turned around and walked off. Kevin made his way to the door as he heard the heavy footsteps make their way to the kitchen, more than likely, to grab a beer. Then the footsteps went down the hall again to the bedroom. He was relieved to hear the door shut.

Earlier Kevin had been at work. He felt that Levi would be safe at home while everyone was gone to work. When he got home he saw his dog lying in the middle of the floor with his mom and others sitting on the couch and chairs around him. When Kevin walked in he stopped in his tracks looking at his dog. Normally he would get home before his mom and step dad.

He hated these nights that they didn’t go to work. Kevin took a sigh of relieve when he saw Levi raise his head. Normally Levi would come running. But on nights like these he would stammer to him.

There was no telling what they gave him. There never was. He bent down to meet his dog and just glared up at his mom. She was passed out on the couch. Kevin picked up his dog and made his way to his room.

Once Levi starts to come off whatever they gave him he starts to growl and claw at things. The first couple of times it happened Kevin didn’t know what to do. Kevin just sees it now as a really angry dog. Even though it is his step dads fault he would always come to yell at him.

It took him a while but Kevin got Levi to lie down beside his bed. He took his pants off and laid down, “What does she see in him? He is such an ass. One day Levi. One day. Either we are going to get out of here or he is.” Kevin said as he patted Levi.

His dad had gotten him Levi a couple of days before he found out that his parents were getting a divorce. Levi was white with bright blue eyes. He almost looked like a Wolfe. Levi became the most constant thing in his life. When they were going through the divorce he stayed with his mom, who changed a lot. His mom became an alcoholic and most of the time so drugged out that she didn’t pay much attention to him. When she did pay attention it was to yell at him to listen to his step dad. She started calling him that even though they aren’t actually married. As much as this guy tried to act like his dad, it would never happen. His real dad was gone. Just two days after the divorce was finalized he got in a car wreck. He was gone in an instant. Levi was the only memory he had now.

The next morning Kevin took the dog outside for the day. He felt that with his mom and step dad home Levi was a little safer outside. There was about a mile or two between houses so he could bark and roam free till he got home later. He gave Levi enough food and water for the day and was off to school.

Back at home he was alone with Levi for a little bit. He could tell by looking at Levi that they had given him something. Thankfully it wasn’t as much as usual. He lost track of his mom’s and step dad’s schedule. He didn’t know if they were actually “working” or if this was a day to call in “sick”. He didn’t know or want to know what they considered work. Either way he had time to get his dog inside, grab something to eat and take a shower. About the time he got to his room he heard the front door open. He could hear the heavy footsteps and what he knew was his mom stumbling around the room. Kevin tried to do his homework but kept looking at the clock wondering when it would start again with Levi barking and him yelling. He’s a dog for crying out loud, he is going to bark. All his stepdad did was make it worse.

All of a sudden Kevin’s bedroom door flung open, “What did I tell you about that damn dog? Outside you stupid dog, "He said as he grabbed the dog by the collar and started to drag him outside.

“Leave him alone,” Kevin tried to get Levi back. “He hasn’t done anything. He’s staying here. Let go!”

“Like hell he’s staying in this house tonight. Shut up you stupid dog. Now out,” He said as he shoved the now growling dog out the door. “Now get the hell back to your room. I don’t want to hear anything from you or that dumb dog tonight. I actually want to get some sleep.”

Kevin just stood there glaring at him. With his arms to his side, his hands formed into fists that just got tighter and tighter by the second.

“Are you deaf boy? You got something to say?”

Kevin just turned and stormed off to his room and slammed the door. That was the moment that changed it. He knew right then that it was his stepdad that was going to be leaving. He just had to figure out what to do to get rid of him. He would do it on a night that his mom was three sheets to the wind. Maybe he could write a note to make her think he just left. Who knows if he even would leave a note if he did leave.

As he laid in his bed thinking about his options he heard talking in the living room. Kevin wondered if this was why he threw Levi out. But, then again what made tonight different? Kevin glanced over at the clock, midnight. He tried to figure out who the voices belonged to. He could tell his stepdad’s, but the others were ones he hadn’t heard before. At times they all seemed to get heated. Finally he could hear him demanding that they leave and that they would get there money later.

Maybe that was something he could work with. When he disappears he can just say that it could have been those guys he was arguing with that night. Maybe his mom would just leave it at that if she knew that money had been involved. He could plan this out in the morning. He had to get some sleep so he could go to work.

Work was something, that on the weekends, he actually looked forward to. It was his safe place. He didn’t have to see his mom linger around the house. Coming out of her bedroom every so often in her silk green nightgown, long enough to grab either a drink or something to eat. His job wasn’t anything special. All he had to do was stock shelves all day. He was able to just think all day. Before he went home he decided to by a tarp, duck tape, gloves and some rope. He wasn’t sure how he was going to use these things. He just had this feeling that they were going to come in handy. He knew something had to happen. He couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t take what they do to Levi.

He knew that since it was the weekend this was the time to do it. His mom is always out of it the whole weekend. If she hears a noise she won’t come out. She hasn’t come out yet when his stepdad is yelling about the same ole thing.

Instead of going in through the front door he went to the side of the house to the basement door. The actions just started flowing. He didn’t really think about what he was doing. He laid the tarp out on the floor. Laid the rope out beside the gloves and got the duck tape out of the wrap. He went back out the basement door gave Levi a pat and went in through the front door to make things seem normal.

When he walked inside his mom was making her way back to her room. His stepdad was sitting on the couch. One hand with the remote in it and the other held a beer. Yep, just the usual as he walked to his room.

Kevin could hear Levi outside getting restless. Levi knew that he was usually inside by now. He went and let Levi into the basement. Even though he was inside Levi still started barking. He left Levi at the bottom of the stairs and went and listened at the door to the upstairs. Kevin could hear movement. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he came looking for the dog to shut him up. Suddenly he heard the TV shut off and the sound of his heavy footsteps. Kevin could tell that he had gone to his room first to see if he had taken the dog in there.

Kevin could tell that the footsteps were heading his way. He went down and took a hold of Levi’s collar. They stood on the far side of the room staring at the stairs. It was like waiting for the prey to come to the slaughter. Then he came down the stairs with an infuriated look on his face.

“What the hell is going on down here? Why is he back in the house? That damn dog is to be outside.” He got to the middle of the tarp and just stopped, “Are you listening?”

Levi seemed to respond to Kevin’s silence and started growling and trying to get across the tarp to the enemy. Within a few seconds Kevin had time to wonder if he should do this, if he could do this.

“Are you listening to me boy!”

In that instant he knew he could. Kevin kneeled down beside Levi and took the collar off, gave Levi a little pat on the back. With that he took off. Kevin stood there almost in amazement. Levi just seemed to leap for him. Kevin did nothing to stop him. Nothing inside him wanted to stop the horror that was unfolding in front of him. He didn’t even flinch with every tear of flesh and every snap of a bone that he heard.

His stepdad tried to fight him off but Kevin knew that this was a night that even he was under the influence of something. At this point it didn’t matter what it was, just that it made him weak. He had a little fight left in him but not much. Kevin stood in amazement as he went down trying to protect himself crying out for help until it finally stopped. Finally silence.

It seemed like hours that Kevin had stood there just staring at his dogs work. As he bent down to Levi again, he saw that some blood had splattered on his shirt. He stared at the blood splatter. As his had got closer to it, almost touching it, he started to think about what had just unfolded. For a split second he had remorse. But then he heard the silence. No more screaming. No more heavy footsteps.

As he put the gloves on Levi started to chew on the bones. Kevin pulled the sides of the tarp in. Levi was able to make his way to a corner with an arm chewing on it. Kevin used the rope and the tape to seal it up. Hetook his shirt off and wrapped it around what was left of the arm and taped it up. He took Levi outside and hosed him off. Kevin went inside and just as he thought his mom hadn’t come out of her room. He grabbed a trash bag for his shirt and the arm. The trash bag he put in the garbage, not really thinking about anyone wondering what the smell would be after a few days. The trash would be picked up before too long anyway.

Kevin then realized he had a problem. He hadn’t thought of what to do with the tarp. He just knew that he couldn’t deal with his stepdad anymore. Levi had dug many holes in the backyard so he decided to use that to his advantage. Levi had used the holes to keep him comfortable throughout the day while he waited on Kevin and watched for just the right squirrel to come by for him to chase. He went upstairs to grab something to eat and his mom was stammering around. She asked if he knew were his stepdad was. He told her no and then went ahead and told her about the other night and the voices. She seemed to stop in her tracks. It was like she didn’t know what to do or say. It looked like the blood had drained from her face.

She headed back to her room without saying anything. To him she seemed different. She walked different. Almost, like she felt free. He knew that things would be different. He was in charge now. He would actually be the man of the house. His mom went back to bed for the night and Kevin went outside to dig. He took care of the body and took a shower.

As he lay down with Levi beside the bed he took a deep breath. He knew things would be different from now on. For the first time in a long time he was able to take a deep breath and relax. He was finally able to have good nights sleep.

Submitted: December 07, 2007

Literary Fiction horror death family life