sing me a lullaby :: lyle

[Tessa Valley Donovan]

This was definitely a new feeling for Tessa. She had never liked a boy before in her entire life. She was only seven years old. Before she used to think that boys had cooties. But there was just something about this boy. No, he wasn’t a boy. He was so much older than her and she did not care about that. He was the greatest. The way he dressed, the way he smiled, the way he smelled. Yes, this girl was definitely smitten. She was only seven years old and a part of her knew that he would never feel the same towards her. But she still hoped, prayed about it. She started feeling this way the second she had first laid eyes on him. But she never told anyone about her crush in fear that people would make fun of her because of it.

Tessa did not like being teased and this feeling was not something that she could honestly control. How do you stop liking someone? Was that at all possible? How could that even be possible? Tessa did not understand. She was just seven, after all. They had only been there several weeks and no one knew about how she felt towards the much older boy. But wasn’t it rather obvious? The way she stared at him? How she began stuttering and started to blush when he would speak to her directly. But no one brought it up to her. Good.

It was Friday, a half day at the elementary school. And Nathan had picked her up. She was starting to feel more comfortable around these other people. And when she climbed into the car, kept going on and on about how her day had gone, step by step, leaving out the part about what she had made in art. She did not want him asking her what she made. It was personal. She made it just for Lyle. Only he could know. No one else. Once home and the car reached a complete stop, she grabbed her backpack and ran inside. Nathan said that he was going somewhere and that Nevaeh would watch her since the high school was out that day. She did not care. The girl ran straight up to her bedroom. She pulled out the heart shaped piece of paper from her bag that she had painted red and put red glitter on it. She grabbed a class picture from her desk and pasted it right in the middle and wrote “with love” underneath the photo. She then went to his room and set it on his pillow before returning to her own bedroom. She turned on the television and put in a dvd, The Lion King. She loved that movie. She sat down on her bed as the movie started.

[Deleted]

This whole day had been a disaster. Honestly, he didn't know what to do. He had lied to his dad, and now would have to lie again to cover up his first lie. It was getting more and more complicated. He needed to fess up. Tell his dad that he would never be able to go to college again. What was the worst his dad could do? He didn't even WANT to know. He had spent the entire day looking for a job. Why? Because the brilliant liar decided to tell his dad that he got this AMAZING job opportunity that was worth quitting school for. But so far, he had no luck. Maybe if he didn't stay there that night, he wouldn't have to face his dad just yet. He decided to pack his things and call on the hotties that were Grace and Isabella. Those two were always fun, and he hadn't seen them since graduation. After deciding this, he headed home to pack a duffel bag.

Lyle grabbed a beer on the way to his room, not paying any attention to the youngest member of the family when she waved a door sign in his face. He REALLY didn't care that she had made it in school, or that it said Lana and Tessa's Room instead of just Lana's. When he went in his room and saw what had been left on his pillow, he glared. He had put up with the staring and lame stuttering, because as his dad reminded him often enough, she was a kid. But now she had taken it from innocent crush to obsession. And he intended to snap her out of it RIGHT NOW.

Grabbing the paper, he went upstairs and opened the bedroom door. Unplugging the TV, he grabbed her by the arms. ''You want to end up in the shed, kid? You know what happens to little girls in there?! Let's lock you in there and find out!'' He pulled her to her feet to give her a scare. Then, shoving the paper in her face, he raised his voice louder. ''STAY OUT OF MY ROOM OR YOU'LL MEET MY BELT! AND TAKE YOUR GARBAGE WITH YOU!'' he crumpled it up and dropped it at her feet. There. That should do it.

[Tessa Valley Donovan]

Tessa did not understand. Had she done something wrong? None of this made sense. All she did was give him something that she had made. Was that bad? Should she not have done that? The child let out a loud whimper the second that the older boy had grabbed her arms. Suddenly she did not feel safe being in this house. Suddenly all the girl wanted was her mommy. Tears filled the girls eyes as she looked up at Lyle. “Don’t…” she whimpered. “You’re hurting me.” This was all wrong. Was she wrong? Boys were bad. That was what she was learning. Were all boys like this? That couldn’t be right. Nathan did not seem like this. Or did he just not show that side? Tessa felt confused and just wanted to run and hide. Anywhere. Anywhere away from here.

The child watched as he crumbled the paper up and dropped it at her feet. She tried not to start crying but the tears started to fall and she could not stop them. “Go…” she whimpered. He mentioned something about a shed, but Tessa did not understand that part. All she understood was being locked in there and Tessa did not like the thought of that. “Go away…” she whimpered, pulling away and backing up away from him. She back up into the closet before opening the door and shutting it behind her. She sat on the floor, backing up into the far corner, and hugged her knees tightly to her chest, in tears.

[Deleted]

What was he doing? Lana heard her brother yelling and followed the sound. She stared, wide-eyed. That was HER new best friend! He couldn't do that! But he was. And he wanted to put her in the shed! The shed had a monster that ATE people! Lana had to do SOMETHING! She had to save her! So Lana did what she was best at. She dove on her knees and bit Lyle's leg. Of course, he grabbed her and spanked her for it. Biting was something her daddy was ALWAYS getting after her for. And sure, it hurt, but Lana was too angry to care. ''Jerk! Leave Tessa alone!'' she yelled at him as he left the room. She wished she could lock her door, but she didn't have a lock. So instead, she shut the door.

Tessa wasn't in sight, though. Lana checked under the bed. And when that didn't work, she opened the closet door. There she was. Lana bit her lip. Without a word, she pulled all the shoes out and stepped inside. Closing the door again, she sat beside the other girl and hugged her. She understood how scary her brother could be. He had always gotten fun out of scaring her. But Lana had been around him for seven whole years. She was used to it. Tessa wasn't. So Lana wasn't going to call her a cry baby. It was ok to cry this time.