This is a continuation of Just in case you ever wondered. By(that1hugboxer)
You are Duncan. Tonight has been a very long time coming. It’s a little after 4:00pm on a Friday. You have made sure everything is perfect. You found your great grandparents old tv set in the attic and took the entire day off to get it up and running . You borrowed a VHS player from Vicky and most importantly you found Štěpán’s VHS collection. You prepare rice crispy treats and Walmart frozen pizza . You tell yourself once again. “Everything must be perfect”
So much has changed since you four left high school, but no matter what happens, what twists life throws at you. This one 24 hour period out of the year allows all of you to forget the pains of adulthood.
Štěpán is the first to arrive . He is trying his best to hold back the tears.
“Cousin…I…I don’t want to do this.”
You take a deep breath.
“Everything must be perfect. Understood?”
Štěpán recomposes himself.
“Yes cousin.”
Ann and Jane arrive soon after.
As the movie starts you feel as though you are transported back in time. You ,Štěpán, Ann and Jane are around 12 years old. The calendar reads June 12th 2006.
Jane turns to you.
“ why the long face Dunk? Isn’t this one of your favorites?”
You smile.
“Oh… it’s…just that I’m sad we can’t do this everyday.”
Jane giggles.
“If we did this everyday it wouldn’t be a weekEND monster movie marathon, silly!”
You chuckle.
“I guess you’re right.”
Štěpán jumps up from behind the couch scaring both Jane and Ann.
Jane scowls at Štěpán who is laughing so hard that he can’t catch his breath.
“Štěpán! You Jerk!”
Ann throws a pillow directly at Štěpán’s face.
Just then you hear someone banging their fist on the door.
“Jane! Jane ! Come out here this instant!”
Jane starts having a panic attack.
“I swear to God if you don’t come out here right now you can forget about coming home at all!”
What happens next has played out a thousand times in your head over the course of your adult life.
Zofie your 89 year old great grandmother opens the door.
“Mr. Chapman! You are scaring the children ,You go home now!”
Mr Chapman shoves your great grandmother out of the way and grabs Jane by the arm.
“You shameless Slut! How dare you have a sleepover at a boys house!”
Jane is trying to speak but can’t quite get the words out.
“Daddy… it’s n…not like…tha…”
Before Jane can even finish her sentence Mr Chapman boxes her ear with a thunderous clap.
“Dunk you ok?”
Jane’s voice brings you back to the present .
“Yeah I’m fine”
You pause the movie
“Jane …. The three of us have something to talk to you about.”
“Alright shoot.”
“Jane we Love you like a sister. However your behavior as of late has been rather concerning. To be frank it’s unacceptable “
Ann chimes in.
“We are really worried about your mental well being.”
Jane breaks out in a cold sweat .
“N…no. You promised. YOU PROMISED!!!”
You put your hands on Jane’s shoulders.
“Jane. Look at me! We are not sending you back to psychiatric ward.”
Jane calms down a bit.
“Jane . Zoey has offered to pay for you to have EMDR therapy. She said it helped her a lot with her trauma.”
Jane looks up at you
You see her as she was when you were both in high school.
Her lip begins to quiver .
“I…I”
From Jane’s perspective she sees a hallucination of her father standing behind You.
“Worthless Slut ,always bothering everyone else with her problems!
Maybe if you’d just been a good girl I wouldn’t have had to Beat the promiscuity out!”
“I…I want…”
The hallucination of her father takes off his belt.
“If I have to live with the stigma of having a slut for a daughter, then you are going to live with the consequences!”
You look Jane in the eyes.
“What do you want Jane?”
The hallucination of Jane’s father raises the belt above his head like a whip.
Jane clenches her fists as the belt comes down buckle first on her head.
“You’re a strong willed little Hussy, I’ll give you that! “
The hallucination of her father smirks.
“Maybe daddy needs to show you what happens to little girls who act like sluts?”
The hallucination of Jane’s father unzips his pants.
Jane breaks down crying.
“I want to get help!”
The hallucination of Jane’s father fades away.
Jane clings to you sobbing.
“Please I can’t do this anymore.”
You put your hand around the back of her head and pull her close.
“Will get through this together just like always.”