The Broen Mind

Sarah Anne sat huddled on the patio chair of her mother's front porch with her knees drawn up to her chest. It had been thirty minutes since she had left the house, and the idea of returning to it sent a shudder through her slight frame. She ached everywhere.

The rough treatment of her body by her brother's hands left her feeling sore, and the aggressive violation she had undergone had deeply traumatized her. She had no idea what to do.

If she went back inside, she was taking a very large chance of enduring more. She needed to call her mother, and ask her to come home.

Only, what reason could she give her? She couldn't imagine telling her what had happened. She couldn't stomach the thought of enduring anymore humiliation and degradation.

Seeing no other real alternative, Sarah Anne slipped from the chair, and hesitantly walked over to the front door to open it slowly. The living room was empty, making her sigh in relief, and she quickly stepped inside before closing the door.

Her little brother was no where to be seen, which was never a good sign. He had abandoned his spot in front of the television, and was now only God knew where.

Stepping lightly through the living room, Sarah Anne peered into the kitchen with bated breath, and saw that it too was empty.

"Where did that little freak go?" Sarah Anne muttered to herself.

Walking to the counter, she picked up the paper her mother had left her that had a list of instructions, and her contact information written across it. Holding it up, she read what she had written.

Helpful Hints

1. Don't promise him anything that you can't deliver. He will hound you all day long until he gets it.

2. Try not to argue with him, it only antagonizes him, and gets him worked up. If he says, or does something strange just go along with it.

3. Asking for hugs easily distracts him, and he seems to enjoy the physical contact.

4. If he misbehaves, tell him that Santa is watching him, and that little boys don't get presents if they're naughty.

5. There is a jar on top of the fridge with cookies inside of it. You can tell him that if he's a good boy that he can have one.

6. Above all else, make sure he doesn't leave the house.

Sarah Anne's eyes widened after she'd read the entire list. There was no way that she was going to offer him a hug, and if he attempted to do anything further she would tell him that Santa stabbed naughty little boys.

These were helpful hints, just not in the way her mother had quite expected. She planned on using them as weapons.

At the bottom of the paper was her mother's work number. Stepping over to the corded telephone that hung from the wall, she lifted the receiver in her hand.

She had just managed to dial the first three numbers when an extremely loud crashing noise reached her ears making her jump. Turning her head, Sarah Anne gasped as the card board box hit the bottom landing of the attic steps, and several of her things came spilling out of it.

Just as she registered where the noise had stemmed from, her brother came galloping down the attic steps, and leapt over the box so that he was standing beside her. Sarah Anne's eyes widened, and her heart beat faster within her chest as he looked at her.

"Where is the candy?" he asked pointedly.

"It's in my purse," she answered in a strangled whisper.

"Get it now please," Arthur directed her.

Sarah Anne nodded in consent. "Okay. I will. I just have to make one phone call first."

Arthur's brow furrowed as he looked at her. "I want the candy," he repeated firmly.

Punching in the last four digits of her mother's work number, Sarah Anne looked at her brother warily. The call quickly connected, and she could hear the sound of ringing in her ear as she waited for someone to pick up.

When Arthur turned to pull the cord out of the telephone, Sarah Anne lowered the receiver with a gasp.

His expression remained calm as he dropped the cord to the floor. "I want it now," he informed her. His tone didn't brook any arguments.

Running shaky fingers through her hair, Sarah Anne set the receiver back into it's cradle now devoid of the cord. "Alright, Arthur. I'll get it now."

Stepping away from him, Sarah Anne made her way through the kitchen, and into the living room. As she approached the closet near the front door, she could hear her brother's footsteps behind her as he followed her.

Opening the closet, she reached inside until she had located her purse, and pulled it out by it's strap. Once she had it in her hands, she unzipped the side pocket, and pulled out the Snickers bar she kept there to kill her hunger cravings while she worked.

Turning around, she gasped to find her brother standing so close behind her. His dark eyes were impassive as he looked at her, but when she held the candy bar aloft, a large smile lifted his lips, and his eyes seemed to brighten within his face.

"I want that," he announced loudly.

Handing it over to him, Arthur quickly took it from her hand, and opened the wrapper before taking a large bite. He chewed it for a moment then smiled at her happily before walking over to the couch, and jumping on top of it so that he was standing on the cushions.

Sarah Anne watched him in surprise as he began jumping up and down, and with a shake of her head, she wandered back into the kitchen.

When she had reached the phone once more, she quickly swooped down to pick up the end of the cord to insert it back into the telephone.

Pressing down on the cradle to reset the receiver, she lifted it to her ear, and sighed in relief when she heard a dial tone. Arthur entered the kitchen behind her as she began to dial.

"I want to take a bath," he announced.

Peering back at him over her shoulder, Sarah Anne's brows furrowed as she looked at him. "Arthur, you have to wait until mom gets home to take a bath. I can't give you one."

A dark frown passed over his features at her response. It made his young face seem imposing as his eyebrows lowered toward his eyes.

"I want to take a bath now!" he yelled stubbornly. Picking up a spatula that was resting on the counter top, he threw it across the room before his angry eyes rested on his sister once more.

"Alright," Sarah Anne said as she hung up the telephone. Turning to face him, she lifted her hands into the air in a signal of surrender. "You can take a bath. Just stop throwing things."

Arthur smiled in victory as he let out a small laugh. Reaching up to scratch his stubbled face, he dropped his hand before turning to head in the direction of the bathroom.

Once he was inside, Sarah Anne warily followed him until she reached the doorway. Placing her hand on the doorjamb, she watched as her brother turned in a complete circle as he looked around him.

"What are you looking for?" she wondered aloud.

"Mr. Wallace," he informed her.

"Who is Mr. Wallace," Sarah Anne asked curiously.

"He is my duck."

Lifting her brows, she nodded at that piece of information, then stepped into the room to approach the bath tub. Once she had reached it, she leaned forward, and pushed the lever for the stopper before turning on the faucet for the hot water.

As the bath tub began to fill, she turned to watch her brother as he dug through the drawers that were built into the bathroom counter.

Opening the first one, he stared down into it for a minute before shaking his head. Slamming it closed, he reached for the second drawer, and pulled it all the way open.

Looking into that one as well, a smile appeared on his face as he reached down into it. When he pulled his hand out, he held up a small, yellow plastic duck in the palm of his hand.

"Mr. Wallace," he showed her.

"He's very nice, Arthur," Sarah Anne told him.

"He can swim," Arthur announced proudly.

Stepping over to the side of the bath tub, he bent down and placed the small duck into the bottom of the tub. When it floated at the top of the water, he turned to smirk at her as if it had just created a magical feat.

"Impressive," Sarah Anne said with a nod.

"He needs bubbles," Arthur said with a frown.

"We can give him bubbles," Sarah Anne agreed.

Reaching into the shower caddy, she lifted the shampoo, and flipped open the cap before tipping the bottle, and squeezing a dollop into the water. Immediately, bubbles began to emerge, and spread across the water. Arthur smiled as he watched them appear.

"Can you handle this by yourself?" Sarah Anne asked as she looked at him.

Arthur stared at her blankly after she asked the question.

"Taking a bath. Can you do it by yourself?" Sarah Anne repeated.

When he still didn't respond, Sarah Anne sighed. "Does mom wash you?" Sarah Anne asked.

Arthur frowned. "Mom tells me what to wash. She sits on the toilet," he informed her.

"Do you need me to tell you what to wash?" Sarah Anne asked worriedly.

"No," Arthur responded. "I'm big. I can do it."

A breath of relief escaped her before she nodded. "Good. I'll leave you to it then." Turning, Sarah Anne attempted to leave the bathroom when he stopped her.

"I need you to undress me," Arthur told her.

Whirling around, Sarah Anne's brows furrowed. "Arthur, you can undress yourself," she told him.

"I need you to do it. Buttons are hard." Plucking at the front of his shirt, he looked up at her, and scowled.

"Pull it over your head," Sarah Anne told him.

"That's not how you do it," he said stubbornly.

Sarah Anne sighed in aggravation. "Fine. I will help you with your shirt, but after that you have to do the rest on your own. Alright?"

Nodding in agreement, Arthur stood waiting as she approached him. When she lifted her fingers to the first button, she looked up at him warily. "Hold still, okay?"

Nodding again, Arthur did his best to impersonate a statue as she slipped the buttons through their holes. Once she had released the last one, she stepped back, and met his eyes.

"There. Your shirt is open. You can manage the rest on your own."

Plucking at the front of his pants, Arthur looked up at her. "I need you to open this," he told her.

Sarah Anne frowned as she looked up at him. "Arthur, you can open your own pants. I know you can. You did it before."

The grin that passed over his face made her blink in surprise. It dawned on her that he was completely playing her, and she was falling for it. It made her wonder how difficult the buttons had actually been for him as she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm going to go wait in the kitchen. When you're done with your bath let me know," she told him.

"I want a hug," he told her before she could fully step through the door.

Stilling, she glanced back at him as her eyes widened. "I'll give you a hug once you finish your bath like a good boy," she told him.

"I am a good boy," he informed her. "I want it now."

The water in the bath tub was beginning to reach a good level, and Sarah Anne stepped back into the bathroom to turn off the water. When she straightened, she met her brother's dark eyes warily before stepping forward, and quickly wrapping her arms around him.

She meant for it to be a quick squeeze that she could easily pull back from, but once she put pressure around his ribcage, his strong arms quickly snaked around her, and he pulled her tightly to him.

Sarah Anne was trapped in his embrace as his chin dropped down to her shoulder. He began to turn slowly from side to side as he held her, and she waited with bated breath for him to release her.

"That was nice, Arthur. Thank you," she told him in an effort to gain her freedom.

Instead of dropping his arms away from her like she expected, his hold actually tightened, and he began moving his palms up and down her back.

"You feel good," he said thickly beside her ear.

Beginning to panic, Sarah Anne pushed against his chest to peel herself away from him, and after a moment managed to succeed.

He released her, and she took a step back from him. Running her fingers through her golden hair in agitation, she took a deep breath.

"All set to take your bath?" she asked shakily.

"Yes," Arthur answered. "You take one too."

His words made her blue eyes widen. "I already took one today, Arthur. I don't need one."

"I want you to take a bath," Arthur repeated. "With me and Mr. Wallace."

Sarah Anne shook her head as she backed away from him towards the door. "Mr. Wallace will be upset if I take his spot," Sarah Anne told him. "You take your bath. I'll wait in the kitchen," she said again.

Turning around, Sarah Anne darted from the bathroom, and left her brother to his own devices as she reentered the kitchen. Rounding the table, she pulled out one of the chairs, and sat down in it as a heavy breath escaped her.

She could hear the sound of her brother shuffling around the bathroom since the door was still wide open. A moment passed, and then the sound of him stepping into the water reached her ears. Sarah Anne's chest sagged in relief as she realized he was finally going to listen to something that she said.

It was short lived because when she lifted her eyes, her brother stood in the doorway as naked as the day he was born, with both of his hands resting on opposite sides of the doorjamb beside him.

A gasp escaped Sarah Anne as she looked at him. "What are you doing, Arthur?" she asked in surprise.

"I want you to come take a bath with me," he told her again.

Losing what little patience she had left, Sarah Anne scowled. "No, Arthur! You go back into the bathroom, and take your bath. I am not coming in there!"

The harsh tone of voice she used made his eyes drop to the floor submissively. He seemed to be cowed by her anger, but after a moment he lifted his dark eyes to her once more, and a small frown slid across his features.

"Yelling at me is bad," he told her. "You're being bad again."

Attempting to calm herself before the situation got out of hand, Sarah Anne forced a smile she didn't feel. "I didn't mean to yell, Arthur. I just don't want to take a bath right now."

He seemed to think about it for a moment, and then he looked up at her. "Okay," he finally said. Turning around, he went back into the bathroom.

The sound of splashing reached her ears, and she let out another sigh. After a moment she heard her brother's voice emerge from the bathroom along with more splashing.

"Swim, Mr. Wallace, swim!" He then began to make car noises with his mouth.

Placing her arms on the table top, Sarah Anne let her forehead drop on top of them. It wasn't even noon yet, and her mother wouldn't be home for hours.

"I need help!" her brother hollered suddenly.

Sarah Anne didn't rise from the table to answer him. "With what?" she yelled back.

"It's top secret! I can't tell you!"

Sarah Anne rolled her eyes before responding. "If you can't tell me then how am I supposed to help you?" she asked.

"Come in the bathroom!" he answered.

Fighting the urge to swear, Sarah Anne pushed the chair back as she rose from the table. Stepping towards the bathroom door, she paused when she saw what the problem was.

Her brother must have dumped the entire bottle of shampoo onto his head because his hair was a giant ball of suds, and they were sliding down his face, and into his eyes.

His eyes were closed, and he was squinting as Sarah Anne came into the bathroom. "How much shampoo did you use?" she asked in aggravation.

"It's hurting my eyes," he told her.

Reaching for the cup that sat on the sink, Sarah Anne approached the bath tub, and sunk low until she was sitting on the edge of it. Dipping the cup into the water, she lifted it, and poured it over her brother's head.

She had to do it more than a half a dozen times before she had managed to get most of the soap rinsed out of his hair. When she was done, Arthur blinked a couple times before reaching up to rub his eyes.

"It's fixed," he informed her.

Nodding, Sarah Anne began to lift herself away from the edge of the tub, but her brother quickly reached out, and wrapped his arms around her waist before dragging her backwards into the tub. She let out a cry as she landed in the water right between his legs.

"Damnit, Arthur!" she growled as she tried to get up.

It was difficult enough in the awkward position that she was in, but when her brother refused to let go of her waist she realized that she was trapped.

"Now you can take a bath with us," he said happily.

Pulling her legs in that were dangling from the side of the tub, Sarah Anne attempted to twist in his hold so that she could get some kind of footing. Since he wouldn't let go of her as she wriggled around, all she ended up doing was pressing her back more fully against his broad chest.

"Arthur, let me up," she said as she tried to sit forward.

The sound of his laughter reached her ears as his chest shook beneath her. Gripping her soaked shirt in his fingers, he began pulling it up her stomach, and over her torso until it was bunched beneath her arms.

Sarah Anne gasped as she clamped her elbows to her sides to stop him. "What are you doing?"

"No clothes in the bath tub," he told her.

Pulling up harder, Sarah Anne was forced to lift her arms in order to keep them attached to her body. Once he had pulled the soggy cloth from her, he threw it on the bathroom floor.

Sarah Anne's hands quickly came up to cover herself as she turned to glare into her brother's dark eyes.

Holding up Mr. Wallace in his hand, he touched the plastic duck to the tip of her nose as he made a kissing noise with his lips.

"Take off the pants, please."

Ignoring him, Sarah Anne tried once again to sit forward as she grasped onto the side of the tub. Using all of her strength, she levered herself upwards, and managed to push herself to her feet when her brother's large hands reached out to grip the waistband of her bottoms, and pull them down her legs.

The added weight of the water aided him, and Sarah Anne gasped in horror when they sunk down to her ankles, and she became bared to his view. Panicking, she lifted her foot from them as she stepped over the side of the tub, and shook her other foot out to free it.

With her heart in her throat, she darted across the bathroom completely naked, and ejected herself through the door as quickly as she could.

Running across the kitchen's linoleum floor, Sarah Anne headed for the direction of the attic, and had made it up the first four steps when a large arm crushed about her waist, and pulled her from the stairs.

She let out a yelp of surprise mixed with fear as her body was maneuvered through the air as her brother turned away from them, and carried her in the other direction.

"Bath time is over, Arthur!" she cried out as her fingers dug into his arm.

Grunting in response, he paused for a moment, and seemed to make a decision before he left the kitchen with her in tow. Entering the living room, he stepped to the right, and Sarah Anne's eyes widened as she realized that he was taking them into his bedroom.

He didn't stop until he reached the side of his bed, and then he dropped her like a sack of potatoes on top of it. Her knees hit the mattress first making her bounce, but the momentum with which she landed sent her forward, and she reached her hands out to brace her fall.

The moment that she was bent over, Arthur lifted his large palm and brought it down on the right cheek of her bottom in a loud slap. The painful impact surprised her, and Sarah Anne gasped as her eyes widened.

His large hand splayed out over the lower part of her back, and then he was spanking her hard, and repeatedly. His palm slapped down on her bare bottom over and over, and he began to grunt with the effort it took to keep up the momentum.

Sarah Anne's mouth parted as a long, drawn out wail escaped her.

"You're a bad girl," Arthur seethed from between his teeth.