Editor's Note: story contains nonconsentual content.
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Sarah Anne lifted the last cardboard box from the trunk of her car, and made her way up the steps towards her mother's house.
This was her final destination after a rocky four year relationship with her boyfriend Steve, and a feeling of moroseness overcame her as she yearned for the small, one bedroom apartment they'd shared together.
Opening the screen door to the house, Sarah Anne pushed the inner door open, and nearly stumbled as it gave way beneath her fingers quicker than she had expected. Nothing had really changed in the time she had been away from home.
Nothing had really changed in the twenty four years since her birth. Her mother didn't care for change, and the house had a definite relic feel to it.
The furniture and decor had remained the same since as far back as she could remember, and stepping into her mother's house was like taking a whirlwind ride on a time machine.
Stepping through the living room with the box still in her hands, Sarah Anne made her way into the kitchen, and through the doorway that led up to the attic. Taking the steps slowly, she made her way up to the tiny remodeled room she was to call her own until she could find suitable living arrangements again.
The room didn't feel much bigger to her than a closet, and could be quite stuffy when the window was closed. It barely had enough room within it to fit her bed and dresser, but it was quiet, and would allow her a great deal of privacy to sort through her life and the decisions she would have to make next.
It's only saving grace was the small bathroom that sat off to the left side. If she closed her eyes, and imagined really hard, it was almost like having a place of her own.
Setting the box down on the bed, Sarah Anne pushed the bathroom door open, and turned on the light. It looked exactly as she remembered it.
The only major difference was that the brown linoleum was starting to curl slightly near the tub, and there seemed to be a crack in the ceiling she didn't recall being there before. Other than that, it looked exactly the way it had the last time she had been in it.
Turning to gaze into the mirror above the sink, she frowned slightly at the discoloration beneath her large blue eyes. She looked tired, but that was to be expected with the amount of stress she had been under. Anyone would be tired if they had gone through what she had been through over the past few weeks.
Running her fingers through her dark blonde hair, she let out a sigh, and pushed out her full bottom lip as she scowled at her reflection. It contorted her features in an emulation of a monkey, and the image made her crack a small smile as she turned to leave the bathroom.
The sight of her little brother standing near the top of the stairs startled her, and she jumped as she looked at him warily.
"What are you doing up here, Artie?"
He didn't respond, but she didn't really expect him to. Her nineteen year old brother was mentally disabled, and rarely acknowledged questions that were asked of him. He could understand them, he just chose not to respond more often than not.
He wasn't even looking in her direction. His dark eyes were glued to the small cardboard box she had left upon her mattress.
"There's a box on your bed." he stated as he frowned.
Sarah Anne nodded as she looked at his confused face. "Yes. I just put that there," she told him.
"Why is there a box on your bed?" His frown grew larger as he looked at it.
Sarah Anne used her most patient tone as she responded. "I brought it up with me when I came up. It has some of my things in it."
Arthur's frown stayed in place as he turned to look at her."There shouldn't be a box there. That's not where boxes go. You should move it."
His large frame seemed stiff and tense, and extremely agitated as he informed her of this information.
Sarah Anne knew that distractions were the best route to go in these types of situations.
"Would you like to see what's inside of the box, Artie?"
Instead of answering her question, he turned to glare in the direction of the box, and Sarah Anne stepped towards it, and lifted it from the bed.
Pressing the folds back on the top, she stepped towards her brother's large frame, and held it out so that he could see inside of it. There were roughly a dozen paperback books in the box, and she held them up for his inspection.
His gaze dropped to the books for a moment, and he stared at them hard. He almost seemed to be confused as he looked at them.
Lifting one out, she held it up so he could see it better, and smiled. "See, Artie? They're books."
When he slapped it out of her hand, she gasped in surprise. The paperback dropped to the floor and skidded beneath her bed, and Sarah Anne snatched her hand away as if it had been burned.
"Why did you do that, Artie?" she asked with a frown.
Instead of answering her, he took the box from her hands, turned toward the stairs, and dropped it so that it went tumbling down the staircase. Most of the books came spilling out, and each one hit a stair on it's way down making a horrible racket.
He smiled as he watched them fall, then turned to look at another box she had placed on the floor. His gaze was as intent on this one as it had been on the last.
"Mom!" Sarah yelled down the staircase apprehensively.
Her mother must have stepped into the kitchen at the time that she called because only a moment passed before her head appeared at the bottom of the staircase.
"What is it, dear?"
Sarah glanced over her shoulder quickly before turning to face her once again. "Can you come get, Artie. He's kind of freaking me out."
Her mother frowned slightly before clearing her throat. "Arthur? You know you're not supposed to be in the attic. Come down here right this instant before I give you a spanking!"
The threat was completely absurd to Sarah Anne's ears. Their mother was a tiny woman. No more than five feet three inches tall, and her brother towered over her by more than a foot. He also outweighed her by a good eighty pounds.
Yet, when she barked the order at him, his eyes widened, and he hustled down the staircase quick to obey her.
When he was out of Sarah Anne's sight, her mother smiled up at her apologetically. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, dear. Hope you're hungry."
Smiling at her mother's warm face, Sarah Anne nodded before turning away from the stairs.
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Her mother had made meatloaf, and mashed potatoes with a side of steamed carrots, and peas. They sat at the kitchen table eating it as best they could since her mother had to pause frequently to reprimand Arthur from picking the peas off of his plate, and throwing them across the room.
By the time dinner was over, he had begun throwing them at Sarah Anne, and their mother had to raise her voice, and send him away from the table as punishment.
He seemed to balk at the order, but another threat of a spanking brought him back into line, and throwing his chair back as he stood, he stormed from the room in a tantrum.
"Im sorry, dear," she said as she turned to Sarah Anne. "He's not usually this misbehaved. He's not used to having anyone else in the house, and I think he's looking for attention."
"It's alright, mom," Sarah Anne assured her. "I can only imagine what it's like to deal with him. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."
"Actually, honey, there is. The group center that picks him up in the mornings is going to be closed for the next few days for fumigation. They picked up a nasty case of bed bugs from what I hear."
Her expression became apologetic as she looked at Sarah Anne.
"I hate to bring something like this up on your first day home, but it would keep me from having to take the next few days off if you were to keep an eye on him for me while I'm at work. It's not that difficult. He spends most of the day watching television. The most you would have to do is make sure that he eats his lunch, and stays inside of the house."
Sarah Anne's eyes widened slightly at her mother's words. She hadn't been alone with her brother since he was little, and she could pick him up to get him to do the things she wanted him to do.
Now that he was twice her size, she was slightly more apprehensive at the idea of being in charge of him. Sarah Anne's voice wavered slightly as she responded. "Alright. What do I do if he won't listen to me?"
Her mother smiled, and waved a hand at her. "Oh. There's a few tricks. All you have to do is say the right thing, and he falls right in line."
Sarah Anne still felt unsure, but did well at hiding her concern as her mother smiled at her sweetly. "Alright, mom. I think I'll be able to manage," she assured her.
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Sarah Anne slipped the thin nightgown over her head, and let it fall around her body before pulling her long, dark blonde hair out of the neckline.
Once she was covered, she leaned forward to pull her bedspread back so she could crawl into her bed. The sheets felt cool against her skin, and she quickly pulled the blankets up around her before leaning over to switch off her bedside lamp.
Snuggling down into her pillow, she sighed comfortably, and opened her eyes to see the room softly illuminated by the moon's glow that was trailing in through the window.
It gave the room a less spooky feel to it than if it were completely dark, and she silently thanked whoever had built this part of the house for having the good sense to install a window.
Slipping to her back, she angled her head back into her pillow in effort to get situated a little better, and as she turned her head a loud gasp escaped her throat.
