It's funny how time flies by so fast. How the leaves turned colors and fell and then soon grew back with a blink of an eye. The seasons changed and the children grew bigger. Both were getting around so much and even little Bella was running right behind Seth. Seth loved playing with her and showed her how to dig for worms and make mud pies from the garden. They enjoyed digging and planting seeds with Addie and when the time came they helped pick and pull up the crops. But most of the time Addie encouraged them to go play because she knew that's what kids should be doing instead of working.

Addie spent most of the day in the garden even though it was fall and the temperature was in the low seventies, she was still breaking a sweat. Every now and then she would glance up to see what the kids were up to. Today they were playing hide and seek. This had been one of Bella's favorite games.

Suddenly there was a shadow above her. "Momma, have you seen Seth?" Bella had asked.

"I think he is hiding, you have to go find him." She glanced up and smiled at her with one hand in front of her eyes to block the sun.

"I did look." Her bottom lip protruded, with sad puppy eyes. "Please help me look momma," she tugged on Addie's shirt.

"Well, I guess I could spare a few minutes." As she stood she dusted her hands together and then along side her pants. Then took hold of Bella's hand.

Together they searched. They looked everywhere, in and out of objects in the yard. He was no where to be found. They even yelled for him. Bella went back to look in the house while Addie continued to look outside and then noticed that the shed door was slightly opened. She walked over and looked in and there he was looking down.

"Seth, Bella and I have been looking everywhere for you, now you come out ..." her voice trailed off, as she looked at him, frozen in shock. He had found his dad's dirty magazines and beside the box was a bag of what appeared to be cocaine. In the lid of the box, needles were attached securely. She noticed he was still entranced by the magazine. She reached over and touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry momma, I knocked the box over when I was hiding."

Her face had gone white but now the color was coming back. "It's all right sweetie, go find your sister. I can clean this up."

As he stood to walk out he stopped and watched his momma clean the mess. "Momma why does daddy need all that flour for?"

"I don't know, there's no telling with your daddy." She did not look up at him for she knew she had to hurry and clean the mess before Keith came home. "Go on now. You and Bella get cleaned up and set the table for supper." Not once did she raise her voice at him. She paused and then said; "Oh and Seth don't tell your daddy that you were in here."

He shook his head and hurriedly ran up to the house. He helped Bella get cleaned up and together they set the table and waited for their momma to come in.

Addie tried to fix everything, even though she had no idea where the items belonged in the box. Were the magazines on top or on the bottom of the bag of cocaine? Where was the box to begin with? She picked up the bag; she knew what it was but she would not explain that to Seth. He was still so young. Besides he all ready had an eye full of naked women. Thankfully all the needles were still attached to the top of the box, the bad thing was, was now she knew for sure that he was still using. She closed the box and placed it to the side on a table. Then she walked out of the shed and closed the door behind her. Through the windows in the house she could see the kids running and laughing again. The sun had gone down and the lighting bugs came out to dance in the night. She walked in and finished up the cooking and sat everything out on the table.

Just as she set the last dish out full of mashed potatoes, Keith walked in through the door. He proceeded to walk through the house and then out the back door toward the shed. He went in and was back out in no time. She tried not to watch him as he walked with long strides back up to the house. "Seth, Bella, ya'll come in here and sit down." She called.

As he walked in he headed to the sink and washed up, not saying one word to them. Dried his hands and sat at the table. Addie fixed his plate and then she fixed Seth's and Bella's. She always fixed hers last for this was required of him. She had to take care of him first and then the kids. They ate silently. Right before he took the last bite he looked at them.

"How was your day? What did you guy's do all day?"

To her surprise he never asked this. He could care less what they did during the day but she knew he was getting at something and she knew he had noticed the box in the shed had been touched. "We cleaned and cooked and spent most of the day in the garden." She wiped her mouth with her towel as she looked over at Seth and Bella.

"Is that all you did today?" He looked at the two children who sat before him.

"Yes sir, we helped momma."

He leaned over and looked at Bella. "Did you help your momma too."

Her eyes lit up. "Yes, daddy and I play. I tried to hide from Seth but he found me and when he hid I had hard time finding him so momma help me and then we play some more and we clean are body and we help fix table and we just play daddy."

He glared at Seth. "So you played when you should have been helping your momma and doing your chores." He stood and placed his hands on his belt. "And where did you hide so well that your momma had to go find you?"

Seth looked over at his momma, she had told him not to tell his daddy about the shed but his eyes watered up and he was frightened of his father. "I... I hid in the shed. I'm sorry dad I didn't mean to do it."

"Well, I think we need to have a walk outside." He walked in the direction of the door and held it open for Seth to follow him. "After all you are so big now aren't you."

A big lump formed in Addie's throat. She knew what Keith was capable of, if he could break her; he would kill a seven-year-old. Keith had taken his belt off and it was all ready in his right hand swinging back and forth as they walked headed for the shed. Her eyes grew wide and she knew what he was going to do. She turned to Bella, "You go to your room sweetie, momma will be in there in a minute to read to you."

"But momma it's still early," she protested.

"You do as I say, now go to your room, if you don't want to lay down then just stay in there and play O.K." She kissed her and without thinking walked out to the shed. Before she got to the door she heard the whip and the cry that followed. "I'm sorry. I said I was sorry daddy."

Keith reared back for the second whip but she jumped between then and he hit her instead. The intensity so powerful that it tattered her shirt. "Damn it woman if you don't mind your own business."

"This is my business." She screamed at him, "Now I am asking you to stop." Her body guarded her son.

"Oh! So you want to take his punishment."

She looked down at Seth. "Go, run inside and take care of your sister."

"But momma."

"GO NOW!" she demanded.

He ran to the house scared. His momma had never yelled at him and it hurt him more than the whip from his daddy's belt.

She looked up at Keith and saw the fire in his eyes as he raised his arm to hit her again.

"Is this what you want?" He slung it unmerciful against her back. "Have you missed it that much that you want more."

She tried to hold back the screams of pain because she did not want the kids to hear her cries as they waited inside for her. If they would have heard they would have came out and he would have beaten them as well.

He continued to hit her, beating the shit out of her. She fell hard on the dirt floor. He kneeled down beside her and whispered, "Yea, you like it don't you." He licked the side of her face where tears had fell.

She gasped for air. It had been a long time that he beat her this way, it had been right before Bella was born and she was now going on six. But she would let him take out his frustration on her before he beat up on one of her babies.

He lacerated what was left of her shirt and jerked her pants down along with her panties. "Is this what you want?" he asked abruptly. He forced her legs apart while he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, pushing then down just enough. And then he found his way inside of her. He pounded hard against her thighs and her backside. With one hand he held her arms above her head and with the other against her throat. He proceeded while she cried of pain. Her face dug into the floor, dirt in her mouth.

When he finished he rolled off of her and sat by the box that was now open. He pulled out a rubber band and knotted it around his arm, grabbing the needle he poked it into his vein that protruded. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. He then looked at her crossly. He reached over and snatched her arm. Untied the band around his arm and knotted it around hers. He took the needle and gave her a dose of whatever was inside of it. The prick burned as the solution filled her veins. He then leaned back and was out in ten minutes.

Addie opened her eyes and tried to focus on objects around her. But her eyesight was now playing tricks on her. Her body no longer throbbed of pain. But she was not able to stand. She crawled to the door and grabbed firmly to stand. Unfortunately she fell on her back. The stars shimmered in the night sky and the clouds circled around and around. Her head swayed and she could feel the world caving in on her. She rolled over after a few minutes and looked at the kitchen light that flickered in the darkness. She forced herself to stand and as she staggered back to the house she fell twice, once slicing her knee open on a tree root. She crawled on all fours up the steps and into the back door. Silence. Hopefully the kids were all ready asleep. She made it to the bathroom and filled the tub, the sound of the water echoed in her ears, deafening, obtrusive. She managed to climb into the tub and fell banging her head on the side. Her nerves were dead by the drugs and thankfully she could not feel the water burning into her lacerations. She let out a sigh and then something, someone was standing over her. She tried to focus on the person, it was small, a boy. Even though she could not make out his face she knew it was Seth.

"Momma," his voice was shaky as he touched her shoulder.

Her voice slurred, "Seeeth, it'sss all right, goooo back to bed."

She could see the wetness along his cheek, "But momma.....Did daddy do this to you?"

"I said gooo to b-ed now." She raised her voice but it did not sound like her.

He headed back to the bedroom and while he wiped his eyes he looked back at her. "I'm sorry momma."

After she drained the tub she fell back against the cold surface of the tub. The room continued to rotate and her head swirled. She became light headed and fell asleep.

Bella had gone to sleep on Seth's shoulder. But the boy now assumed to be big was not able to go to sleep. He heard his momma from the bathroom and he wondered when his dad would walk into the house after him. Would he beat him like he did her?

And if so when would that time come?

The one thing that he did not mention was what he found in the box, the thing that kept him so quiet. It wasn't the pictures, or the needles. It was a piece of paper. The girl looked just like his momma; she was young, pretty. He just didn't understand the meaning of it. Why did it say she was dead? His momma was here, she was alive. He folded the piece of paper and hid it in the bottom layer of the inside of his shoe. For he knew no one would be able to find it there. And he would keep it a secret.