And the Stars up Above - Chapter 16

March 20th, 1987
Jason

“Haven’t you made dinner yet!?” Was the first thing Jason’s dad screamed at Jason when his dad came home from work. Jason knew it was the first of many screams he’d hear that night.
“No, I haven’t had the time yet.” Jason said weakly. “I’m cleaning the house right now, like you told me to yesterday.”
“Well then, why didn’t you think of that earlier?” he came up to Jason and grabbed his neck. He leaned in and whispered;
“You see; when I come home from the work that supports you and gives you the money to survive, I’m very tired and hungry. And when I’m hungry I want to eat. I’ve told you this many times, but you still don’t seem to get it. Why is that, Jason? Huh, why is that?” Jason shivered, but he knew better than to answer. No matter what he said his father would be mad. His fathers grip around his neck hardened before he roughly pushed Jason down on the floor.
Jason was ready for it and managed not to hit his head, but his arms ached from having to stop the fall. He breathed heavily and got to his knees.
“You never answered the question; why is that?” His father said calmly while he took a step closer to Jason. Jason whimpered but stayed where he was; moving would only make things worse. His father bent down and grabbed Jason’s short hair and pulled to get Jason to his feet. Jason quickly stood up.
“You see, when somebody asks you a question, they expect you to answer it!” he yelled and yet again threw Jason to the floor. This time Jason could not avoid hitting his head. He hit it hard.
“It’s because I’m worthless sir. I’m worthless.” Jason said in desperation; he had to get him to stop. His father slowly walked towards Jason and stopped right beside him. Jason shut his eyes tight. He could feel sweat slowly run down his forehead but he did not wipe it away.
“Exactly.” His father said, not doing anything. Jason carefully opened one eye to see if his father possibly was going to be happy with just that. His father wasn’t; just when Jason opened his eye he kicked Jason hard, right in the stomach. Jason lost his breath and felt a burning pain starting from his stomach, making him unable to move.“Now, go make dinner, and hurry up!” His father said and walked away. “Don’t you dare make any noise; I’m going to sleep. Wake me up when dinner’s done.” And with that he left, leaving Jason sobbing on the floor. After a minute Jason finally managed to get to his feet and make his way to the kitchen. His stomach and head hurt, as well as his heart. But dinner had to be done.