My Mother’s Boyfriend Beat My Nine-Year-Old Brother With a Belt—Then a Stranger Called Our Kitchen Phone and Said, “Stay Away From the Kids”
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Chapter 5 / 27
Chapter 5 - Why Gary hit Ethan
At first everyone assumed the argument began because Ethan spilled paint.
That was partly true.
He had knocked over the green container.
It splashed across:
The floor.
The chair leg.
And a manila folder sitting on the kitchen table.
Gary saw the folder.
Then exploded.
Ethan said:
“I’m sorry.”
Gary yelled:
“Do you have any idea what you just ruined?”
Ethan tried wiping the papers with a towel.
Gary grabbed him.
Mom told him:
“Gary, stop.”
He did not.
The belt came off moments later.
But the folder mattered more than any of us understood.
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Samuel knew what had been inside it.
That was why he came.
