Killed Dead, Part 2 of 3

This story is fiction. Part 2.

Molly spun toward Tommy, holding her soapy hands in the air. “What! What happened?”

“Monoxide got ’em. All three of ’em. Damn fools fell asleep with their kerosene heater going and didn’t crack a window. Killed ’em deader’n hell.”

Molly looked at their kerosene heater in the living room in a different way. Mama was always talking about how dangerous it was.

Tommy poured another drink and Molly turned back to the sink. The kerosene heater was their only heat in the trailer, except on some mornings when Mama opened the oven door to heat the kitchen. Before Tommy came, she used to let Molly and Cade get dressed in front of the warm oven on the coldest mornings. Mama had nailed an old quilt where the hallway ended at the kitchen, making a fabric door that kept the heat in the front of the trailer. The rest of the trailer was always freezing, but they learned to move fast in the bathroom and to bury themselves under piles of blankets in the beds.

It was Molly’s job to light the heater every afternoon when she and Cade got off the school bus. The trailer was freezing when they got home. She knew how to take the heater outside and use a funnel to fill it with the stinky kerosene. Then she would bring the heavy heater inside and make sure nothing was near it. Lighting the heater always scared Molly. She half expected it to blow up every time. But it made her feel good that Mama could warm up as soon as she got home because the heater in Mama’s car was broken.

Sometimes before Mama and Tommy got home, she and Cade would do experiments with the heater. They liked to put things on the top surface and see what would happen. Once Cade spat onto the heater, and his spit bubbled for a few seconds before turning brown. The stain was still there. They put a match on there once to see if it would light, but it didn’t. Another time, they put a fingernail clipping on the heater, and it stank up the whole living room. “Ugh! Get it off!” Cade yelled, holding his sleeve over his nose and mouth. Molly watched, fascinated, as the clipping turn brown. Then, gagging, she ran to the kitchen to get a spatula and scraped the fingernail off. They never told Mama about their experiments.

People always said kerosene heaters could kill you. Molly was properly afraid of it, but this was the first time she actually knew somebody that died from one. The Mitchells were nice people. Cade played with the little boy sometimes.

As Molly washed the last plate, she heard the squeal of Mama’s car. Tommy had promised to replace the belt months ago. The sound embarrassed Molly when she was riding in the car, but she was always thrilled to hear it from inside the trailer. Mama walked in carrying a pizza box. She smelled like the diner where she worked.

Cade ran from the back of the trailer. “Mama!” he yelled, wrapping his arms around her waist. Mama laughed, holding the pizza above her head with one hand and putting her other arm around Cade. She kissed the top of his head.

“Boy, stop acting like a fool,” Tommy barked. Mama’s eyes flitted from Tommy to the open bottle on the table and then to Molly, who was standing by the sink drying her hands. Molly thought she saw Mama’s eyes go dark for a second. Mama hugged Cade tight and kissed him again. She dropped her purse onto the couch and went to the kitchen, pushing aside a jumble of papers on the table to make room for the pizza.

Tommy grabbed Mama’s waist and pulled her to his lap. He kissed her roughly, making Mama put her hand on his bare chest and push away from him. “Where do you think you’re going?” he said, pulling her back and kissing her neck. From the look on Mama’s face, Molly knew Tommy was hurting her. Molly looked at Cade, who was staring at Tommy with open hatred.

“Come on, let’s eat before the pizza gets cold,” Mama said.

“Fine,” said Tommy, throwing his hands in the air. “Let’s eat the damn pizza. But I’m not finished with you.” Mama got up and Tommy slapped her hard on her rear end. Mama clenched her teeth and her face turned red. Tommy poured more of the brown liquid from the bottle.

Mama saw then that Molly had washed dishes. “Oh baby, thank you!” she said, giving Molly a tight hug. She looked so happy that Molly felt guilty for not wanting to wash them earlier.

“You need to thank me,” said Tommy. His words were sounding mushy now. “I’m the one that made her do it. She would have sat right there on her ass all night.” He pointed to Molly’s chair, which made Mama look at the science book.

“Are you ready for your test?” Mama asked as she got four plastic plates from the cabinet. Molly shot a black look at Tommy behind his back. “I still have some studying to do,” she said.

“Well, eat supper and you can finish studying,” Mama said. “Come on, Cadey-Boy, let’s get you some pizza.” Cade was still glaring at Tommy. Molly hoped Tommy wouldn’t notice. Mama put two slices of pizza onto a plate and handed them to Cade. “Go in the living room and sit on the couch by the heater,” she ordered.

“Yeah, sit by the heater, Cadey-Boy,” Tommy said with a sneer. “Don’t forget your bottle.”

Mama spun toward Tommy. “That’s enough,” she said in her firmest voice.

Tommy stood so fast he knocked his chair over. He instantly had his tanned roofer’s hand around Mama’s throat. “What did you say to me?”

He put his face inches from Mama’s. “What did you say to me?” he screamed again, squeezing her throat. Molly, stunned with fear, saw spit fly from his mouth into Mama’s shocked face.

The next thing she saw was Cade crashing into Tommy’s side with his shoulder. Cade, who was eight, was not an athlete. When the messy tackle didn’t work, Cade started pounding Tommy’s back and side with both fists.

Tommy laughed. He let go of Mama’s throat and punched Cade hard in the stomach. All the air went out of him and he collapsed onto the floor. Molly ran to Cade and knelt next to him. He was wheezing as he tried to breathe. Mama was wheezing too, but she knelt down beside Molly.

“I’m sorry,” Tommy said. “Cindy, it was an accident.” Molly glanced up at Tommy and was shocked to see that he looked scared. Mama glared at Tommy. “Get out of this house,” she said.

“I said it was an accident,” Tommy said. “Molly, tell her. Cade, I didn’t mean to, buddy. You shouldn’t have hit me.”

Mama and Molly ignored Tommy and tended to Cade. Tommy finally walked down the hall and Molly heard the bedroom door shut. She and Mama worked together to get Cade onto the couch. Molly picked up the chair that Tommy had knocked over and sat in it. She stared at the kerosene heater and heard Tommy’s voice in her head. “Damn fools went to sleep and didn’t crack a window. Killed ’em dead.” She got an idea.

(Look for Part 3 next week)

-Melanie K . Patterson

© Forged in Words 2023