He grabs my arm, fingers digging into the bruised spot where the woman held me, and pulls me to my feet. We’re back in the dark hall in seconds.

“Please,” I beg. “Just let me go.”

“You’re adding up your strikes.”

“What?” I ask confused as my feet barely manage to keep up with the pace he takes.

“Asking to leave is another strike.”

A sound startles me. I crane my neck to see what it is.

The boys are doing jumping jacks. More jumping jacks—with two spots missing.

“That’s another strike.”

“What? I—” I looked at them. All I did was look.

Another room. Another concrete floor. A hard wooden desk. My heart is in my mouth.

The door closes with a hollow sound, and then leather slips through belt loops. He’s taking off his belt.

I turn to face the man, my arms over my chest

“What are you going to do to me?”

“The right thing.” He swings the belt in his hand. “It’s all in the pamphlet. Don’t worry. Your mother knows.”

DEAN

Present day

My dad’s had the same recliner ever since I can remember. The worn brown leather, the soft creak that’s gotten louder. The way it falls back when he drops into it. … it's all familiar.

The chair is also broken, but Dad won’t get a new one even though he sits in that chair every fucking day.

He’s the kind of guy who worries about money and decisions like that. He pinches pennies and spends forever deciding which purchases to make. The house was always the most important. Had to pay the mortgage to keep the house.

The leather on his recliner is molded to his body and shiny in the spots where he always sits. There’s a dent on the right arm where he rests his elbow when he holds his can of beer.

When he drops down into it, I let it go. He’s never getting a new recliner and it’s not like I can get him one. If I did, I don’t know if he’d accept it. He’s too damn proud.

My dad picks up the beer, balancing his elbow in that spot, and extends the footrest. The metal creaks. Probably needs some WD-40. Sometimes I think that chair will outlive me. My dad crosses his ankles, wiggling his toes and the white socks he buys in the big packs at the farm store.