'Smart words bro', Javice thought 'but easier said than done' he added, speaking to Alvin in his mind. Javice knew the pains his past held but looking at every one of the Crooks family's faces and realizing how much it would actually mean for him to talk about his past, he decided to start from the very beginning.
A tight squeeze on Amber's hand and a 'please, listen closely before judging me to the whole family' from Javice in a deep pain filled voice made Valentina burst into tears while muttering an 'okay son, take your time, no one will judge you' and with series of assuring nods from the family, Javice took them on a rollercoaster.
For Javice reminiscing the past, reminiscing the past made him feel bitter and with so much pressure on his tongue till he tasted the metallic feeling of his own blood, he said 'can I please have a towel, I'll be needing it' confused as to what he meant by needing it but with the intent of giving him what he wanted, Francis passed him the handkerchief that was in his table drawer and with Javice spitting up blood in it, Dylan thought, 'damn, he must really have some past hmm' to himself before shutting his inner mouth up since Javice started talking to Amber already.
'Amber, I want you to never leave my hand while I talk and if after I'm done, you'll want me to leave your life, I'll understand but please hold me while I talk, please' said Javice to her and realizing how hard this must be for him, she didn't notice when she started tearing up until Javice wiped her tears and whispered a 'don't cry for me' to her before kissing her on the head.
Watching with keen interest the conversation he was having with their daughter, Francis couldn't help but scale how much Javice really cherishes his daughter, 'it must be a 101 over a scale of 100' he thought while musing to himself silently.
'My tattoos aren't on my body for the sake of fashion or trends and each time anyone refers to me as a bad boy because of my appearance and attitude, I laugh to myself because this bad boy is more than bad. I got my first tattoo with my twin brother Alvin at the age of 10.'
Seeing the shock on Ambers parents faces about a twin brother, Javice enlightened them 'You see, my twin he had a friend whose father was a tattoo artist and after much plea from us, he agreed to do it for free if we cleaned our own instrument ourselves' smiling to himself by this memory, Javice continued while they listened attentively. 'I think he must have realized how badly we wanted to cover some part of us in ink and just made the instrument cleaning part of the deal because he didn't want to show us pity.' 'Our tattoo read as long as I have you, I'll kick asses, Alvin was so excited by this that for a week, he would always tap on my shoulders and say remember our new words, f**k our parents' but when a sad look marred his face, the Crooks knew they weren't prepared for the new bomb.
'Being birth as an identical twin has its perks, it meant we could cover for each other in school, I could serve Alvin's punishment and vice versa but asides from this, it meant my parents knew my weakness and that was my brother before my other two siblings came along that is.' Looking at their faces and seeing their confusion, he decided to stop beating round the bush.
'I never really can tell if my parents ever loved each other or just married because it as convenient for them and they had the same likening. You see my father and mother are drunks and the money they live on comes from a trust fund my grandparents had left for myself and Alvin. How we grew up, I can't really explain but I'm sure it was without our own parents love love and my grandmother had taken care of us till we were two years old when she died.'
Javice took a breath and spat some more blood in the handkerchief. 'When I was two years old, a neighbor, a very sweet lady who was also our teacher in preschool had taken both I and my brother to the police station because she discovered bruises on our faces, her name is Mrs. George and the only way I know this is because she had told me most of my childhood stories.'
Shaking her head in anger, Valentina urged him on 'Mrs. George was planning on selling her house and moving to a new apartment closer to our school but decided against it when she discovered how my parents always treated us, she took care of us basically till we were 4 when our parents moved houses but not school so in school, she still took care of us.' Javice said 'Right from when I was a child, I'd always had on a strong face because of the punishments we received at home but my twin Alvin was very fragile and always cried in difficult situations. When I was four, my father broke my arm because I asked him for lunch and my mother instead of helping me in some way laughed in my face calling me a bastard. I cried for a bit but Alvin took it so hard that days later, he came down with fever' shaking his head at this memory, he got a reassuring hand squeeze from Amber who was full of tears now. 'I already knew our parents would do nothing about this situation so I dressed him up for school, dragged him to the bus and told Mrs. George about everything, she fixed my hand and gave him some medicine. On getting home, our parents fixed their act and went down to the school, reported her of meddling in family affairs and with that she was transferred to another school'
********************************************************
'After a while, we became used to the incessant beatings and bruises and starvation that all we looked forward to was school because we knew then that we could get something to eat from the cafeteria, since it came as a package with the school fees I suppose, so it was always one meal per day on weekdays and some mound infested bread or piece of cake on weekends, when they decide to feed us that is. Alvin though had a very weak stomach and when we were 5, I remember I got the worst beating of my life from my father because I had gone to tell him Alvin was throwing up since I didn't know what to do, he beat me and threw me back into the room without even checking on Alvin' Javice started crying at this point and this was a shock to the whole family, constantly wiping his eyes, he continued. 'I couldn't go to school for a week but Alvin always left in order to get us food and each time he returned, he would lock us both in and tend to my bruises with ointment the school nurse had given him because he lied he cut his toe'
'My brother did so much for me, when we turned 6, our mother started drinking less and started seeing us a little, giving us food and even being nice when she wanted. However, because we were always skeptical of her attitude, we didn't solely rely on this change but we took whatever we got even if it was insults and meals.'
What do you think about Throne's parents?
More light into Javice's past in the next CHAPTER
Lets talk, follow me.