The Last Laugh

***
After changing into my dirty clothes again, I sadly went down the stairs. But then I heard aunt Christina on the phone in the kitchen. I sneaked to go
listen. I heard her.
"Yeah. I have the money. I'm rich! Hahahaha. Uhum, yes...oh, you are right, Hahahaha. That's not a bad idea." she said in strange manner. "You're
right. Totally! Now that I have Paul's fortune, that little bastard is useless. Don't worry...yeah...by the end of this weekend I'll get rid of him. For good."
A low gasp escaped my mouth. Afraid, I ran out of the house and back to the stable where I sat on the floor and sobbed. Was I going to die? What did
she mean she would get rid of me? Who was she speaking to? What was I going to do now. I cried until evening. We were Friday and she'd said she
would get rid of me before the weekend ended. I thought and thought of a solution while I cried.
*
Night reached fast. Aunt Christina had starved me the whole day, despite the fact that I'd given her all my father's money. She was cruel. From the
stable, I could smell delicious fried chicken in the house. She was celebrating her newly gained wealth and had given food to all employees. Apart
from me. I wasn't even an employee. I was a slave. I was a slave because I wasn't paid or given anything in return for my hard work. It was hard for
me to find sleep with all that hunger.
At eleven PM that night, I was too hungry to sleep. I lay silently on the hay. The light in the stable had stopped working. I would've been in total
darkness if not for a candle I'd stolen earlier during the day. It was dim light for the whole stable but at least I wasn't in complete darkness. There was
silence in the whole ranch. Even the horses were asleep. I lay on my side crying, my arms wrapped around my empty stomach.
Suddenly I heard someone run into the stable. I got up afraid.
"Don't worry. It's me." Heather whispered as she stepped into the dim light, her teddy bear in one hand and a bowl in the other. She had on her tiny
little nightly dress.
"Why were you running?" I asked.
"Nothing. I was just afraid of the darkness outside." she admitted with a shy smile. I smiled back. She sat down by me on the floor. I hadn't spoken to
her since the other night.
"I brought you some chicken and fries from today's dinner." she opened the bowl and handed the delicious food to me. I was glad.
I took the bowl and began to eat hungrily. She watched me with a little smile on her face. I was soon through and drank some water. She'd just saved
my life. Once again.

"Thank you." I whispered in the silence.
"No problem. I- I'm gonna spend the night with you. Can I?"
Her question took me offguard. I was surprised to hear it from a shy and obedient girl like Heather. She knew she'd be punished if she was caught but
yet she didn't seem to care.
"Heather, I don't think it's a good idea. I really don't want your mother yelling at you because of me." I said in a low voice.
"Sheridan, I promise to wake up early and leave. I- I don't want to leave you alone this night."
I smiled at her. She blushed.
"Okay then."
I moved aside so she could join me on the hay. She put the bowl aside and we lay down on our sides, facing each other. We stared at each other for
a silent while. I decided to tell her what I'd decided. Before she'd come see me, I'd taken a decision on my own after thinking about what aunt
Christina had said in that kitchen.
"Heather?" I whispered
"Yes?"
We were closer than appropriate. Our faces inches away from each other.
"I'm running away tonight."
Her eyes widened.
"Wh- what? Why??"
"I have to. And you know why."
"But where will you go to?"
"I don't know. Yet."
"Sheridan, I'm scared..." she said her eyes beginning to water.

"Why? Don't be. Please."
"Will you ever come back?"
I looked at her, speechless. I hadn't thought of that possibility.
"I- I-"
"Promise you'll come back for me." she cut in. Her words sent some sort of sharp pain through me. Heather was shy and so innocent. Hearing her
telling me this with watery eyes hurt me. I raised a hand and touched her cheek.
"I will. I promise."
And I was more than serious. No matter what would happen, from that night, I promised to return for Heather. If life permitted me.
"Okay." she gave me a shy smile.
Being only a kid, I wasn't sure of what to do or say next and so, I came closer to her and soon my lips were on hers. I closed my eyes and lived the
moment. She did same. It was a plain kiss that I would remember my whole life.
I heard noise and quickly broke the kiss.
"Did you hear that?" I asked in a panicked voice, sitting up.
"What?" Heather asked afraid.
"I heard something."
We looked around but nothing.
"Probably the horses." I said relieved.
I lay once again and that's when someone stormed in angrily into the stable. Heather and I got up, panicked.
Sawyer soon appeared in front of us and pointed.
"Here they are mom! I caught them!" she shouted.
Oh no.

Someone with a very bright torchlight appeared. An angry aunt Christina with a man that was always in charge of the cows.
"So this is it?!" she yelled angrily and gripped Heather by the arm with such force she screamed.
"See what I told you Rob?? You see?! This little bastard!"
I looked at Rob. He was about aunt Christina's age. In his early thirties. He wasn't the man I'd seen in the kitchen that night. Who was that then?
Aunt Christina rushed at me, slapping me and hitting me hard with her fists in anger.
"No, please!" I begged as she beat me.
"Shut up! Little pervert! What have you done to my daughter?? What?!"
"Nothing, please!" I cried. Heather was crying behind her mother, begging her to stop.
"You might need this ma'am." Rob said with a wicked smile on his face as he removed his strong cowboy leather belt and handed it over to aunt
Christina.
"Oh no Rob, I have a better idea. You beat him up."
No!
"My pleasure" he said as he approached me. The first hit he gave me with that belt sent me crashing to the floor, screaming in horrible pain. He
began flogging me mercilessly. I cried and cried. There I was being flogged at midnight! I cried and cried. Heather was screaming like crazy, begging
her mother to stop Ron.
"SHUT UP! TO YOUR ROOM!" she screamed at Heather. Heather didn't move and continued to scream through her tears, begging. Sawyer watched
the show, her arms folded.
"You're crying for this idiot?? This bastard!" she turned to me and asked Rob to stop flogging me. "Now listen real good, you ugly thing! You might
have succeeded in getting my Heather on your side but listen good."
I looked at her through my swollen eyes.
"You are pathetic. You're just an ugly, poor, houseboy. And as you grow, no woman, I mean no single woman will fall for a crap like you. No woman!
Don't ever approach my daughter again. Understood?" she asked in a threatening manner as she squatted by me. I'd stopped crying. I was furious. I
was angry. I was in pain. I gave her an ugly stare through my swollen eyes.

"Understood?" she repeated slowly. I frowned. I wasn't afraid anymore. With all the courage I had I spat on her face. She stepped back in shock.
"How dare you?!" Rob growled as he raised his belt to hit me. But she stopped him.
"Don't hit him." she cleaned away my saliva, "I have a better idea. Go get the bees from the honey reserve. We'll teach this brat a lesson."
He left to go get them.
I looked at her in the eye, not afraid. I'd endured so much pain that I didn't care about bees. Just at that moment, Heather still crying ran and bit her
mother hard in the arm.
"OOW!" she pulled her hand out of her daughter's mouth. Blood. "Heather?!" she screamed in pain and grabbed her by the arm. Then she turned to
sawyer.
"Watch him. Your sister has gone mad! I'm going to lock her up in the basement." she pulled Heather along and out of the stable.
Sawyer turned to me with a little smirk. I was so angry. So in pain. I stood up and weakly approached her.
"Don't come near me!" she stepped back panicking.
It was all her fault.
"Sheridan don't come near me!" she shrieked.
I caught her neck with a hand. I wasn't me anymore. When she began to scream, without thinking, I slapped her so hard with the back of my hand,
she fell on the floor. She didn't move. She'd fainted. I didn't care.
I turned and noticed that Dove had woken up. Heather's horse. I had to escape. It was now or never. Heather wouldn't mind me taking her horse.
Without wasting time, I saddled the horse then got on it's back.
"Yaaaa!" I whipped it and soon it ran out of the stable as fast as possible.
I galloped as fast as possible through the ranch's field. Dove was a very fast horse. With the torchlight aunt Christina had left in the barn, I was able to
see through the darkness.
I rode even faster. Faster. Faster! And soon I was out of high meadows ranch. I'd crossed it's wooden gate without being seen. Without thinking and
because I had to hide for some time, I rode the horse straight into the woods in the middle of the night. To me the woods remained safer than the
ranch. I'd escaped. I was free!