Nonsense

james made a loyal family out of the skeletons in his closet.

it wasn’t in me to be kind to any man mom brought around. i didn’t know the word predator but i knew birds and all of those men watched me like a hawk. all of them except james.

that didn’t change how i felt about it; it just meant my eyes needed to be better than his. all those men were training me to have hawk eyes ‘cept i’d use them differently.

he tried to give me candy, soda, cookies and at every attempt i turned him down. all kindness was feigned. nobody gives without wanting something in return. his soft-spoken demeanor and downtrodden energy didn’t phase me. the devil is always kind, always soft and welcoming.

grandma talked to me about the armor of god but she didn’t teach me how to put it on or explain if it would protect me when mom left me alone with them. she didn’t know i needed it so bad nor did she know why. i was too ashamed to ask her to buy it for me cause i figured god’s armor had to be expensive and in my case i was sure she’d have to take me to a tailor.

but james didn’t want me. he just wanted to die and he got his wish but i can’t help but wonder if he changed his mind in the last second.

seeing a man’s eyes open as he’s hanging from the rafters gives you pause to imagine what it was he saw last and whether it was god offering to get him that armor for free.