Part 2 — The Bruises on Her Son
(Part 1) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/10126
At first, the scratches didn’t seem unusual.
Children got injured all the time.
They climbed fences, rode bicycles, played sports, and occasionally came home with cuts and bruises.
That was normal.
What wasn’t normal was how often the marks appeared.
One afternoon Sherry noticed several fresh scratches running along her son’s arm.
When she asked how he got them, he shrugged and claimed he didn’t know.
The answer struck her as odd, but she let it go.
A week later she discovered more marks.
This time they were on his shoulder.
A few days after that, she found bruises on his legs.
The injuries seemed to appear without explanation.
No matter how many times she asked, her son couldn’t—or wouldn’t—tell her where they came from.
As the situation worsened, his behavior became increasingly troubling.
He no longer wanted to sleep with his bedroom door closed.
He frequently woke during the night.
Sometimes Sherry would find him sitting awake in bed staring into the darkness.
Whenever she asked what was wrong, he always gave the same answer.
“Nothing.”
But it was obvious something was wrong.
One afternoon she finally reached her limit.
While helping him change clothes, she noticed several scratches spread across his back.
The marks looked fresh.
Some were deep enough to leave visible red lines across the skin.
Sherry immediately demanded an explanation.
At first her son remained silent.
Then he started crying.
The harder she pressed, the more emotional he became.
Eventually he broke down completely.
“Where are these coming from?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No.”
“You have to tell me.”
The boy shook his head violently.
Then came the answer that would stay with her for years.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
His face went pale.
“Because he’ll get mad.”
The room fell silent.
Sherry felt a chill run through her body.
For a moment she assumed another child was involved.
Perhaps someone at school was threatening him.
Perhaps he was being bullied.
Those explanations made sense.
The alternatives did not.
“Who’s going to get mad?” she asked.
Her son refused to answer.
Instead, he started crying harder before running upstairs to his room.
The incident left Sherry deeply shaken.
Over the following weeks she searched desperately for answers.
According to the story, she even sought outside help. She spoke with people who tried to understand what her son was experiencing. Yet nobody seemed able to provide a convincing explanation. Some suggested stress from the move. Others believed he might simply have an active imagination.
None of those explanations accounted for the scratches.
None of them explained the fear.
Most importantly, none of them explained why he seemed terrified to discuss whoever he was referring to.
As time passed, Sherry began noticing another disturbing pattern.
Her son spent more and more time alone in his room.
Often she would hear him talking.
Not randomly.
Not to himself.
To someone.
One evening she stood outside his bedroom door and listened.
There was no doubt in her mind.
He was having a conversation.
The sound sent a knot of dread into her stomach.
Because this time she could hear genuine emotion in his voice.
Fear.
The next night she decided she was finally going to find out who he had been talking to.
What she discovered would change everything.
(Continued in Part 3) ➡️ https://storiesworld.us/archives/10128