My monster mother brought this guy into our lives. I dont remember being away from my dad’s nasty behavior for very long before Todd was there. My only safety was my Grandma. This was around the age of kindergarten so 4-5ish when it started. The pain and trauma this man made me endure still is burned in my brain like it happened yesterday.
We moved in with him and it was in a smaller town outside of where I was born. I really liked school. It was great. The teachers were so sweet and kind. One of them had such an impact in my life and I miss her to this day. She was one of the reasons why I wanted to be a teacher.
Todd worked with my mom at the bakery. They had my brother too. He was a tall man and I remember he has a big nose and when it was cold it would turn so red like a clown nose. He acted kind and nice.. but when she wasn’t around.. the real monster came out to play.
He would be home with my older sister (who is 41 now) and I on weekends she worked and he didn’t. He would start the day by sitting at the table and watch my sister and I eat. We would try to talk to each other at the table and he would say “shhh, women and children should be seen and not heard at the table.” And “you are girls you will never amount to anything”. if we stopped eating because we were full he would make us sit there and eat all of it till we felt like puking. There were times that I did. One time I did it right in the kitchen. So then he would just put the stuff in the fridge like cereal with a few crumbs from the bottom of the box that would make me gage when he made me drink them the next day. I have troubles eating in front of people because of this.
I would hear him call my older sister a slut and a street walker when she would wear make up out of the house and to go to school. Then he was left alone with me. He would always just send me to my room. And the room he decorated with clowns all day. Wouldn’t make me lunch or nothing becaue I only had half days in kindergarten. 4 hours no food but like snacks that he wouldn’t let me eat and would eat in front of me. The teachers would have extra snacks for me. When I got to school.
Todd also would take things my grandma or mom would get me and break them in front of me. My scooby doo he tore the head off and pulled all the stuffing out. I got the lion king sound track because I loved that movie.. and Todd took it and threw it on the floor and smashed it.
I eventually learned that the library was close by on the weekends so I would go walk up there. I would ask for a ride from him but when I did he would laugh and say “girls don’t need to read.” I would check out books and just read till my heart is content. I also found comfort in the little Baptist church next to the library just so I didnt have to be home with him. One of the ladies lived down the street from me and was teaching me piano and singing with me. She was also the lady that saved me from Todd the monster.
One day I was kinda being naughty because I wanted to play my sisters game boy. So I went in her room and took it and was sitting in the basement playing it. When todd found out… his face turned as red the air head balloon. He grabbed my hand and my hair and dragged me to my room. He pulled his belt off and he hit me with the metal bucket part of the belt. He hit me three times. Once in the lower back, once in my shoulder, and my ankle. He left me there crying and my ankle was the worst one. It swelled up so bad. Idk it it was broken or not. When I told my mom it hurt really bad because of what he did she didn’t take me to the doctor. I walked around as well as I could.
The last days of his torment in his house…
The abuse went on for about 3 years. My mom did nothing. I was in the 2nd grade by then and my sister and I were home with Todd. My sister wanted to leave the house and Todd wasn’t gonna let her. He kicked her in the back so she ran out of the house saying “im leaving and im not coming back.” She left me there. I was scared. I couldn’t take it. So I went to my room… grabbed my doll my grandma just gave me.. and said I’m going too. His reply you walk out that door and you won’t see your brother again. I knew had to go get help.
Doll in hand, I walked down to my piano teachers house. I was crying and it was cold. It was prolly 7pm at night. I told her what had happened. Her kids were all there and they called the cops. The cops went and got my brother and then came for me and took us to the police station. They wouldn’t let me take my cat. I cried. I knew my cat crackers was not safe. Todd was mean to him too. We waited for what seems like forever for my mother to get there. My teacher waited with us. She hugged me when I cried.
My mom moved us out but was still seeing him. She would make me go stay there when my grandma was busy even though he hurt us. The first time he made me go there.. my cat was nowhere to be found. I asked him where he was. He said “oh yeah I forgot to tell you. Come with me.” He lead me downstairs and lifted up this sheet. My poor sweet kitty… he looked like his back was crushed. He had blood coming out of his mouth. Todd says “he got sick. I found him like this”. I started crying because the way my kitty looked… he didn’t get sick. After Todd went back up stairs and left me with the body of my sweet boy… I saw the wall in the laundry room where one of the support beems was. It looked like blood was all over it. It was. He either throw him at the beem or he just grabbed him by his legs and slammed him against it.
My mom kept sending me there still. So I told my grandma. My grandma was yelling at my mom and said dont you dare send her back there. My grandma started watching me on weekends so I didn’t have to live in that nightmare anymore. She and I played board games and cards and sang Loretta lynn and dolly songs. We would watch all the games shows on TV and look at pictures of her family. Sadly three years later the gods decided they needed her up there.
Today I keep her memory alive with the kids with stories and playing games with them. Tried to get both of them into music but only one stayed with it. I have her coffee table from her house in my house. I took her last name too.
The monster of this episode is now gone. Sad that my brother has to deal with him as a dad. Very sad my brother turns out just like him…
ChildHood Monsters 