Lies do Hurt
part 2

By: Lynne G.

" Where is that boy ? He should have been home almost an hour ago ! I don't know what to do with him anymore. He has been told over and over again and again that he is suppose to come straight home after school, but he just does as he pleases !" Ben ranted.

" I don't know what to suggest Pa. Hoss and I have been having problems with him as well. He doesn't do what we ask of him and all he wants to do is argue with us. I just can't figure out what that boy's problem is, since he won't tell us," Adam told Ben as he and Hoss were ready to ride out of the yard.

Ben just stood there as he watched his two older sons ride off, and he thought about what Adam had just told him. Ben slowly walked back towards the house trying to keep his temper under control.

Over an hour later, Little Joe slowly rode into the yard and he quickly took Tony into the barn to get him unsaddled and rubbed down, before he faced his father.

The moment he had been dreading had finally come, it was time to face Ben. The boy slowly walked towards the house knowing that he was in big trouble and he knew that as soon as Ben saw the condition he was in, that he would indeed be having a ' big ' discussion in his room.

As the boy walked into the house he was met by his very angry father who was glaring at him. Afraid to look at his father, Little Joe looked at the floor.

" WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN YOUNG MAN ? DID YOU FORGET THAT YOU ARE ON RESTRICTION ?" Ben shouted as he saw the condition of his young son's torn clothes and bruised face, and knowing that the boy had yet been in another fight.

Little Joe continued to look at the floor and he kept quiet. " I asked you a question young man and I except an ANSWER ! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ?" Ben shouted.

KNowing that he had to do as he was asked, Little Joe took a deep breath and he softly replied, " I..I had ta stay after school sir."

Looking at the extremely nervous boy standing in front of him, Ben angrily responded, " You had to stay after school ! What did you do this time ?"

Still staring at the floor, Little Joe slowly handed Ben the note from Miss Jones and he quickly put his small hands behind his back to protect his bottom.

After reading the note from Miss Jones, Ben became even more angry at his son. " What have I told you about your fighting ? Get up to your room this instant and I'll be up shortly !" Ben loudly demanded.

With that said, Little Joe ran up to his room and he slammed his door shut.

Ben sat down to get his anger under control before going up to his son's room.

About thirty minutes later, Adam and Hoss rode in the yard and they could hear yelling and crying coming from the house.

" Just great ! Looks like little brother has done it again. When is that boy ever going to learn to do what he is told to do?" Adam remarked. " I don't know, but I wish he would start, because I hate to see him in so much trouble all the time. I feel sorry for him," Hoss added. Adam just shook his head as he and Hoss took their horses in the barn.

This seemed to be the normal afternoons for the next several weeks for the Cartwright family. Ben was at a loss at what to do to get through to his youngest son.

The boy was getting into fights everyday now and he was becoming more and more withdrawn as well.

" Cartwright, do you believe us now about how your family really feels about you ? They only make believe that they like you, but deep down inside, they truely hate you. You are nothing but trouble to them," Skip explained.

" Skip's right because our Pa told us that he saw your Pa in town yesterday and your Pa told our Pa that they are going to send you away very soon. They don't want you around them anymore," Henry told the young boy.

" That ain't true ! My family would never send me away ! " Little Joe shouted right back.

" If you don't believe us then, just go and ask our Pa and he will tell you it's the truth little boy, " Skip said very convincingly. Little Joe ran off in tears.

Mitch and Seth couldn't believe what Skip and Henry had just said to their friend and it made them extremely upset as well.

" Why don't you two just leave Little Joe alone ! Haven't you both done enough damage to him ? And tell me, what has he done to you to make you two torment him like this ?" Mitch shouted.

Seth was holding Mitch back so he wouldn't fight the older boys. Skip and Henry just laughed as they walked away from Mitch and Seth. " Come on Seth, let's go find Little Joe," Mitch suggested.

They finally found Little Joe at his mother's grave. " Little Joe, you need to tell your Pa what is going on," Mitch suggested. " Mitch is right Little Joe. Go to your Pa and he can help I know he can," Seth explained to his young friend.

Little Joe looked up at his two best friends through the tears in his eyes. " I can't, and please guys, promise me that you won't tell anyone 'bout this please. Just promise me that you won't tell anyone," Little Joe pleaded with his friends.

Seth and Mitch looked at each other and they told Little Joe that they wouldn't say anything. It broke their hearts to see their friend looking so hurt and heartbroken. Little Joe mumbled, " thanks guys."

Over the last month, Little Joe had barely eaten anything and he was having a lot of trouble sleeping. He was having nightmares everynight.

" NO, it ain't true ! Yer lyin' ! Leave me alone !" the boy shouted again as he was having yet another nightmare. He was thrashing around in his bed getting hopelessly tangled up in his blankets.

" Joseph, wake up son ! Little Joe please wake up son !" Ben pleaded. The boy suddenly opened his eyes as he was breathing hard and sweat was runnning down is face. His body was trembling badly as well.

Seeing his family nervously looking at him, Little Joe shouted, " LEAVE ME ALONE ! PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE !" He tried to get away to the other side of his bed and he backed away from his family and he sat down on the chair next to his window and he looked out the window.

" Little Joe, talk to me son. Please tell me what is wrong so I can help you," Ben pleaded. He was extremely concerned by the boy's behavior as were Adam and Hoss.

Without looking at his family, Little Joe softly replied, " Please just leave me alone. Please."

Over the next several nights, Little Joe sat in the chair next to his window. He was afraid to go to sleep. No one was getting much sleep by the screams coming from the boy they loved so much.

One night after being awaken by more screams, Adam had finally had it. " I tell you Pa, I'm getting sick and tired of his nightmares everynight. It's obvious that he doesn't want our help or that he even cares that he keeps waking us up. So let's just leave him alone like he asks us too," Adam suggested.

" Pa I agree with what Adam says. If little brother doesn't want our help, then let's just leave him alone," Hoss added.

Ben wanted so badly to be able to help his son with what was bothering him, but if the boy wouldn't say what the problem was, then he couldn't help him and that was really bothering Ben as it was for both Adam and Hoss.

The next afternoon Little Joe was in the livingroom when he accidently knocked over a bowl of fruit and some papers that were on the coffee table. Hearing the crash, Hop Sing ran out of the kitchen to see what had fallen.

When he saw Little Joe standing there he got angry. " What you do now? All you do is make mess for Hop Sing to clean up. Have no time to clean mess up from little boy everyday !" Hop Sing shouted.

" I'm so sorry Hop Sing. I'll clean up the mess," the boy declared. " Little boy get out of room. Hop Sing clean up mess !" Hop Sing loudly suggested. With that said, Little Joe ran up to his room in tears.

Confused by Little Joe's tears, and fear, Hop Sing ran up to the boy's room to find out what was wrong. He felt badly for shouting at the boy.

" Little Joe can Hop Sing come in room ?" Hop Sing asked. " No go away please !" the very distraught boy cried. Hop Sing went back downstairs with a heavy heart as he slowly shook his head back and forth. That was the first that Little Joe had ever sent him away like that.

When Ben, Adam and Hoss had returned from town they were met by a very worried Hop Sing.

" Mr. Cartlight, Hop Sing very worried about Little Joe. He accidently knock over fruit bowl and papers off table and he feel bad. Hop Sing not mean to yell at boy. He start to cry and run up to room. He not want Hop Sing in room. He tell Hop Sing to leave him alone. Hop Sing feel very bad," Hop Sing explained.

" I'm sorry Hop Sing. I know you didn't mean to yell at him. There is diffently something or someone hurting that boy, but he won't tell us. I don't know what to do to help him. It's like he doesn't want us around him anymore," Ben sadly replied.

" Pa, I've tried to talk to him and begged him to tell me what is wrong, but he doesn't want my help either," Adam told Ben. " It's the same thing with me too Pa. He just won't talk," Hoss added.

The next morning at breakfast, Little Joe just sat there pushing his food around his plate with his fork, not eating anything.. Ben watched his son closely and noticed how pale the boy looked.

" Little Joe, son, please eat your breakfast and stop pushing it around your plate. Son you need to eat," Ben suggested.

Without looking up, Little Joe announced, " I ain't hungry !" " I don't care if your not hungry, please eat your breakfast now. You've hardly eaten anything for the last several weeks and you are getting too skinny, so please eat," Ben calmly suggested.

Little Joe stood up, stared at his family and shouted, " WHY SHOULD ANY OF YA CARE ! I KNOW THAT YA ALL REALLY HATE ME ! SO JUST PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE !" He then ran out of the room leaving his family in total shock at what he had just shouted at them.

Little Joe jumped on Tony and raced off to school without his books and his lunch.

Finally finding his voice, Ben jumped up and ran towards the door after his young son. " JOSEPH, GET BACK HERE NOW !" Ben shouted but he was to late as he saw his boy racing out of the yard.

" Pa, what does he mean that we all hate him ? Why would he say something like that for ?" Hoss asked as he was still in shock at what had just taken place in front of him. Adam was at a complete loss as well. He and Hoss were in total shock at what their baby brother had just shouted.

Miss Jones was extremely worried about the way Little Joe had been acting lately. The boy who was usually very active and into mischief had become very withdrawn. He was very pale and he heartbroken. She had tried to get the boy to tell her what was wrong, but he kept telling her that nothing was wrong, that he was just tired is all. She had even written several notes for Ben that she gave to Little Joe for his father about the boy's behavior, but he too was at a loss at what to do.

Skip and Henry were very pleased at what they had done to Little Joe for the once happy go lucky little boy was very quiet and withdrawn. They still had one more plan for the boy and they couldn't wait to pull that one.

Even Mitch and Seth didn't have any luck at getting Little Joe to open up to them. They hadn't heard everything Skip and Henry had told their friend, but they knew what some of what had been said and that bothered them. They both wanted so badly to go to Ben and tell him, but they had promised Little Joe that they wouldn't say anything about any of this.

As the three boys were sitting there, Skip and Henry walked over to them. " Why don't you two just leave us alone !" Mitch shouted. " We don't want to talk to you Devlin, we want to talk to the little boy there," Henry told Mitch.

" Well, he doesn't want to talk to you two and he doesn't want to hear anything you have to say either !" Seth shouted right back at Henry.

Smiling at the three younger boys, Henry teased, " What's wrong, can't the little boy talk for himself anymore ?"

" Listen up Cartwright. Did you know that your mother hated you too ? It's true ! She didn't really have an accident like you were told. She actually left you, your Pa and your brothers because she couldn't stand the sight of you. She moved back to New Orleans to live." Henry began.

" It's the truth. Your Pa told our Pa that you were told that she had died in that riding accident because they didn't want to tell you the truth at why she had really left. You know little boy, you are a total disgrace to your family," Henry finished speaking as he felt very proud of himself.

" Henry's right little boy," Skip laughed at the shocked look on Little Joe face.

Mitch jumped up and he ready to beat up both Skip and Henry who were standing there laughing, but Seth held him back. " Mitch they ain't worth getting beat up for," Seth declared.

Mitch thought about what Seth had said and he knew Seth was right. Then he and Seth went back over to Little Joe who was in tears and on the verge of being ill. The young boy's body was trembling badly and he was as white as a sheet.

Suddenly without any warning, Little Joe jumped up and ran over to Tony and he leaped on the horse and raced off at a high rate of speed.

" LITTLE JOE COME BACK ! " both Seth and Mitch shouted. Skip and Henry walked off laughing.

Little Joe and Tony rode fast until Tony had naturally slowed down on his own. At first Little Joe just sat there on his tired horse and he cried.

After several minutes the exhausted boy slowly slid off the horse and he led Tony over to the creek so he could get a drink of water. As Tony drank deeply, Little Joe sat on the ground feeling totally numb and unloved.

The boy tried to think of where he could go, but all he thought about was every hurtful word the Copelund brothers had been saying to him for the last several weeks.

After several more minutes little Joe felt light headed from not eating and being exhausted, and he felt weak as well. He decided to go home and he hoped that he would be able to make it that far.

He had finally arrived in the yard and he took Tony in the barn to take care of him. The boy had to keep grabbing hold of the side of the stall to keep from falling down. It felt as if his legs wouldn't hold him anymore. By now his world was beginning to spin slighly. He felt as if he were totally alone in the world.

As Little Joe slowly walked towards the house he hoped that his family wouldn't be mad at him for the way he had acted that morning and for also shouting at them.

When Ben heard the front door slowly open and he took a good look at his son as did Adam and Hoss and what they saw shocked them.

The boy was extremely pale, trembling and he looked as if his heart had been torn from his body and that he was on the verge of collapsing.

Little Joe stood there trembling and staring at his family as the room began to spin out of control. He opened his mouth to say something, but he collapsed into darkness and he fell to the floor.

" Joseph !" Ben shouted as he ran over to his fallen son and he gathered up the boy in his arms and he held him tightly.

" Please baby open your eyes for me," Ben pleaded over and over. Adam and Hoss were extremely concerned for their little brother. They had never seen the boy like this before and it scared them badly.

Adam patted the boy's leg while Hoss held the small cool hands in his large warm hands and the both pleaded for Little Joe to open his eyes.

" Adam get one of the hands to get Dr. Martin out here fast !" Ben suggested. Adam quickly jumped up and ran out the door.

" Pa what's wrong with him ? Hoss cried. " I don't know son. I just don't know. We need to get him up to his room and into bed. H's shivering and his skin is cool and clammy feeling," Ben said as he picked up his unconscious son in his arms and he, Hoss and Hop Sing ran up to the boy's room.

Once Ben and Hoss had Little Joe snuggly in his bed they kept pleading with the boy to wake up. Hop Sing was also pleading too but the boy didn't move or make sound.

" Mr. Cartlight, Hop Sing think that little boy have broken heart. Someone hurt Little Joe deeply with words. He hurt badly in heart," Hop Sing suggested.

Ben looked up at Hop Sing through his tears and he replied. " But who could have done something like this and what in the world did they tell my boy ? I'm worried sick about him."

" When I find out who dun this to my baby brother I'm going to kill them !" Hoss angrily declared. " Hoss, I know how angry you are, but you can't take the law into your hands. Believe I feel like doing the same thing but we can't. As soon as I find out who is responsible for this, I promise you that I will do something within the law. You mark my words," Ben explained. All he wanted was for his baby boy to be alright.

" Pa I know what you mean, but Little Joe is just a little boy. It is so hard to see him like this, so hurt..." was all Hoss could manage to say at that moment.

" I know son. Believe me I know how you feel," Ben said as he put his hand on Hoss's large hand.

As soon as Dr. Paul Martin arrived he raced up to Little Joe's room. He was shocked at the condition of the small boy laying so still in his bed. The boy's body was still trembling as well.

Ben explained to Paul what had happened when the boy arrived in the house. Paul knew the boy was going through a very hard time with something since Ben had been talking to him about the way the boy had been acting for the last several weeks.

The End of part two.

RETURN TO LIBRARY