27 comments/ 58490 views/ 8 favorites Dealing with The Bully By: Scorpio44a [This isn't a sex story. There is a little sex in the story. This is a story about a Bully and how a family handled the threat. It could happen this way. If you think there was/is a better way to handle the Bully, write the story. I'd like to read it.] "Did Jackie talk to you about the Bully?" Xia asked her husband. "What Bully?" Matt looked up from his issue of Sports Illustrated. He smiled at what he saw. He and Xia had been together for twenty-one years and she was still the most beautiful, sexy woman he had ever known. She had auburn hair, cut short and curly, and eyes that locked on and could stop his heart. She was tall, long legged and slender. She loved wearing shorts that showed off her long legs and tops that made sure men noticed her perfect breasts. Not too big, not droopy, not too small... perfect breasts, topped by nipples that stood out over half an inch. When he looked up from SI he noticed she wasn't wearing a bra under the thin cami and her nipples were poking hard at the thin fabric. "Jackie has been being harassed by a senior. He knocks books on the ground, takes Jackie's lunch, and makes fun of him." Xia sounded really concerned. He put the magazine down and paid more attention. "Why is the guy bothering Jackie?" "Because he can! Jackie is smart but this guy is a football jock. Jackie says he's about six feet tall and plays running back. He also said the guy harasses anyone smaller than him." Matt thought about how someone would describe his son. Skinny. Nice looking but skinny. Jackie was probably five foot three and weighed about one-oh-five. He was blessed with his mother's curly red hair, auburn, not carrot red. An easy target for a big athlete. "What do you think we should do about it?" Matt asked. "I think you should go talk to him. Convince him to leave Jackie alone." "Talk? I don't think talk will do the job. He's a boy of action. Probably hasn't had a thought this month." "You have a better idea?" Matt was having trouble having any ideas. Xia's chest and body were distracting his thought processes. It had been three days since they danced the horizontal mambo and his testosterone level was surging. "I could go and threaten the boy. I'm bigger, stronger and hopefully smarter than a seventeen year old kid." "You think you can scare him off?" Her tone said she wasn't so sure. "I don't have to do anything to him, just talk. He'll understand that I could put a big hurt on him if he doesn't straighten up." "Ok, but I'm not convinced threats will work. I'd rather talk to him and appeal to his humanity. They could become friends." Matt laughed out loud. "Not likely! Jocks hang with jocks and girls. No skinny boys allowed!" Xia looked at Matt like she was wondering what happened to his brain in the last ten minutes. She thought Matt was smart and now he was talking like brute force was all that made any difference. She said, "Ok. Go threaten him. Let me know how it goes." When the school day was almost over Matt drove to the school and honked when he saw Jackie. The boy hurried to the car, carrying five books and a binder. He sat down and said, "Thanks for the ride!" "Mom tells me you've had some trouble with a Bully." "It's Ok. He's a pain, but nothing I can't handle. Mostly he jokes with his friends about how skinny I am. He picks on any guy who doesn't have a letterman's jacket." "Who is he?" Jackie looked at the mob of students pouring out of the school and said, "See the three guys in letterman jackets? He's the one in the middle. Bill Bogner." Matt watched the three boys as they walked away from the school. Body language told him they believed they were pretty important. The way other students got out of their way said a lot about how the other students felt about the three as well. They stopped on the way home and got a hamburger. Jackie ate like he hadn't eaten in a week. "What did you have for lunch?" Matt asked. "I had a burrito. They aren't very big." Matt remembered that Xia had said the Bully took Matt's lunch sometimes. At home Jackie went in and started his homework. Matt told Xia he needed to go to the store. He drove around and after twenty minutes he spotted the three letterman's jackets. After two blocks of following them, two of them turned right onto Elm Avenue and Bill Bogner continued along Persimmon Street. When he turned into the alley that ran behind Smith's Grocery Matt followed. He stopped his car near the boy and got out. "Bill!" The boy stopped and turned. "Do I know you?" He asked. "No, and really, you don't want to know me. You are causing trouble for my son, Jackie, and I want it to stop." "Skinny Jackie? He's your kid? And, you admit it?" Bill was smiling. "He is my son. He doesn't need you bullying him around. I want you to stop it." "Or else?" "Yes, or else." "Or else what? Am I supposed to be afraid of an old guy like you? Not likely. You can't get me in trouble at school. They have to see me do something to Jackie to do anything and I never get caught. So, or else what?" "Or else you'll find out what an old guy knows about whipping a young buck!" "Go home and watch "Married with Children" old man. I promise not to be too hard on Jackie tomorrow." He laughed and walked away. Matt felt foolish. He also wondered what would happen if the confrontation got physical. Bill was a lot bigger than Matt first thought and looked like he was in excellent shape. When he got home he said nothing. Xia put dinner on the table and the three of them ate together. Dinner conversation was about social activities at school and at church. Jackie finished his dinner and asked to be excused. He was and went to the computer to play. When he was gone Xia looked at Matt and asked, "So, was he intimidated?" "No. As a matter of fact he was a little arrogant. He told me to go home and watch TV old man." Xia grinned and turned away. Matt noticed the grin. It hurt about as much as having The Bully tell him to go watch TV. He shared the dishes duty with Xia and she was nice enough to give him a glimpse or two down inside her cami. Looking at her firm, tanned breasts was one of Matt's favorite sights. That helped. The interaction with The Bully bothered Matt all evening and disrupted his sleep with a dream where Matt got his ass whipped by Bill. At work the next day he got busy and didn't think about the incident until almost one in the afternoon when he got a phone call from the school. "Mr. Watkins, we need you to come get Jack. He needs to go to the doctor. A gym teacher found him stuffed in a trashcan inside the girl's gym. The nurse thinks his nose may be broken and possibly a finger as well." "What happened?" "Jack refuses to tell us. He says if he tells, things will just get worse. If he won't talk there is nothing we can do. How soon can you come get him?" "I'll leave now and I should be there in thirty minutes. Better idea. I'll call his mother and she can be there in ten minutes." "Thank you. Have her come to the nurse's office. It's next to the main office." Matt dreaded the call to Xia. He knew the trashcan was payback for him invading his son's life. He was also pissed at Bill Bogner, The Bully. Xia called him from the doctor's office. "He has a broken nose and his baby finger on his left hand is broken. His face looks like he's a raccoon. He's black and blue from his forehead to his upper lip and they put an aluminum splint and white tape on his face." "I'm so sorry." "Don't tell me. Jackie says he's not going back to school looking like this. I don't blame him." "I'll call the school and have them gather his assignments for two weeks. He can stay home, but he can't fall behind." "You can go to the school and get his books and things." "To get his books I'll need the combination to his locker." Xia came back on the phone laughing. "He is your son!" "Why?" "His combination is 38-24-36. How he got my measurements he won't say, but he blushed when he gave me the combination. He knew they were my numbers!" "I like those numbers. I'll be able to remember them." "See you at home, horney man." Matt called the school and they said they would have his assignments for two weeks waiting for him after three-thirty, in the office." Walking back to his car with books and assignments Matt understood why so many kids drag those rolling suitcases to school. Jackie's stuff was heavy! When Matt got everything inside the house Xia gave him a Diet Coke and he plopped into his chair. A few minutes later the raccoon walked in and said, "Gee thanks, Dad, for handling The Bully for me." "I didn't think it through. I should have known he'd take it out on you." "Every jock in the school is laughing. They're laughing at me!" "I'm sorry, Ok." He looked around and said, "One good thing did happen. While I was in the trash can a class of junior girls was playing volleyball and Cathy Jenkins ripped her shirt and I got to see her chest." Matt smiled and asked, "Pretty nice?" "First ones I've seen live. I like them. I think I like her, too." "Does she know she was seen?" "Nope. I stayed quiet until the class left the gym. When Miss Clarke, one of the girl's gym teachers, came in by herself I moaned loud enough she found me. I was covered in blood from my nose but it had stopped hurting by then. She got four boys to help me to the nurse's office. They didn't ask who did it. I think they knew." "I knew too. I'll stay out of it from now on, if that's what you want." "That is what I want." They stayed quiet until Xia called them for dinner. She made Jackie's favorite dinner, chicken enchiladas with black beans and fresh guacamole. They talked about how Jackie was going to budget his time to get everything done. He agreed to work just like he was in school, with the gym class time used as a break. He went to bed early. The doctor had given him something for the pain and it made him sleepy. He iced his face for fifteen minutes, to help get the swelling down and get the bruise to go away faster. Late that night Matt and Xia were getting into bed. They could hear Jackie breathing. Xia said, "You are going to leave this alone, aren't you?" "Ever since they called me I've been thinking about that. What kind of a man am I if a kid can hurt my son and nothing happens to him?" "Wise. Humble. Smart." "I need to protect my family! I need to do something!" "I'm going to give you something to do. I'm going to give you a great reward if you do it." "What do I do?" Matt was naked, sitting on the side of their bed. Xia pulled her cami over her head and stood in front of Matt. His hands went around her waist and he moved to kiss her breasts. She backed up. "No. No. That is your reward. If you have left The Bully alone until the end of the month we'll go to my brother's cabin and I'm yours for the weekend. Jackie will be going camping with my brother and his two boys." "Ok! I like the reward." "You only get it if you leave The Bully alone. And the incentive is that I'm off limits until that weekend." "That's three weeks! We've never gone three weeks!" "Man up! You can do it!" She walked around the bed and got in. Matt watched and went into mourning for what he would miss for three weeks. Jackie kept up with his school work and his phone calls to friends. Matt stayed away from the school and made no effort to contact or even see Bill Bogner. At the end of the second week the bruises were almost completely gone and the brace was removed. Jackie looked like Jackie again. His phone calls to friends kept Jackie up to date on things at school. Bill Bogner had not mourned the loss of Jackie as one of his targets. He had trash canned two other boys and had tossed Mike Svensen, the biggest overweight kid in the school, into the school pool while he was fully clothed. Xia and Matt worried about his first day back. Xia stayed pretty close to the phone. She didn't say she was staying by the phone, but she was. Matt stayed close to his office phone as well. Nothing happened worthy of note. Jackie saw Bill in the hallway and Bill said, "Welcome back Squirt! No one missed you." Jackie didn't point out that Bill had noticed he was gone and noticed when he came back. He just smiled and kept moving. He heard through the grapevine that Bill and his two football brothers had decided on a new prime victim while Jackie was gone. An even smaller kid than Jackie and one that was also Jewish. All Jackie's first week back was calm and without incident. His parents asked every day. On Wednesday Jackie reported that Abe, the Jewish kid, had been trash canned. Whoever it was took his yalmulka and threw it into the school swimming pool. They put him in the same trash can that Jackie had once inhabited. On Thursday Jackie reported that the three had forced Abe to eat a ham sandwich. Abe spent part of the afternoon in the boy's bathroom making himself throw up. Matt heard the stories and said, "I promised to stay out of it. He needs an ass whipping, but I'm not the one to do it." Xia showed him glimpses of the reward each night at bedtime. At Costco on Friday afternoon after school Xia and Jackie ran into Abe and his mother. Abe looked worse than Jackie had when he was trash canned. His face was bruised, his glasses bent, he had a bandage on his ear and bruises on his arms. As they talked the boys solidified their new friendship and Xia got to know Mrs. Levine a little. The Levine's had been in America three years, having come from Germany. Mrs. Levine shared that they came because the anti-semitic influences in Germany were getting worse. Now Mrs. Levine wasn't so sure America was better. Xia was quiet the rest of the day. She talked, but Jackie could tell she was really thinking about something else. She drove to the school the next day and picked both boys up when school let out. She noticed their reaction when Bill Bogner came out of the main school building. She memorized his face and look. She took the boys home and then "went to the store." She went to the store where Matt had spoken to Bill. She was inside the store when Bill came in. He walked passed the manager and showed him a five dollar bill. That seen, the manager allowed him in the store. She watched. He knew what he wanted and went right to it. He got a quart of orange juice and a brownie from the deli. She came back the next school day and watched Bill buy the same things. Over a two week span she went to the store five more times and watched. She bought some things as well. She dressed pretty conservatively and Bill never paid any attention to her. A plan was formulating in Xia's mind. Because Jackie and Abe had become friends Bill began taking lunch from both boys and verbally harassing them whenever they saw him. Most of the physical intimidation went to other boys. Xia heard from Jackie and Abe about how Bill and his buddies had stripped one of the kids from special education class, a boy with Down's Syndrome, and left him inside the girl's locker room. A few days later Bill had pushed a boy in the school parking lot and he was struck by a car, breaking his leg. Matt called Xia one afternoon and said he had to drive to a city a hundred miles away to bid on a contract. He said he would be late getting back. Xia asked when he would be back. He said about ten. Then Xia called Mrs. Levine and arranged for Jackie to spend the evening with Abe's family. She told Mrs. Levine she wanted to do some shopping. She dropped the boys at Abe's house after school. She wore loose leg shorts and a camisole with a thin over shirt unbuttoned over the cami. Both boys looked but her outfit wasn't any more outrageous than she normally wore. After she dropped the boys she removed her bra. At the proper time she went into Smith's Market and began shopping. Produce, eggs, bread, two cut up chickens and just as Bill got to the orange juice she rolled up as well. Bill picked up is usual quart and Xia spoke to him. "Is that a good brand?" She asked. He looked her over and said, "I like it. It has lots of pulp and I read pulp is the best part." He started to turn. "Some OJ has a bitter aftertaste." He pointed to another brand. "That one tastes like iron and bitter." He made a face. Xia laughed, softly. "Ok, then. I'll get the kind you like. As my way of saying thanks, let me get yours, too." "Not necessary. I'm going to get a brownie from the deli too." "Go get it. I need to get something from the frozen aisle, so meet me there." Bill smiled and went to the deli. Xia got a half gallon of ice cream and some frozen veggies. He walked up and put the items in her cart. She watched him do it, picked up the plastic wrapped deli item and said, "Maybe you should carry this to the check out. I wouldn't want it to get smashed." He took the brownie and walked behind Xia. He watched her walk. She added a little bit of extra sway in the motion. When they got to the check stand she moved ahead of the cart and he put the brownie in the basket. As she unloaded, he helped. He put his Oj and brownie near the end of the items on the conveyer belt. She said to the bag boy, "Can you get it all in one bag?" "Sure. I'll double bag it for strength." She paid by debit card and then tried to pick up the bag. "Damn, that's heavy." She said. The checker offered to have the bagger carry the bag but Bill said he's carry it. "Oh, thank you. That's nice." He easily picked up the bag and followed her to her car. She opened the trunk and he put the bag in. He pulled the OJ and the brownie out and she said, "Can I hire you?" "For what?" "When I get home that bag is still going to be too heavy for me. I live over by eleventh and Hope. Can I hire you to carry my groceries from my car to my kitchen table?" "Sure! I don't need to be home anytime soon. Let's go!" They got in her car and she drove home. Just after Matt had called she had put away all the family pictures. He wouldn't know she was Jackie's Mom or Matt's wife from being in her house. "Are you a senior?" She asked. "Yes. Graduate in two months." "And then?" "Well, when I turned eighteen in November my Dad promised me I could go to Las Vegas for the National Rodeo Championships. That's my graduation present." "So when do you turn eighteen?" "Last November." "What about college?" "I've been scouted by a couple'a schools but no offers yet." She pulled into the driveway and parked. The right front tire was on the grass and the car parked at a strange angle. She popped the trunk and Bill got the bag. He followed her into the house. He had left the OJ and half eaten brownie in the car. She held the door for him and pointed to the kitchen table. He put the bag down and said, "There. Everything you bought is home safely." She stood near him and said, "We didn't discuss payment. What do you think would be fair?" "It wasn't much of a job. I hate to charge you anything." Xia took off the thin over shirt and handed it to Bill. "Toss that onto that chair, would you?" He did. She grasped the bottom of her cami and pulled it out away from her belly. "Do you see a stain on this? It's almost new. I hope it's not stained." She put his hands on the cami and he looked for a stain. He also really looked at Xia's breasts and nipple bumps on the surface of the cami. "I don't see a stain." He said. She made her voice throaty and soft. "Lift it up, please." Dealing with The Bully His eyes went wide and his hands lifted the cami straight up and off Xia. Her naked breasts were bared for him. "Like what you see?" She asked. "Yeah!" His hands dropped the cami on the table and reached for her tits. She stepped back and asked, "Are you willing to give me what I want?" "What do you want?" "Bareback fucking! I want it hard and strong! My husband can't do it for me. Can you?" He dropped his letterman's jacket on the floor of her kitchen. His t-shirt landed on top of the jacket. Xia led him to her bedroom and closed the door when they were inside. "What time does your old man come home?" Bill asked. "About seven-thirty." She looked at the clock it read 5:44pm. "Does that give you enough time to do me well?" "How well?" "Fuck me hard enough that I'm still bruised day after tomorrow." "Drop those shorts and let's do this." Xia faced Bill and said, "I don't like these shorts. Rip them off me and throw me on the bed, Stud." He grabbed the shorts and the button flew to the corner of the bedroom. The zipper parted for the last time and he pushed Xia onto the bed. He tore off the shorts and her thong and put the thong into his jeans pocket. "Taking a souvenir?" Xia asked, smiling. Bill nodded. Bill's jeans unbuttoned and he undressed quickly. He left his socks on. Xia held her legs close together and he looked at her when they didn't open for him. "I'm not giving it to you! Take it! Be the man!" He forced her legs apart and leaned forward pushing his hard cock at her pussy. When he was lined up he pushed hard, not counting on Xia to move. He didn't get in. He held her legs tightly and forced his way in. He held tight enough Xia was sure she was bruised. "Oh God, lady, you're so tight!" "It's been a long time, Stud! Do me!" When he came for the third time it was six-thirty. The bedroom smelled like an orgy had happened. The sheets were wet from their sweat and bodily fluids. Xia said, "Oh shit! It's late! Get dressed Lover-boy and get home! He'll kill us both if he comes home and finds you here. I'll clean up. You just go! Can I find you at the market next week?" As he dressed quickly he said, "Every school day at the same time." "Tuesday?" "Yes! I'll be looking for you." Without any attempt at a good-bye kiss or any further contact, Bill went out the back door and ran a few blocks before slowing to a walk. Then, rather than walking, he strutted. He'd had a woman! He had her thong in his pocket! He decided he wouldn't date girls any more. Sex with a woman was so exciting! He could still feel how it felt to be inside her. He could still picture her tits in his hands. Xia tore a hole in the sheet where she could tell his feet had been as he thrust into her. She got on the bed with her hips high so his spunk wouldn't all leak out and used her portable phone. She dialed 911. She told the operator she had been raped. Fourteen minutes later a black and white police car and a paramedic truck were in her driveway. The police officers noticed her car was parked at an angle in the driveway. They interviewed her. The paramedics did a rape kit. Xia cried. Between the phone call and their arrival she had sliced an onion and rubbed a drop of onion near her eyes. Crying was easy. A description of Bill was broadcast. They found him walking home with a big smile on his face. The lab people laughed to themselves at how easy he made their case. His DNA was all over her clothes, all over the sheets on the bed and in her vagina. Her thong was in his pants pocket and showed evidence that he had ripped it from her. They even got her DNA off his penis and underwear. When Matt got home he noticed that Xia looked like she had been crying. She didn't explain, just asked him to go get Jackie at Abe's house. When they got back an unmarked but obvious police car was parked at the curb. Two detectives were sitting on the couch. "What's going on?" Matt asked. Xia said, "While you were gone today, I was raped." "What?" Matt and Jackie both stopped in their tracks and couldn't believe what she said. Matt asked, "Just now? When I went to get Jackie?" Xia said, "No. While you were at work. A high school kid helped me with my groceries in the market. Then he made me bring him home and when we got here he ripped off my clothes and raped me." One of the detectives spoke, "Mr. Watkins we have the boy in custody. He's a senior at Bellflower High. He had evidence on him linking him to the rape. We just came by to verify your wife's account. I'm sure the DA will be in touch." "What will happen to the guy?" Jackie asked. "He'll probably get a minimum of three years in prison. Because Mrs. Watkins is bruised and her clothing torn, the judge may give him as much as eight years." "Will he get bail?" Matt asked. "Probably. If he does, I advise you to stay away from him. Most husbands want to do bodily harm to a rapist. If that happens, you end up in prison as well as him. Don't do it! We will take care of him." "Will I have to testify in court?" Xia asked. "We can't answer that question. When the DA contacts you about the case, you can ask him or her." "Jackie goes to the same high school. What if he or his friends do something to Jackie?" "We have two undercover officers on campus. We'll have them watching out for your son. Do you know the boy who is in custody?" "You haven't said who he is." Jackie said. The detective looked at his notes and said, "William Bogner." He looked up from his notes as Jackie said, "He and two of his friends shoved me inside a trash can a few weeks ago, broke my nose and finger too." As if it would verify his statement Jackie held up his left hand. "Did you report this to the school?" "It happened at school. The assistant principal called for my parents to come take me to the doctor. I was out for two weeks." "That makes the case even stronger. He may not get bail." "When he did it I didn't tell the school it was him. I couldn't. He would have hurt me even more!" "Just make sure the DA is told about what the boy has been doing." "Ok." After a few more questions the police left. Jackie and Matt cleaned up the crime scene. They threw away the mattress pad and put on the one Xia had bought so she could alternate them. Her clothes and the ripped, soiled sheets were taken by the crime lab people. They aired out the bedroom, put clean sheets on the bed and when the room looked Ok then went back to Xia. "Didn't you know it was Bill?" Jackie asked. "Yes. And he knew I was your Mom. In the market he came up to me and said I was buying him some orange juice. He put some in my cart and said I needed to get you and my wimp husband to drink some. Then he said he would help me out with my groceries. At the car he said he needed a ride. I said I didn't want him in my car. He asked if I'd heard about the poor kid who stepped in front of a car and got his leg broken. I knew you were next if I didn't give him a ride. When he got in the car I asked where he wanted to go. He said he just wanted to help me take the groceries home. As soon as the groceries were on the table he started ripping at my clothes and telling me I was his bitch. He said he'd leave Jackie and Abe alone for the rest of the year but that he was going to fuck me every week." "At least he's in jail now!" Jackie said. He was in shock because of what had happened and because he'd never heard his mother use words like those. Matt was feeling impotent, frustrated and angry. He had thought he could frighten The Bully off. Now his wife and son had become victims of this Bully and there was nothing he could do. Xia asked Matt to call and get Chinese food delivered. He called and soon they were at the table eating. At about eight the phone rang. Jackie answered. It was Mr. Bogner, Bill's Dad. He yelled at Jackie and threatened him as if he was Matt, threatened Jackie and Xia with death if they didn't drop the charges against Bill. Jackie listened to him until he stopped yelling and said, "I'm not Mr. Watkins." Then he hung up. He told his parents about the call and a minute later the phone rang again. The caller ID on the phone showed "POLICE" so Matt answered. "Mr. Watkins, this is officer Sanchez at the police station. One of the papers your wife signed was a permission to wiretap your phone. The threatening call you just received from Mr. Bogner was listened to and recorded. We have officers on their way to pick him up. We wanted you to know we take threats of death seriously." Matt thanked officer Sanchez and hung up. He explained what he had been told to Xia and Jackie. The next time the phone rang it was Abe to tell Jackie about Bill and his Dad being arrested. He didn't know very much about why but he did know that Bill was in custody before his Dad was arrested and that when the officers came to his house Mr. Bogner attacked one of the officers and hit him with a baseball bat. Jackie didn't fill him in on the details. In bed late that night Matt was careful with his wife. When she had undressed for bed he had seen the bruises where Bill had grabbed her legs just above the knees and squeezed hard as her forced her legs apart. He saw how swollen her mons still was, hours after the incident. He saw bruises on her breasts. Xia had taken something for the pain and she slept through the night. Matt slept too, but not so well. When Jackie stepped onto campus the next day the campus was already buzzing. The misinformation express was telling tales of why Bill and his Dad were in jail. Every story Jackie heard involved violence, intimidation and threats. Every story he heard missed the truth but had the essence of the truth. In fifth period a runner came to the class where Jackie was and had a request form for Jackie to go to the office and see the Principal. Sitting in the Principal's office were the two detectives Jackie had already met. Jackie greeted them by name and asked what was going on. "We just want to know if any of his friends have said anything to you about the arrests." The taller detective asked. "There are lots of stories going around about why Bill and his Dad are in jail. None of them are the truth. I haven't said anything." "The first person who says something to you that is the truth, we want to know about it." He handed Jackie his card. "Call me. Tell me who talked to you and what they said." The officers left. The Principal had Jackie sit down and he asked a few round about questions, hoping Jackie would tell him the story. Jackie said, "Mr. Clarke, it seems clear to me that the police don't want me talking about what I know or how I know it. To me, that means with anyone. I know you'd like to know and I assure you, you will know just not from me and not now. Can I go back to class?" Xia said nothing to Matt or Jackie about what happened. Matt was more attentive and gentle with her, helped around the house more than normal and listened to her whenever she wanted to talk. Jackie helped more too. Xia never had to testify. William Bogner accepted a plea bargain and went to prison for five years. One count of rape and one of assault. Henry Bogner accepted a plea bargain as well and went to prison for fifteen to twenty-five years. Seems the law is not fond of people who assault police officers and threaten people with death. Jackie went away to college and did well. Matt and Xia sold the house and moved away as well. Matt started his own business and they both worked hard to make it a good one. One night they sat watching the eleven o'clock news and an item came on that got their attention. The TV screen showed a house burning with firemen and equipment battling the blaze. The voice identified the town as the one where they used to live, the street where they used to live and the captured arsonist. Bill Bogner. He had called the TV station after he lit the fire and took credit for the fire. The TV station played the tape. Xia and Matt heard Bill's voice say, "I raped a woman in that house. I can't be forgiven by God as long as the house still stands." Matt took Xia in his arms and they sat quietly on the couch. The broadcaster said that they had found out that Mr. Bogner had been released that very day from serving in prison for a rape. His father had also been sent to prison and had died the year before in a prison yard fight. Matt hit the channel changer and a scene of lions in Africa filled the screen. It showed a lion cub running from a leopard. The voice over talked about how rare it was for a leopard to attack a lion, even a cub. Suddenly the leopard was attacked by a female lion. The fight only lasted seconds. The female lion killed the leopard with such ferocity that the leopard did nothing to the lion. It suddenly was over and the lioness walked away from the body. She didn't eat any of it. The voice over said, "Females of any species will do anything to protect their young. That young male leopard just learned that lesson." Matt shut off the TV. They sat in silence for a few seconds and Matt asked, "Is that true of human momma's too?" "No. Human mommas want the bastard to suffer first."