“Next time I get a chance to make money, don’t come looking for me,” she said without turning back. “Let me do what I gotta do,” and disappeared inside.
I stood there alone, pain flaring in my cheek, fists in my pockets. The street was quiet again as I looked up at the house. One curtain hung limp, a dull orange glow from the TV flickering through the living room window, as if the whole place was on fire from the inside. A fleeting thought passed through my mind, wishing it were. I just wanted to walk away. But Squeeks was waiting for me.
The door was still half-open as I got there, swinging slightly. Inside, stale smoke curled in the hallway. God, I fucking hate it here. But for now, it was somewhere we needed. I stepped in quietly, shutting the door behind me like I didn’t want to wake a horror that was already waiting.
Her voice hit me first, barking from the kitchen. “You said you’d wait till tomorrow!”
“You didn’t bring back shit,” Danny growled. His voice was dangerous, the way it always was just before he gave her the beating of her life. “You said you were makin’ money, but you come home empty-handed and stinkin’ of cheap vodka.”
“I had something lined up!”
“Oh yeah? And what happened? Let me guess, you got distracted chattin’ up some old punter and forgot the whole damn point.”
Their voices bounced off the cracked tiles as I hovered in the hallway, barely breathing, my eyes glancing toward the stairs, hoping not to see Squeeks.
“I was working Danny! That little bastard showed up, started mouthing off, and scared him away. The kid acts like he fucking owns me.”
“Maybe if you’d put him in his place more often, he’d know how to shut his fuckin’ mouth!”
A crash echoed from the kitchen: a bottle or a plate. I didn’t even flinch. I was used to it. It surprised me that we even had any crockery left.
“I’ve done everything for you, and you still treat me like shit!” She shouted.
“You’re nothing without me! You’d be dead in a gutter if I hadn’t picked you up. I give you a roof, protection, your next high. And you turn up empty-handed.”
“You own me, is that it?” she spat. “You pimp me out and tell me I should be grateful?”
Another silence. The kind that’s worse than shouting. The kind you can feel just before the punch lands.
I moved without thinking.
Yeah, I know.
Stupid fucking move Screech.
It felt like walking into a lion’s pit, every part of me screaming to turn around. As I stepped into the kitchen, they both turned. Mum’s face was pale and blotchy, her eyes wide like she couldn’t believe I dared to enter. Danny stood over her, chest puffed, veins popping in his neck as his red-hot glare darted my way.
“What the fuck are you looking at?”
I didn’t answer. My eyes shifted from him to Mum. “You alright?” She didn’t speak. She just lowered her head, took a deep drag from the fag in her fingers, and looked down at the floor like it was her only escape.
“You think you’re a man now, do you?” Danny sneered, stepping closer. “Gonna protect Mummy, yeah? Pathetic.”
“I’m not scared of you.” A blatant lie, but I managed a steady delivery, so it felt like it had some meaning. An internal battle started inside me. Why did I feel the need to poke the bear? Not just once, but repeatedly.
He smiled at me, that sick, slow smile, like a crocodile in the dark. “You should be boy.”
And he was right. Maybe I should have been. But I’d pulled her from one shitty situation, so I wasn’t giving up on her again. Danny’s smile faded as he looked at me as if I were just another itch he needed to scratch off his skin.
“I said,” he growled, stepping closer, “you should be scared.” His eyes were sharp and twitchy, a jittery high he enjoyed riding just before someone paid the price.
Mum still hadn’t looked up. She just stood there, flicking ash onto the floor like she wasn’t even in the room.
“I’m not scared of some coward who pushes women around when he’s too useless to earn his own money,” I said, louder this time, and instantly regretted it. My voice cracked at the end, but I was too far down the rabbit hole to turn back.
Danny shifted, his fist flying towards me. It came fast, his knuckles rough and forceful, and cracked across my cheek, sending stars bursting into my eyes. I hit the counter hard, stumbling sideways as the taste of blood returned.
“Danny!” Mum shouted, but it was more habit than concern. I think she was just glad it wasn’t her in the firing line.
