Filth

Chapter 4

Hey! Sorry for the late update, I've been drowning in exams. However, I won't leave you waiting any longer.

*

It happened again. Father came home drunk. He beat Sammy. I ran and hid. The same old story. I should be used to it. I know that. But every time father raised his hand, every time Sammy cried out, I could feel an all-consuming hatred burning in my chest. It was growing and I should stop it now. I should stop it but I couldn't. It was too late – much too late.

When father had left, I rushed into the living room. I met the usual sight: Sammy slumped in the chair. Except this time, Sammy looked too broken for me to even sit near him.

Father hadn't even blown up for a reason. He came home and Sammy asked how his work had gone. Those disgusting blacks! I just want to kill them all! They're stirring up trouble, especially that Martin Luther King, wastes of space all of them! By the time his anger had surpassed, Sammy was already lying shattered at his feet, blood trickling down his chin.

Sammy's eyes were closed, his head in his hands. I approached him slowly, kneeling in front of him. I whispered softly, 'Sammy.'

He suddenly yelled and lashed out at me. The force pushed me onto my back, a squeal of pain escaping me. I blinked profusely, my cheek throbbing as I sat up. I could see Sammy's eyes snapping open, the words tumbling from his mouth, 'Oh god, Dani! I thought you were... I'm sorry! Dani? Dan-'

I barely registered what he was saying, mind racing. He was strong. The pain in my cheek told me that. And yet... and yet he just let father hit him. He had barely touched my face and I had fallen back. He was strong enough. He –

'Dani? Are you angry at me?'

And all of a sudden I was standing, exploding angrily at Sammy, 'YES! You're strong enough to fight back! You don't have to sit there and let him do that to you!' I began to scream hysterically, tears streaking down my cheeks. 'You can fight back! Why wouldn't you defend yourself!'

Sammy tried to stand but failed, wincing and falling back in the chair. 'Dani... When Mama died, we didn't just lose a mother. He also lost a wife. The one person he had fallen in love with -'

'NO. Don't you dare. Don't you dare try to justify what he does to you! I won't accept it!' I knew I looked mad, my hair flying around my face as I towered over him but how could he? We all lost Mama. We all felt that, it wasn't just father.

'Dani please just try to understand. He's a broken man.' His voice came out so soft, fragmented, that I almost felt bad. At least enough to take a breath, my racing heart slowing ever so slightly.

'It hurts so much, Sammy. When he hits you, it just hurts so much.' And with that, I slumped to the floor, Sammy trying to comfort me in his broken state. His wincing and groaning as he tried to hug me only made me sadder. How could he defend that? He was in so much pain and he just took it.

He sighed, 'we don't have long until I'm eighteen and then we'll leave. I swear we'll leave. He won't ever hurt you, I won't let him.'

'You don't understand!' I exclaimed, completely exasperated. 'It doesn't matter if he hits me. Seeing him hitting you is already hurting me. Besides, he doesn't need to touch me to hurt me, only tell me how disgusting I am.'

Sammy kept a gentle hold of my arm, trying to reassure me. 'We'll be gone soon.'

Well, we could only hope.

~

'Does anyone know what year World War One began?' Mr Howard asked, eyes scanning the class for any sign of movement. His eyes landed on Matthew who was whispering, not so silently, to Lisa. His face quickly turned sour, his eyes narrowing. 'Matthew. Since you seem to have so much to say, answer the question.'