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“I can’t.” Shaking her head, Mam exhaled a broken sob. “He’ll kill me.”

“Then die” was all Joey replied, tone void of all emotion.

“Let him go, Marie,” Dad barked, tone laced with malice. “He’ll be back with his tail between his legs. Cunt is useless. Won’t survive a day on his own—”

“Shut up!” Mam screamed, louder than I had ever heard her. Sniffling, she scrambled to her feet and swung around to glare at Dad. “Just shut up! This is all your fault. You’ve ruined my life. You’ve destroyed my children. You’re a fucking madman—”

Whack.

Our mother’s words morphed into a wailed cry as our father’s fist connected full force with her face. She dropped to the floor like a sack of stones.

“Think you can talk to me like that?” Dad snarled, glowering down at Mam. “You’re the worst of the lot, you fucking whore!”

It took Joey all of two seconds to backtrack on all he had just said, because his hands shot out as he roughly shoved Dad away from her. “Keep your fucking hands off my mother.” He shoved him hard again. “Don’t touch her!” Crouching down, Joey attempted to pull Mam to her feet. “Mam, please—” His voice cracked as he knelt on the floor and brushed her hair back off her face. “Justwalk awayfrom him.” He cupped her face in his bloodied hands. “We’ll figure something out, okay? We’ll sort this, but we can’t stay here. I’ll take care of you—”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Dad roared menacingly, lunging for Joey. “Think you know it all, boy? Think you’re better than me?” Clamping his huge hand around the back of Joey’s neck, he forced him onto his knees. “Think you can take her away from me? She’s going nowhere!” Dad pressed down harder, shoving Joey’s forehead to the tiled floor. “I told you I’d put manners on you, ya ungrateful little bastard.” He pressed his knee into Joey’s lower back, rendering him helpless. “Think you’re a man now, boy? Show your mother what kind of a man you are, crying on your knees like a little bitch.”

“Stop it!” Mam screamed and pulled at my father’s shoulders. “Get off him, Teddy.”

“I’m more of a man than you,” Joey hissed, voice muffled from the force it was taking to hold himself up with the weight of our father looming over him.

“Oh, you think so?” Dad grabbed a fistful of Joey’s hair, pulled back, and then slammed his face into the tiles. “You’re a piece of shit, boy.”

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Joey planted his hands on the tiles once more and heaved his body up, desperately trying and failing to break free of our father’s hold as he continued to slam Joey’s face against the tiles. The sound of bone crunching filled my ears and my stomach churned, but Joey refused to give in. “That all you got?” He bared his teeth, blood glistening over white, as he snarled and fought wildly against Dad’s hold. “You’re losing your touch, old man!”

“Get off him!” Mam continued to scream as she pulled at Dad’s shoulders. “Teddy, you’re going to kill him!”

“Good!” Dad roared, throwing an arm back and knocking Mam away once more. “And you’re next, ya turncoat whore!”

Trembling violently, I needed to do something, but Icouldn’t.I couldn’t get my limbs tomove. I didn’t have the strength left inside of me to get back up.

Years of mistreatment, mixed with the beating I had just taken, had driven me to the point where at sixteen years old, I couldn’t stand on my own two feet.

Pathetic, I remained slumped on the chair where Joey had set me, with blood flowing freely down my face and my heart slowing in my chest.

I was dying, I realized. That, or my body had gone into shock. Either way, something was very wrong with me, and I couldn’t help the one person who had never failed to help me. With my head spinning wildly, I watched through glazed eyes as Joey managed to twist his body sideways, only for them to both end up wrestling on the floor.

My heart plummeted into the pit of my stomach when Dad came out on top once more. With his hand curled around Joey’s throat, he closed his fist and began to hit him repeatedly in the face. Joey bucked wildly beneath him, desperately trying to get out from under him, but it was no use. Our father had at least forty pounds on him.

He’s going to die,the fire in my heart screamed.Save him.

I tried.

Panic-ridden, I tried to get to Joey, but I just couldn’t move. I felt like I had been paralyzed.

“Help her,” I could hear Joey strangle out, coughing and spluttering. “Fucking help her!”

Help who?

Help who, Joe?

Every few seconds my vision went blank, and I knew that meant I must be drifting in and out of consciousness. I also knew that this was a bad sign, alerting me to the fact that he had hurt me worse than before.

So much worse.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Tadhg move for the cupboard. Yanking open one of the drawers, he withdrew a knife, and without a hint of hesitation, he lunged.

Do it.I sent a silent plea to the heavens above to give my brother the courage tojust do it.

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