There be violence ahead, mateys. ~ It was a misty, chilly, miserable day, and the Donovans Four, blanket-bundled, sat in a row with their backs to the radiator. Its warmth was anemic, but it was better than nothing — certainly better than either bedroom, both of which might as well have been meat-lockers. They were safe enough for now, given Da was gone; whether he was at the pub or some half-arsed attempt at a job was anyone’s guess, but it didn't really matter. He wasn’t home, and Mam was actually making breakfast — proper breakfast, sausage and eggs the quartet had lifted from the local VG. Mam never asked where they got half the things they brought home, and Lorna suspected she didn't want to know. The scent of frying sausage was wonderful; it overlay, for now, the odor of stale cigarettes, cheap whiskey, and general sourness that had permeated the home as long as Lorna could remember. She had no name for the sourness, and none of her siblings did, either — it was something
Fair warning, this is the Donovan family: there be child abuse ahead, and mild gore. ~ Pat hurt, but that was nothing new. The pain that traveled in rolling waves up and down his back was, by now, something he’d felt so often it wasn't worth the bother of crying. Which was a good thing, honestly; if any of them did cry at a belting, Da just hit them all the harder to make them stop. Which even Pat recognized was completely stupid, but his da just liked any excuse he had to hit people. It was hot, at least by Dublin standards, and beads of sweat ran down his face as he tried to sit still. Their tiny bathroom was stuffy as a coffin, the glare of the single bare bulb harsh in the speckled mirror. He sat on the toilet, while his tiny sister did what she could. Though she only had seven years to his eleven, she could be bloody fucking pushy about some things, and it wasn't worth the effort of fighting her. Besides, if she didn't take care of his injuries, nobody would. “Someday I’ll