Daddy's Prisoner by Alice Lawrence, Megan Lloyd Davies

Idiot snarled.
    ‘We had to stop until I felt better. That’s why we were late. There’s nothing else to it.’
    But The Idiot would not listen. Suddenly he spun around to face Simon as the veins in his neck bulged and I knew nothing I could say would calm him down now.
    ‘Do you think I don’t know what’s going on?’ he screamed. ‘Do you think I don’t know what you two are up to?’
    ‘Nothing, Dad,’ Simon insisted. ‘Nothing at all.’
    ‘You’re a fucking liar,’ Dad roared as he hurled himself past me at my brother – his hands clenched into fists. ‘Is this little one yours? Have you been messing with your sister? I’m going to fucking kill you.’
    Simon darted away as my father lurched towards him.
    ‘Leave me alone,’ he screamed. ‘Get away from me.’
    The Idiot threw himself towards Simon as my brother’s hand closed around the door handle.
    ‘Come back here,’ Dad roared.
    Wrenching open the door, Simon ran outside as The Idiot tried to grab him.
    ‘I’ve had enough,’ my brother screamed. ‘Do you hear me? You’re fucking mad.’
    ‘Come back here, you little bastard,’ Dad yelled. ‘Get back here right now.’
    ‘No. I’ve had enough, do you hear? I’m sixteen now. You can’t tell me what to do. You can’t beat me when you feel like it any more. I’m going to get you charged, see if I don’t.’
    The Idiot stopped at the door as Simon ran off. He was panting as he stared after him.
    ‘He’ll be back,’ he hissed. ‘Now get inside and close the door. We don’t want the neighbours poking their fucking noses in.’
    The house had gone quiet as we did what Dad told us but Simon had not come home since the row and now I wondered where he’d gone as I sat with the kids in front of the TV. Would he do as he’d promised? Surely he wouldn’t dare?
    ‘Can I get a drink?’ Kate asked, and her voice pulled me back to the present.
    ‘No,’ I said. ‘You stay here and I’ll get one for you.’
    Walking out of the bedroom, I started going downstairs. It was quiet in the living room. In fact, the whole house was quiet. Like the silent moments before a storm begins.
    The police arrived a few hours later to tell Dad that Simon had made a complaint about him which they were now investigating.
    ‘He’s out of control,’ The Idiot told them. ‘This is ridiculous. He’s just a troublemaker.’
    But the officers just listened silently before telling Dad they’d be back. It was clear they were taking whatever Simon had said seriously and, when the door finally closed, The Idiot started ranting and raving.
    ‘That little bastard brother of yours,’ he screamed. ‘What the fuck does he think he’s playing at? He’s told them I attacked him and now they say they’re looking into it. I’ll fucking kill him.’
    I couldn’t believe it. No one had ever gone against Dad like this before. There was no knowing what he might do now. I couldn’t believe Simon had actually done it. Didn’t he know what would happen to us all?
    Dad took a deep breath as he walked towards me, his eyes fixed on my face.
    ‘You’re to keep your mouth shut, do you hear me?’ he spat at me. ‘If you so much as breathe a word of what went on then you’ll be sorry, do you hear? Don’t say a thing about what happened today. They can’t do anything as long as it’s our word against his.’
    I nodded slowly, knowing I wouldn’t dare speak out, whatever Simon had said. All we could do was wait now to see what might happen and for the next couple of days, Dad let me take the kids to and from school but apart from that no one was allowed out. He seemed fidgety, almost scared, as he sat and watched TV, waiting to see what the police would do. He’d hidden us from prying eyes for so long and now they were trained on us again. We’d run from the social workers and police before but this time it felt different and The Idiot was furious because there was nothing he could do. If there was one thing in