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I clapped my hand over my mouth as Tim scrambled to the floor. “I’m s-sorry. I’m so sorry.” My lip trembled as I took in the broken pieces. The lamp had been a gift from Mummy and Daddy on Joseph’s twelfth birthday, and I knew it had cost a lot of money.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” Joseph stood up, giving me a hug, but I could see the worry in his eyes. “We’ll get another one, and Dad won’t know. If he finds out, I’ll tell him I broke it.”
“I can give you some of my birthday money towards it. I still have some left.” Rising to his feet with the pieces of lamp clasped in his hands, Tim looked over at Joseph before turning to me. “It was an accident, Fal. You didn’t mean to break it.”
Joseph nodded. “Yeah. It’s my fault for putting it so close to the edge of the—”
“Fallon!”
The three of us froze in place, and I clenched my fists to hide my trembling hands. Slowly, I turned, forcing myself to raise my head to meet Father’s disapproving gaze.
“Princess…” He took the broken pieces of the lamp from Tim’s hands. “Did you break this?”
I swallowed hard. “Y-yes.” There was no point in trying to deny it—he’d obviously heard us talking. Either way, punishment was coming.
He sighed heavily, shaking his head. “You know what this means.”
We all knew what it meant. In silence, we followed him through the house, dragging our feet until we reached the kitchen, where our father entered the utility room and then opened the garage door.
I took a seat on the stool in the corner of the garage, staring straight ahead of me while my brothers stood against the brick wall. It was cold and echoey in here. I hated this place.
Even though I tried to keep looking at the wall, I couldn’t help looking at our father as he wrapped the leather belt around his hand, the long end dangling down. At least he wasn’t using the end with the buckle this time. He used that when he was especially angry, and Tim had a scar on his lower back where the buckle had caught on his skin, tearing it open. The bleeding had lasted for so long.
Joe and Tim pulled up the backs of their T-shirts, hunching over.
Then it began.
First came the whistle in the air, then the thwack of the belt as it lashed Tim’s lower back. Even though I knew it was coming, I couldn’t stop myself from flinching. A deep red mark immediately bloomed where our father had hit him, and I bit down on my lip so hard that I tasted blood. If I cried or dared to turn away, Daddy would only hit them harder.
He always hit my brothers on their lower backs. I guess it was because the marks were easier to hide.
The lash sounded again, and again, and after three strikes, Daddy switched to Joseph. Tim stood silently, but his whole body was shaking.
When it was over, our father left us alone, slamming the door behind him, and the three of us finally let the tears fall.
I shook away the memory, blinking back the sudden moisture that had appeared, and focused on my brothers. Joseph was at his desk, frowning at his computer screen, and Tim was sprawled on his bed, playing on his phone. The sight made me smile. Even though I hated parts of coming home, I loved to see my brothers. And…someone else, someone who was very, very important to me.
I cleared my throat, and Tim was the first to glance up. His eyes widened, and then a huge grin overtook his face.
“Fal!” He jumped off the bed and threw his arms around me, spinning us around. “I didn’t know you were coming home!”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” I mumbled into his shoulder, my smile widening as he continued to spin us around.
“Best surprise.” Bringing us to a halt, he grinned down at me.
“Tim. The thing.” Joseph cleared his throat, and Tim’s face fell.
“Ah, yeah. The thing. Hey, Fal, I wish I’d known you were coming, but we have plans tonight and tomorrow night we can’t get out of.”
“Plans?”
“The Alstone Holdings fuckers,” Joseph growled. “They’ve been stepping up their pranks recently—”
“So have we,” Tim interrupted with a bright grin, and although I felt sick as usual at the mention of the rivalry between the Hydes and the Alstone Holdings families, I concentrated on the happiness beaming out of my brother’s face. It was such a messed-up situation, and I knew the rivalry would never end. But how I wished it would.
“Yeah. So we need you to stay out of the way, Fallon. Promise me you won’t try to get involved.” Joseph’s lips thinned as he stared at me.
“Okay. I’ll stay away.” It was already early evening, and if I were to be out of the house before either of them left, I needed to make a move now. I couldn’t risk being left in the house alone with my dad. “I’ll catch up with some friends. Are you going to be back late?”
