Together in Darkness- Moved to AO3

Chapter 28

Sofia POV

"Lee, please calm down, I will pop out and get you some more" I heard my mum almost pleading with my dad.

Great. He's drunk again. Rolling my eyes I know I can't avoid the inevitable anymore. I'd have to show my face before I could sneak upstairs or I'd never hear the end of it. I sighed in defeat, my perfect day now ruined because I know how this goes and it never ends well. Brace yourself Sofia, you've got this... Ugh here goes nothing.

"Hey guys I'm home" I chirped as I walked through the door into the lounge; my best fake smile plastered on my face. I stopped frozen mid stride when I saw the state of the place. There was mess everywhere, the photo of us from my sisters wedding on the floor underneath the now shattered glass of the frame, coffee splashed up the wall with the cup smashed too. My mum must have seen the shock on my face as she came over and gave me a quick hug, squeezing my shoulders as she let go smiling weakly at me.

"Sofia, sweetie. I hope you had a good day. Why don't you go upstairs and make a start on your homework? I'll call you down when tea is ready" she said, defeat lacing every word. I wanted to take her with me and away from my dad when he was like this. I'd never say this to him but he honestly scares me when he's like this, which seems more often than not these days. No wonder I like to stay out as much as I can.

"Oh I don't think so" I heard him slur from his seat. "You've been out all weekend, out all afternoon after school and you just walk in and act like a princess? I'm sick and tired of you young lady treating this house like a hotel" he said standing up and leaning against the wall to catch his balance.

"Lee, please calm down" mum said to him, walking over and rubbing her hand in his arm.

He threw her hand away, pushing her back a few steps. I gasped as she caught her balance and I felt the sting of tears in my eye.

"No! You will start to show me more fucking respect. Everyone in this house will" He was raising his voice as he got angrier, and I honestly thought he would fall over if he tried to stand up by himself. He's such a mess. I didn't dare argue back because there was no hope when he was like this.

"I'm sorry dad, it won't happen again" I found myself almost whispering the words. I couldn't stop the tears from falling this time, and I began to cry. I hated that I wasn't strong enough to stand up to him, he is just a bully. But when he was sober he was the most loving person in the world. Yes he had made mistakes in the past, but he is only human so we could get over those. But the drinking had been getting worse. He'd go straight to the pub after work with his friends and he wouldn't get home till nearly midnight steaming. Or he would start drinking at home when he watched the football and by the end of the game I was practically praying his team won otherwise we would probably end up having to buy a new television. I watched as he stumbled through to the kitchen, seeing not my dad, but the monster that took over whenever he had a drink.

"Fuck sake! Shannon! I thought I already told you there's no lager left!? I bought an entire new crate yesterday. WHERE ARE THEY?!" I heard the fridge door slammed, not surprised if it had come off it's hinges. I looked over at mum who was now shaking her head, clearly just as frustrated by this as me.

"You have finished them this afternoon dear, I will pop out now and buy you some more ok" she called out to him as he was crashing through the kitchen cupboards. He came stumbling back into the lounge and fell onto the sofa, laying down and throwing the television control across the room.

"Fine go. But hurry I told you earlier that I needed more" He said. I couldn't believe how he could become such a different person. I didn't want to be left alone with him. I felt so ridiculous feeling that; he's my dad I shouldn't be scared of him. But I was and I didn't want to see how far he could go when he was drunk.