SKYFALL, Johnny Kavanagh

Deny, deny, deny

Maeve's Point of View

We were having breakfast in the kitchen and while I was talking to Casey, Aoife was speaking to Joey on the phone.

"You know, I should really go back home before it starts raining again." I told the two girls in front of me.
It was still relatively early for a Sunday, and – if I got lucky – my uncle would still be asleep when I got home.

"Is that code for going before Teddy wakes up?" Casey interjected. They were the only two people who knew the truth about what really happened in that house and the only ones who also knew the reason why we never called the authorities.

"Exactly." I admitted. "I can hide in my room with Shannon while hopefully he has his tantrums downstairs."

"Hopefully." She underlined. "And in case he doesn't?"

"Then I guess I'm today's rag doll." I shrugged. "It's not like I can avoid the beating forever, if it's not today, it's going to be tomorrow."

"Aoif, come here." She said while gesturing for Aoife to hang up the phone.
A few goodbyes and I love yous later she sat back at the table with us.

"What were you talking about with Joey?" I asked.

"He was asking how you were doing after yesterday." She spoke. "I told him you were peachy."

"In a ten-minute call, all you two talked about was me?" I grilled her. "Why do I find that a little hard to believe?"

"Just listen to what we have to say." Casey interrupted.

"Oh, is this an intervention?" I rolled my eyes. "Tell Joey it's very hypocritical of him to organise one, and also I don't have a problem."

"First of all, this is not an intervention. Second, Joey has been clean for a month now and you know that. Third, what do you mean by I don't have a problem." Aoife exclaimed. "Are you on drugs?"

"Of course not." I lied immediately, silently thanking Joey for not informing them of my activities during the last couple of months. "I was being sarcastic, I just smoke."

Aoife looked relieved while Casey looked at me in a way like she could see through all my bullshit.
Whatever, there was no way I was admitting to them that I took pills regularly.
I didn't want them to look at me like I was broken.
Also if I told them, I would have to tell them how and when it started.
No way I was telling them what I got up to lately, not yet at least, this newfound truce was too new to withstand that.
Deny, deny, deny.
That was my motto.

"So, we need to talk to you about something." Aoife commented.

"That Joey kind of agrees with." Casey added.

"Kind of?" I questioned.

"Yes, we're still trying to convince him, but we want to see if maybe you could be convinced too." Casey told me.

"Alright." I was sceptical. "What is it?"

"Well-." Aoife started.

"We think you should call the gardaí on your uncle." Casey interrupted.

I just stared at them.
Were they crazy?
They took my silence as a sign to continue.

"You can't keep living like this, Joey can't keep living like this, Shannon and the boys can't keep living like this. This situation isn't fair on anyone." Aoife stated. "You're all in danger with that man in the house, and with that woman too. She isn't fit to take care of the children, she isn't fit to take care of anyone."

"And then, what?" I exploded. "We call the cops, we get all taken away, separated, and moved to different parts of the country. If we get lucky maybe we get placed with a family that won't mind our existence too much, we'll be glorified servants. At worst we'll end up like Darren."

The mention of my eldest cousin immediately chilled the whole atmosphere. They knew what had happened to him. They knew why we couldn't call the authorities.

"So, you're going to condemn Tadhg, Ollie and little Sean to live like you and Joey have?" Casey rebuked, just as mad as me. "To exist in fear and terror that any day that man could kill you?"

"I'll be there to protect them, Joey will be there to protect them." I pointed out.

"What about your lives?" Casey screamed back at me. "You're just never going to leave home, never going to college or even on a simple vacation?"

"Yes." I spoke.

"What about Joey?" Aoife asked.

"What about him?" I replied.

"Do you think this is fair on him?" she stated. "He can't live in that house anymore, you know that."

"Then tell him he's welcome to leave, I'll protect of Shannon and the boys." I lied, if Joey decided to leave, I would have no idea of what to do.
He always said that one day he would get me and Shannon out of that house, what if he ends up leaving us here?

"You can't even protect yourself." She shot back. "What are you going to do when Teddy goes on yet another drunken rampage?"

"Did you forget what happened the last time he got hold of a weapon?" Casey commented.

"How can I?" I bit back. "The scar is an everyday reminder."
Last September, while Joey was at work, my uncle managed to grab a knife from the kitchen and ran after me with it. By the time Joey got home and dragged him off me he had already made a pretty deep cut on the back of my neck.
That scar was only one of many caused by him, but it was the first time he left it in such a visible place, which is why I now made it a point to always wear my hair down.
It wasn't by any means the most horrendous scar on my body – as both Aoife and Casey knew – since the car accident that I had with my parents and little sister caused irreparable damage to the skin on the back.
I could even go as far as to say that, if you only saw my back, I looked like I was mauled.

"Then what do you think will happen the next time?" Casey added. "What if Joey doesn't get there in time?"

"Stop." I sighed. "No one is calling the authorities and that's final."

"You're being stupid." Aoife screamed at me.

"I'm being realistic." I shouted back. "What was that saying? Better the devil you know."

"So, you would rather risk your safety than calling the cops?" Casey pondered.

"I would rather risk getting murdered than have another one of my siblings get raped." I concluded. "This isn't up for discussion, we're not calling the authorities."

And just like that it's like we were back on opposite sides, it was once again those two against me.
Well, that was a short-lived truce.
Even if I knew they had my best interest at heart, how could they suggest something like this?
They knew what Darren had gone through in foster care, and my uncle might have been many things, but he never touched us in that way.

"I'm taking the bus back home." I grabbed Johnny Kavanagh's jacket and made my way to the door.

"Maeve, wait." Aoife tried to stop me. Casey too got up from her chair to try and convince me to stay.

"I just need some time to cool off, I'll text you two once I'm at the house." I remarked.

I said my goodbyes to Mrs. Molloy and Kevin, and then headed out.