NAVIGATING 5 - tadgh lynch

7- Tadhg

I cant find a date for when this would've happened, so I'm using the date i get off for easter - if anyone has a better one, comment and ill change it xx

BIG time jump

14th April, 2005

I walked in the front door, still smiling from a joke Lilibeth told me before her cousin came to pick her up. I see Joey in the kitchen in his work clothes, he looks like he's just about to leave.

"Hey Joe." I greet him, dumping my bag at the table. "Where's Shannon?"
"School trip." He mumbles, looking a bit stressed. I decide to leave him be, picking up my bag again. "Ill be upstairs." I tell him, walking out of the room.

"See ya later big guy, I'm off." He tells me as I trail up the stairs. Big Guy. I vaguely remember the day I got the nickname. Joey gave it to me when he was trying to get five year old me to tie my laces, and I insisted I could do it myself.
"Alright, big guy." He told me, as he backed up with his hands raised in mock surrender.

"Hey Ols." I greeted my younger brother who was sitting on his bed in our shared room, hunched over what looks like a phonics book. He mumbles something in response, and I flopped onto my own bed, rotating between sitting there and texting my friends on the phone Lilibeth gave me awhile back, before I finally lull myself to sleep a few hours later.

I came home from training the next day, to screaming and shouting. It hurts to say this is normal, but even still, It's very chaotic. Ollie comes rushing out the kitchen door. "He's killing her!" He yells. That is not normal. I push past Ollie and peek into the kitchen and see Shannon curled into a ball on the floor, the air being kicked out of her lungs, by none other then my father.

My father who's supposed to love us

My father who's supposed to protect us.

But my father is none of them. Not even remotely. He's a sorry excuse for a man, and he just caught a glimpse of my golden head. "Ollie, go ring Joey." I tell my brother, as the man shouts at me. I'm glad the attentions off Shan, but this mans more bite then bark.

"You think you can hide from me boy?!" Slap. "Hiding away behind the door like a little girl," Slap. "You'll never be a man, boy." Neither will you, dick. It's a blur of fists flying and my big sisters cries as I stand there helplessly, shielding my little brothers from their inevitable, because when Joe leaves, he'll take Shannon, and leave us on our own to deal with his whiskey tantrums. You're the same age as he was Tadhg. The voice in my head reminds me. You're the same age as Joey was when he left you, and It'll be you next. He'll see you to secondary, and leave you with that monster. The cycle repeats.

The cycle repeats

The cycle repeats

The cycle repeats

Joey takes me out of my own personal Hell when he bursts through the door, ripping dad off my sister, and I moved to her, shielding Shannon's frail body with my own. It didn't take long for Shannon to rush back to Joeys side, I stood. Ollie slumped against the fridge, crying and shaking uncontrollably until Joey stood and gave dad a hard stare. He looked how I felt. Fuck, maybe we both looked like that. Angry bulls, waiting to pounce. "Ollie, go upstairs and get Sean. We're leaving." It didn't take him long to send me packing as well, and I knew better then to fight with Joey when he was like this.

The first thing I did when I reached my room, was pull out the phone nestled between my mattress and bedframe. I texted the one and only person I wanted to hear from. My Tiger

It's currently 11pm, and i probably wont publish this till tomo. I lowkey hate this chapter, but it has to be bad before it gets better. Before you come at me, I know this isn't really accurate to the book, but the ideas the same. I'll try have the next chapter out in the next few days, though no promises as schools taking a toll on my mental health and i spend most of my days sleeping, but this isnt a vent so i wont bore you with the details. As always, Love ya loads xx