His Story...

When it began

It was the coldest, rainiest night in July they had ever seen. The storm outside was getting worse, as was the one inside. The lights were dim and the house was old. Inside, a woman screaming in pain. Her baby was coming. The more she screamed the more he drank. The more he drank the louder he got.

the outskirts of Croowanna were always quiet. No one around to hear the couple. no one around to save the young girl inside. As the screaming came to a close, the crying began. A baby boy was in her arms. She whispered hello as she felt herself go.

"A brother!" Cried Lily-Anne. "Mummy, I have a brother!" But her mother didn't reply. Her eyes were shut and the colour drained from her face. Climbing to her brother she took him in her arms. A four-year-old holding a newborn. Thier father was drunk and looked at the siblings and turned away. A mutter of words similar to "your fault" was muttered and then he was out of the door.

Lily-Anne would learn that day she needed to be strong, not only for herself but for the baby she was carrying in her arms. At the age of four, she became a mother.

That was seven years ago. To this day, their father blames him, bashing and bruising the boy. His sister is his mother and his mother is not there.

"John Kirk-Patrick," called his father, "what a pitiful name. Couldn't you have been more inventive and changed your last name? You're no child of mine." John sat still, quiet as a mouse. He knew what was coming and was hiding in his closet. He heard his father enter the room and take a breath ready for the yelling but his sister's voice over took. "Breakfast is on the table James, Leave the poor boy alone for a day will ya." The youngest and only girl in the house yet she had the power to make her father do anything.

Climbing out from inside his closet, John began to whimper. The voices downstairs seemed so distance. Until they began to rise. "Get out of this house now! He had nothing to do with mum. She wasn't capable of having him on her own and you knew it. You just didn't want to fork out money to pay for the hospital bill. You caused her death. You not John." Even with these words though John felt responsible. He knew his mother died giving birth to him. It hurt to never meet her and to only have a sister for a mother. The other kids in town all had a proper family. Why couldn't he?

The next thing John knew was the slamming of the door and the stomp of footsteps coming down the hall. His sister came into the room. "James left. He was no father to us anyway." Lily-Anne spoke softly and John knew it was because she was scared. The two of them have practically lived on their own for 7 years but the thought of not having the only adult they knew around scared them both.

"Just you and me little bro. How bout' that, huh?" The slight chuckle of her voice calmed John a little. He knew his sister would keep them safe. Even if she dropped her sewing classes to work. Even if they had no proper family.