Poison (discontinued)

33

Harry's POV

It was nice spending Christmas with Rose and her family. Much better than it would have been with my own. My mum is not the same woman she was when I was little. She used to outgoing, always putting on a brave face and smiling whenever I was around, now she has aged so many years. My dad's old habits have drained her physically and emotionally. Sometimes it's like she's not even there anymore. My dad on the other hand has gone from one extreme to the other. He no longer drinks or does drugs and now is insistent on making my mum the happiest she can be. He's always taking her traveling, a different place every time while I get shipped off to university only ever getting a phone call on my birthday and Christmas.

I'll never forget the Christmas that my dad ruined. The day was a complete disaster and it was all because of him.

"Merry Christmas Harry!" My mum cheered after I woke her up. It's early Christmas morning and I can't wait to open my presents.

"Merry Christmas!" I jumped on her bed in between her and dad. Dad is still asleep and he smells like something rotten. I grab his shoulders in my hands and shake him to wake him. He needs to open his presents too. "Wake up dad!"

"Sh Harry, don't do that. Let's just go open the presents, just us two." My mum whispers with a small smile. I don't want to disagree with her so I nod and stand up on the bed. I accidentally step on my dad's hand.

"Fuck! You little shit!" His voice is groggy as he wakes from his slumber. I quickly race off the bed to hide behind mum. She puts her arm around my back and leads me from the room.

"So what do you think Santa brought you?" She smiles down at me. Her cheeks are flushed and I can't tell whether it's because she's happy or that she was afraid something might have happened in the bedroom.

"I hope he got me a remote control car! Rose asked for one too and we're gonna race them down the street! I' bet I'll win," I speak confidently. Rose and I planned this for months before Christmas. We're going to race every day and I'm going to win every time. I run from my mums touch to the lounge room where there are presents scattered everywhere under the Christmas tree. I scan through all the presents reading through the tags as quick as possible. I finally find one with my name and tear the wrapping paper open.

"Look mum! It's the racing car!" I beam up at her. It's exactly what I wanted. It's bright red with a silver lightning bolt up the side. Everyone knows red is the fastest colour.

"It's gret honey! We'll have to take it out for a test run later on," she smiles back at me. My mums face pales and I don't understand why. I turn around to find my dad striding towards me. He stops at the door with a smug look on his face. He knows we're both afraid of him.

"Boy, you come with me and bring your new toy," he spits through yellow teeth. I don't argue and follow him out of the room. My mum scrambles from the lounge to grab my hand. She pulls me behind her and shields me with her body.

"Not today Des. Please just not today," she pleads with him. She slowly retreats back further into the lounge room, taking me with her.

"Not today? Do you think he'll learn his lesson if he's punished tomorrow?" He hisses. His eyes are glassy and look as though they'e from some scary movie. "Move aside or I will do it for you."

"No. I won't let you." My mums voice is unusual. It's strong. I've never heard her speak that way to dad before. "I'm sick of your filthy habits and the way you treat this family. I won't let you hurt us anymore." She looks from dad to me and lowers her voice. "C'mon Harry, we're leaving."