The Evermore Dissociate(Creek)

0062

For the first time in a long time, the atmosphere during breakfast was a pleasant one. Ruby and Craig were getting along for once, and their mom observed from the end of the table as she listened to her children bonding over their burnt bacon.

The dark circles beneath Laura's eyes were from the previous nights without sleep, but it was nothing a months worth of cucumbers couldn't fix. Despite her shoulders aching and having a slight headache, she hadn't felt this at ease in a long time. Thomas was out of the house and staying on his friends couch until he could find somewhere to live, and all that was left of him here was a few packed boxes laying out in the hall.

"Jesus mom, you could use this as a drum stick." Ruby said, inspecting the scabby piece of bacon she had pinched between her fingers. Across the table, Craig picked up two slices before drumming out a beat, with tiny shards of bacon flying in every direction.

"Alright, enough." Laura tutted. "You can make your own breakfast next time."

"I quite like burnt bacon." Craig added. Ruby flashed him a look of disbelief as she watched him attempt to bite a piece off, though she was amused as he struggled to chew and swallow. "Yum." He grimaced.

"You should probably make sure you still have all your teeth."

"You might have to check for me."

"You know what?" Laura interrupted. "The pair of you can wash up, maybe it'll teach you some table manors. In the mean time, I'm going for a nice, long shower."

"We're only messing, mom." Ruby confessed. "The eggs were nice."

"Mine were a little overdone." Craig muttered.

Their mom hadn't had time to respond to their mockery since a thunderous knocking came from the front door. Immediately all three of them knew who was on the other side of the door, and for a brief moment, they sat in silence until Craig decided to answer it.

The knocking was constant and annoying, but as Craig unlocked the door, it abruptly stopped. Thomas cleared his throat as he watched his son raise an unamused eyebrow. His beard was partly grey and in need of a shaving, and his clothes stunk of alcohol and sweat.

"What do you want?" Craig drawled.

Thomas tried to peer into the house, but Craig made sure to block his view by closing the door a little. "Your mom in?" 

"She's not."

"Look, Craig. I haven't come all this way to get shit from you. Now go get your mother." Thomas growled, puffing his chest out as a way of intimidation. He hadn't had a drink since last night, and his insides were starting to feel like sandpaper. As Craig stood passively by the door, unaffected by the rising anger admitting from his dad, he began to close the door in his face, but Thomas intervened.

"Craig, it's okay, go finish your breakfast." His mom said as she hurried to stand beside him. Craig couldn't help but feel defensive over her as she looked so small and fragile. Her eyes urgently pleaded with him to leave, but there wasn't a chance in that. She pushed her way in front of her son, becoming a small barrier between him and Thomas.

"Not until he leaves." He replied, feeling his own anger boil as he glared over his mom, to his dad.

Something in Thomas snapped. He was his lowest point, after losing his family, his house and his last shred of dignity.  With no job, and nobody to sponge off, he had no money to pay for his alcoholic fixation, and for that, he felt as though he had nothing left to lose. He made a sound of disgust as he launched over, pushing the door open wider, all the while aggressively knocking Laura out of the way. He made a grab for Craig's throat, before using all of his strength to push him into the wall. Craig's head painfully connected to the surface, sending a throbbing pain down his neck as a family photo dropped to the floor.

Glass scattered around their feet, but in this moment, nobody cared. Laura watched in horror, paralysed and helpless, while Thomas pinned Craig not only with his hand, but also his deadly eyes. "After all I've done for you. You ungrateful little shit!"

"You haven't done anything for me!" Craig shouted back. The hand wrapped around his neck wasn't tight enough that he couldn't breathe, but the anger and tension within his chest made him feel as though his windpipes were blocked. He stared back at his father with pure hatred, similar to the look his father was returning.

"Leave him alone!" Laura cried out.

The hand fell away, and Thomas took a guilty step back as Ruby entered the room. "I'm sorry you had to see this, Ruby." He sighed.

"You need to leave, dad." She said, her voice slightly cracking. Ruby had always been a 'daddy's little girl.' She'd managed to ignore his drunken behaviour, and the neglect he had for his oldest child, but not anymore. She'd once been clouded with the hope she'd get her father back. The one who held her hand as he walked her to school, the same one who kissed her mother goodbye before going to work, but she'd come to realise her father was long gone.

She felt as though her eyes had finally opened to the truth. All of those nights she stayed in her room with her earphones in so that she could block out the shouts and banging, they suddenly brought a wave of sadness. She wanted to ignore the truth for so long, but as she looked to her older brother who hurtfully kept an eye on his father, she understood it was time to let go.

Thomas looked between Ruby and her mother, then glanced over to Craig. He felt as though distruction followed his every move, and that he couldn't have a conversation without his blood turning to fire. He looked to the broken photo laying beside Craig's bare feet. It was from their trip to Paris back when Craig was only small. Without a word he turned and fled back out into the cold air, leaving his family to pick up the pieces once again.

"Craig, are you okay?" Laura sniffed. Her reoccurring nightmare had left, and only now was she able to aid her son.

"I'm fine." He muttered his reply, pushing her hands away before heading for his room. His door unintentionally slammed behind him, and he practically threw himself onto his bed. After wincing while his fingers inspected the back of his head, he realised there was no blood, only small bump. He froze when he heard a car door outside his house, and as he peered out of his window, he saw his father packing Jimbo's car with boxes.

Craig was blinded by rage, and all he saw was red. His skin heated up as he practically charged out of the house, leaving his mom and sister to watch with confusion as he increasingly closed in on Thomas. Jimbo waved from the drivers seat but Craig didn't see him, all he saw was the man who was supposed to be his father. Thomas was mid squishing the final box in the car when Craig grabbed a chunk of his hair and slammed his head face first into the side of the car.

A smudge of blood coated the silver door, and Thomas was too in shock to do anything. Jimbo raced over, trying to pry Craig's fingers from his father to stop him from doing it again. He was a big man, a hunter and Craig was no match against him, but he didn't care as he was shoved away while Jimbo helped his father up, because right now, Craig felt liberated.