Burnington Gaol

T W E L V E | Adeline

As the half-moon drifted up into the clear night sky and its dull light began to crawl through the prison courtyards, I sat at the window sill in the loft, drawing away in my tattered sketchbook to the candlelight. Downstairs, Dad's wireless radio popped and crackled, the sound familiar and soothing. I took a deep breath, shaded my picture as the watchtower door creaked open. I heard Dad stand up from the kitchen table, and could feel the air change almost immediately.

"Thanks, Tony." Billy's voice echoed.

I stood up from the loft window sill and peered down into the living room. Tony Grayson, the guard who usually escorted us to the front gate every school morning, offered Billy a polite nod before closing the door behind him.

From the moment he left, I could feel the fight coming. The tension in the air was tangible, thick enough to cut with a knife. Billy squirmed under our father's unflinching glare, and I set my sketchbook down on my bed and blew out the candle on the window sill.

"Where have you been?" Dad asked, voice even.

"Out," Billy said, dumping his school bag on the couch.

"It's ten o'clock."

"I can read the time."

"Billy?" I asked, walking down the stairs.

My brother looked up at me, his demeanour changing instantly.

"Addie?"

I smiled at him, skipped the last two steps. He pulled me into his arms, relief in his eyes. I could smell the alcohol on him.

"Thank God," he said into my ear. "Are you okay? Did that nut-job hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine."

"If you hadn't run off like a child, you would've already known that," my father snapped.

I pulled away from Billy, a terrible feeling in my stomach.

"Where have you been?"

"You said that I couldn't do anything," Billy protested. "There's nothing to be done, remember?"

"That doesn't mean leave! Your sister was trapped in a room with a killer and a rapist, as you so proudly told me, and where do you go when she needs you?!"

"I needed to get away from it! And you said that – "

"I said what? That you could go gallivanting around town with your buddies, drinking and stealing and god knows what else. I can smell it on your breath."

Billy took a step towards Dad and I jumped in front of him.

"Billy, no, don't – "

"What are you going to do, Dad?" He said, ignoring me. "Send me away like you did Mum? Lock me up somewhere where they drill holes in your head and electrocute you until your brain turns to mush? I dare you to. Go on, old man. Do it! Send me away!"

"You know I had no choice!"

"Yes, you did! We could've kept her at home, looked after her like we did for all those years."

"Because that worked out just fine, didn't it, boy?"

"STOP!" I screamed.

My voice boomed, filled the entire tower until the bricks almost gave way. They both looked down at me.

"Just, stop." I begged, tears rolling down my cheeks.

Billy's eyes softened when he looked at me, the fire in them burning out.

"Now look what you've done," Dad said. "Upsetting your sister after all she's been through today."

"I was there, too, Dad. I was inside that diner, just like she was."

"She went into that diner for you," Dad said, pointing his finger at his son. "To save you. Knowing that you both could've died, putting her life on the line to rescue her baby brother and where the hell were you when she got you out? When she was in danger? You ran away, like a scared little boy. When are you going to grow up and start taking care of your family, Billy? When are you going to man up and start making some good decisions?" Dad leaned in even further, the anger and disappointment gleaming in his eyes. "When are you going to stop being a goddamn coward?"

Billy looked at him, all the anger drained from his face and replaced with a bitter, resentful pain. Dad stared deep into his soul for a long moment, before grabbing his radio and storming up the stairs into the loft. Billy, with that unbearable pain in his eyes, looked down at me.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "He's right. He's right, I – "

"I know, Billy," I said, wrapping my arms around him.

"I'm sorry," he said again, his voice trembling.

"I forgive you."

Gently, Billy raised his arms and hugged me in return, clutching me tightly against his chest, sobbing into my shoulder. He stayed like that for a long time, weeping ever so quietly, with all that pain buried deep in his soul.

© A.G. Travers 2018