Kenny McCormick lay on the dirty sheets of his bed, staring up at the woman taped to his ceiling, her huge spherical breasts covered only by two strands of wet hair.
He sighed.
It was late and he knew his Dad, Stuart, would be home soon from the bar. Drunk. He would stroll in, looking for someone to take his anger out on, while Carol let him. It had been like this forever but it had been getting worse ever since Stuart lost his job. Kenny's older brother, Kevin, would never stick up for him. Maybe if both brothers stuck together they could scare their father off for good but until then it was up to Kenny.
Kenny shivered, he looked at his orange parka thrown lazily on the floor, it felt strange not wearing it. Even though it was freezing in the ramshackle house Kenny couldn't sleep whilst wearing it, he wore a tight white t-shirt, mucky orange trousers and a pair of sneakers. Rubbing the soles of his shoes together, Kenny wondered whether his father was even going to return home tonight. His eyelids were drooping, desperately he massaged them, trying to stay awake.
He heard the door open.
"Honey! I'm home!" The slurred speech was met by the pattering of footsteps.
"Come on, get into bed," Kenny heard his mother drawl.
There was a sharp slap.
"Don't tell me what to do bitch," He snarled. "Where are those damn kids?"
"Upstairs," She muttered wearily, unable to summon the energy to fight, let alone defend her children.
Kenny stiffened. His shoulders rose up to his ears as he drew into himself, he listened to his father stumble up the stairs, the unmistakable clink of a bottle on the banister. The fear grew red hot in his throat as his father reached the landing, the dark shadow crawling across the hall and under his door. Kenny prepared himself for the door to open and the beating to start but the shadow soon moved, trailing further along the landing.
Kenny was still for a second, relief coursing through his chest as he relaxed back onto the bed, bouncing slightly on the rusty springs. He wondered why his father was evading the nightly abuse tonight but at least he was safe.
"Get up you little bitch!" He heard his father yell and Karen's sleepy voice.
Kenny gasped sharply, swinging his legs off the bed and sweeping into the next room, his little sisters room.
Stuart McCormick was leaning over the frail girls bed, he had a tight grip on the child's arm and was pulling her towards him fiercely.
"You fucking ass hole!" Kenny cried, leaping onto the back of his father and delivering a swift punch to the head. Stuart fell forwards, letting go of Karen before he turned to his youngest son. The hatred that burned in his drunken eyes terrified Kenny, he had no clear expression on his face as he advanced on his son but he towered above him, covering him in a dark shadow.
"Dad..." Kenny stretched out his hands, "Please,"
The first blow felt like it knocked Kenny's head all the way round, he slammed into the left wall of Karen's bedroom making her scream. Stuart grabbed a handful of Kenny's dirty blonde hair and pulled him towards him, his bottom lip had split down the middle from his father's ring and a thick bubble of blood was welling in the dip. Stuart slammed his fist twice more into his son's face as Karen threw herself onto his back, crying and pleading for him to stop. As Kenny's head rolled back Stuart flung the tiny girl onto the bed with just a flick of his hand. Kenny groaned in protest and his alabaster skin had a gray tinge to it but his father didn't stop, he dragged Kenny to his sisters bed and bent him over the end. Karen whimpering softly, salty tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Kenny," She whispered softly.
Kenny lifted his head so his rapidly blackening eyes met hers. Behind him Stuart held him down by his neck as he jaggedly undid his cow hide belt, muttering under his breath.
"You fuckin' damn kids, fuckin' try an' mess with me," He murmured. The blood from Kenny's lip dripped onto Karen's sheets.
He withdrew the belt from his disgusting jeans and wrapped it round his hand, Kenny squirmed to get away but his father just pulled his head up from the bed and smashed it into the wall before returning it to it's original position. Kenny groaned as he felt something pop in his nose, a stream of blood ran down to mingle with his split lip. Bent over the edge of the bed Kenny's spine stuck out awkwardly from his skinny frame. Stuart rose his arm.
"Close your eyes Karen," Kenny murmured through the blood in his mouth.
The first lash cut deep into Kenny's back and he screamed in pain, he felt the warmth of blood trickle down his back, seeping into the white shirt he was wearing, staining it.
"No!" Stuart issued a sharp slap to his daughter, "Watch, you fucking watch,"
Kenny grit his teeth against the second crack, the snap ringing in his ears, his little sister's tear filled eyes watched as blow after blow was issued to Kenny's pale back.
Finally after what seemed like forever, Stuart passed out. Karen ran into Kenny's arms, erratic sobs left her body as she touched the blood on his back. He lifted her up and carried her into his room, letting her sleep in his bed as he sat on the floor; when she was finally sleeping calmly, Kenny began to inspect the damage his father had inflicted. A multitude of purple, yellow and black bruises ran up and down his arms, speckled his porcelain face and dotted down his back. The deep gashes in his back were raw and people would no doubt see his swollen eye and split lip tomorrow at school, to prevent even more questions, Kenny reached out and slowly put on his orange parker.
He didn't like the questions.