ada and issac lahey struggle with losing their brother
warning for child abuse
. . .
Camden had not been the one to hold the Lahey family together. That was, in fact, Ada. But losing Camden was the piece that started picking apart the glue. Fiftteen year old Ada holds her brothers hand at the grave as their father stands a little off to the side, not really paying his kids any attention. This was when his kids would need him the most. Ada clenches her teeth, tears storming her face as she watches the casket be lowered into the ground. Issac sniffles from beside her as he clutches her hand even tighter.
"What do we do?" ten year old Issac asks. Ada swallows back her tears as she looks at her younger brother. "What do we do Ada?"
Before Ada can answer, their dad interupts.
"Adelaide, Issac. It's time to leave."
"We haven't said goodbye yet."
"I said it's time to go."
Ada squeezes Issac's hand one last time before letting go and following their father back to his car. Ada buckles Issac in, even though the kid can do so himself, and then slides into the seat next to him and buckles herself in. She's always taken care of Issac like that, even before Camden left for the military. He had been gone for months, barely returning home for visits so Ada had gotten used to Camden being gone. But now Camden was gone, gone for good. Never to return. She understood death perfectly well, after losing their mother shortly after Issac was born, but she was still having trouble understanding that Camden was gone in the exact same sense.
Issac sniffles again from in the seat beside her. Before Ada can comfort her younger brother, their father's eyes snap to them in the rearview. "Quit crying boy, you're giving me a got damn headache."
"S-sorry," Issac frantically wipes at his face but the tears don't slow. "I just miss him so much already."
"Me too, Issac." Ada assures her younger brother. She's crying too, but she had learned to do so silently. "Me too."
The light turns red. Their father turns around. The sound of the slap echoes throughout the car. Issac craddles his hand in his cheek, crying even louder now. Ada's mouth gapes open. Their father was strict, very strict, and even mean at times but he had never laid a hand across one of his own children before. "What the hell?" Ada asks, mouth sputtering open and closed as she tries to comprehend what the hell just happened.
"Watch your lanuage, Adelaide." Her father warns. Ada snaps her mouth closed, nodding her head for fear she'll be struck next. Carefully, she pries Issac's hands away from his face to get a better look at the mark. It's pink and red, mimicing the shape of their father's hand almost perfectly. It needs ice, or something very cold, soon. Fast. "I'm thinking... steak for dinner."
Ada's mouth gapes open again, not understanding how their father could strike Issac and suddenly move on very easily like nothing ever happened. Ada's stomach growls, it's late in the day and they had missed lunch due to Camden's funeral so she nods before remembering to use her voice. "That sounds good, dad."
"Why-"
"Shhh," Ada consoles her little brother, who's crying even harder now. Little Issac is having an even harder time dealing with all the emtions that Ada is going through, all the emotions that their father is currently trying to repress right now. "It's okay," Ada whispers in his ear as not to get the attention of their father, who's humming along to the radio. Issac's cries quiet down into sniffles once more. A bubble of snot leaves his nostril and Ada reaches for a napkin to hand him so it could be wiped away.
"What do you think, Issac?" Their dad asks, looking into the rearview and meeting Issac's blue eyes. "Steaks for dinner?"
Ada can't guide him on what to say with their father now paying attention, but Issac looks to her for help anyway. She subtly nods her head. "Yes." Issac nods, maybe a little too fast. The air is the car is hot, suffacating them, as their father continues the drive back home. Ada pulls her seatbelt away from her face, just wanting to get out and return to the safety of her room where she can cry, where she can mourn, in peace. With Camden gone, Ada and Issac just had to rely on each other now. Their father was already starting to show that he wasn't going to be reliable.
"Adelaide, you still plan on helping me at the cemetary tomorrow?"
Ada frowns, because she never remembering her father asking in the first place. She looks at the handprint on Issac's cheek, fearing what'll happen to her if she voices that so instead she clears her throat and says "yes, I'll be up in time."
"Good, that's good." Her father says back.
Later, while Ada is making dinner, she burns the steaks a little bit. It's not the first time that it's happened, but accidents happen... right? She serves dinner on their glass plates, setting the table and calling Issac and their father from the living room. Ada stands behind her seat, fingers nervously drumming along the back edge while she waits for her family to come into the kitchen/dining room area.
"Looks good Ada." Issac smiles as he takes his chair. Ada smiles back. Their father is the last to arrive, sniffing the smell of food in the air before taking his seat at the head of the table. Ada sits down after he does, nervously waiting as he takes a single bite. Then another.
"What the hell is this?" Their father asks calmly, knife in one hand and fork in the other as he rests his fists on either sides of the plate.
"D-dinner?" Ada stutters, a little confused by the question. She looks at the charred steak on his plate before the realization hits her. "I didn't mean to burn it. I'm sorry."
"You call this food?" The plate gets swiped off the table. Issac sits in a stunned silence but Ada bites her bottom lip, willing the tears not to fall. The glass of water comes flying at her next and Ada isn't quick enough to dodge it in time. A sliver of glass gets stuck in her cheek, right under her left eye. It takes a couple of tries because her hands are shaking so badly, but Ada finally manages to pull it out, feeling the blood dribble down her cheek. It's going to scar.
"I'm telling Mrs. Williamson tomorrow." Ada holds her head up, not letting her father win this game, whatever he's trying to do. She's scared and her bottom lip trembles but she refuses to show it. "First you hit Issac and now-"
"You tell no one!" Their father screams. "They'll take you away and seperate you. Then what?" Their father continues to yell. Ada looks at Issac, who's silently crying, knowing that she couldn't bear to be away from him. Not after losing their mother. Not after losing Camden. Not after this. Ada needed her younger brother as much as she needed her older brother back. The tears finally slip free.
"You tell no one."