Brett had always been protective over stacie, he always looked after her when she was hurt. Protected her from bullies and chased of any unwanted attention from guys. But when the abuse started Brett knew he would do anything to keep her safe, even if it meant he would be the one to end up with he bruises and cuts. However just knowing that Stacie would go to bed that night unharmed was worth all the pain.
When Brett got home that night, he knew how it would turn out. His dad would be drunk in the front room surrounded by bottles of drink, and Sheila would be out for the night with her friends and wouldn't return home till late at night. She did this to be ignorant to anything that happened at home, she believed that if she didn't see it then it never happened.
As soon as he walked through the front door he could smell alcohol and smoke that filled the house, his first thought. The same thought every time he came home was to check in Stacie. He tried to quietly make his way upstairs, but he was still a bit dizzy from the fight so he forgot about the creaky step on the stairs. The second it creaked the tv from the front room turned off, and the sound of bottles clanked together as Scott tried to walk past them.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN", his voice echoed throughout the now silent house. Brett took a deep breath and opened his eyes and slowly turned around. A deep and hoarse laughter flooded his ears, as his dad saw what had happened to his face. "What the hell happened to you". Scott requested.
"Nothing happened dad, just a small fight at school." Brett wanted to keep this conversation as short as possible as to not cause any problems. However his father did not seem pleased with his answer as he reached forward for his wrist and gripped it tightly.
"Are you so pathetic and stupid that you can't even win in a fight. Look at the state of you, it's embarrassing. I oughta teach you a lesson". The smile on Scott's face was sickening, it was his go to expression when he would take pleasure in Brett's pain. Before Brett had a chance to plead with him a crunch could be heard as his fist connected with his nose and his head hit the floor. His hand clutched his throbbing nose and when he pulled away it was covered in blood. Brett tried to lift his head to look at his dad but he could barely keep his eyes open, his vision was going blurry.
"You need to sort yourself out boy, cant even take one punch from your old man." Scott looked at him with hatred and disgust before turning on his heel and heading back to the sofa, grabbing another beer on the way.
Brett layed there for another few minutes trying to keep himself steady and stop the bleeding before he heard a door click up and shut. The familiar footsteps of his sister brought his eyes upwards to see her walking down the stairs. She grabbed him under the arms and lifted him, then held onto to tightly before taking him upstairs to the bathroom. They sat in silence as she grabbed the first aid kit and cleaned his face as he sat on the bath. He winced as she pulled his nose as it clicked back into place. Letting Brett know that it was indeed broken.
"Come on let's get you to bed". Stacie placed his arm over her shoulder and they walked in the direction of his room. Brett got into bed in the same clothes and whispered a quiet 'thank you' before passing out. Stacie hovered at the door for a few seconds before sighing and turning around, she closed his door and made her way back to her room. Giving a silent prayer that her father hadn't come upstairs and went back to bed.