Page 83 of Malaise
“You did him wrong last time, so how about you try and make up for that by helping him this time.”
“Why would I help the useless little shit? He couldn’t even hold down a job, for fuck’s sake.” He leans forward in the chair, one hand braced on the rolled arm as he pops an elbow out.
Tanya rises behind me and comes to stand at my side. “Because you owe it to him, Dad.”
“I owe him nothing,” he roars, his face growing redder with every passing second.
“Bullshit. Who carried this family when you were out of work, huh?”
“It’s the least he could do for dragging our name through the mud. It’s his fucking fault I can’t get work. Nobody wants the father of a thief on their payroll.”
“You’re fucking unbelievable,” Tanya hollers, making Deb stir. “Can’t you just for once in your life accept responsibility for what a disappointment you are? Brett has one charge against his name, before this. How about you? How many you up to now? Did it ever occur to you that you’re the reason why nobody wants to hire him?”
Jon shoots out of the seat with enough speed to knock me back as he charges Tanya. She screams as his hand connects with her face, covering the immediate welt with her shaking fingers. My heart stampedes in my chest as I watch him pace like a caged animal, his nostrils flaring while he seemingly considers hitting her again.
“What’s going on?” Deb asks as she sits up, hair askew and make-up smudged.
“Go clean yourself up, you filthy slut,” Jon bellows.
She slips off the sofa and scurries up the hallway to presumably do just that.
“You’re a fucking wanker,” Tanya sobs from her position cowering against the sofa. “You’ve never done a thing to help this family. You’ve never been a father. You’re just a bully who got himself stuck with a bunch of kids he never wanted.”
“Oh, and you’re just waking up to that now, are you?”
“Fuck you.”
“I should have fucking drowned you as a baby,” he yells, his face inches from Tanya’s.
“Stop it!” I scream.
Both of them shut the hell up and spin to face me, stunned.
“Just stop it! Why do you do this to each other?”
“Who the fuck are you to come in to my house and tell us how to behave?” Jon’s thick hand wraps around my throat, shoving me back into the armchair behind me so that my legs buckle over the seat and I fall into the cushions. He presses harder, pinning me to the seat by my neck as I scrabble my hands over his unrelenting wrist. “Who am I?” I choke from under his grasp. “I’m just some stupid fucking girl who’s gone and fallen in love with your son.” His eyes widen a fraction, and his hand relaxes a little. “You know, the useless kid?” I continue. “He’s not to me. He’s the only reason I’m still fighting to make it through this shitty thing called life. He is my life and I need you to get it back.”
Jon turns to Tanya and frowns. “Is she for real?”
I catch what I assume is a nod in my peripheral vision.
“My son?” he asks. “My son has helped you? For what? What has he got out of it?”
“Nothing,” I whisper, the restriction on my neck enough to still make breathing difficult.
He lets go with a sigh and reaches down to grab my hand, jerking me up to my feet. “Why do you think I would be able to help him?”
“Provide an alibi. Say he was here talking to you when it happened.”
His eyes flash with anger again, and I wince, turning my head in preparation for what he’s going to deal.
“You want me to lie?”
“You’ve done it before, haven’t you?” I say calmly, trying to show I’m not being a smartarse, merely stating the facts.
Jon heaves a heavy breath and places both hands on his hips. He looks between Tanya and me, a frown deep in his brow, and turns to pace.
My breath comes short and tight as I watch him move around the room, resting every so often before he jerks from his spot and marches off again. Seconds stretch into an infinite abyss of time as I wait on his answer.