Keep It in the Family

by John Marrs

Such a violation of the rules could place me inside the room next time.

No one under this roof believes in compassion. Empathy is an alien emotion here.

And me. I remember every one of them. Because I am the bait that lures them here.

‘Look, I can’t say hand on heart that this is going to work out for us. It might be a complete disaster. But we can only give it our best shot and keep our fingers crossed.’ ‘Funny, that’s what I was going to say in my wedding vows,’ she jokes. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, my wife, the comedienne,’

I know that I wear a different, tougher skin now to the one I was born into, but scratch beneath the surface and below I am that same, frightened child.

To some, I’m a saviour, but to others, I’m a monster. I know what my work has been about, all the souls I’ve saved from torment.

But I’ve grown to realise that when I don’t have blood on my hands, they are uncomfortably dry.

Maybe that’s why she’s not the only girl in my life: subconsciously I keep a spare as I don’t want to be left on my own.

‘And she doesn’t care that she’s having an affair with a married man?’ ‘It’s not the ideal situation for her, no.’ ‘Oh, poor Emma,’ I replied, my words dripping with sarcasm. ‘Well, if there’s anything I can do to make life easier for the poor girl, she only has to ask.’

‘I’ve left him on the doorstep where he belongs, next to the wheelie bin. He likes to recycle, doesn’t he?’ It takes me a beat to identify this as a thinly veiled dig at his and Emma’s reconciliation.

again. ‘You take our son away from us and you’re still blaming Mia for turning me against you? Listen to yourself. You are responsible for all the shit that’s happening to you in here. And while Dave didn’t physically kill anyone, he was just as guilty for enabling you. You call me weak around Mia, but he was pathetic around you.’