Focus

A warm evening. The girl in a summer dress; short, thin.

“We have discussed this.Your A Levels are incredibly important. You can’t afford distractions. You don’t have permission to date until they are over.”

“But..”

“And you don’t have permission to argue with me. Go to your room and wait for me there.”

The short dress would offer no protection from his thick, doubled-over belt when she bent over. And once she was crying, once she was beaten, he’d make her stand up and look at him. He’d turn the belt around in his hands, leaving the buckle end dangling. “And these final four are for arguing. Bend back over…”