Farrington-Gores: 18th birthday

A/N: this post is going to contain references to child abuse and suicide.

'Right, do me a favour and watch the blob for a bit, okay? While Abraxas is busy, I want to go and talk to Annalise. Makes sense to do it now than make another fucking trip back to this Goddamn shithole later.'

'Who's Annalise?'

'My stepmum.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah. Maybe we could meet back near-ish the campsite. Not near enough for Abraxas to potentially see, but at least enough to be out of the way of most people.'

'Hello Indigo... Um, Abraxas isn't in.'

'Good, because I don't want to see that fucking pungent waste of life. I came to see you, actually.'

'Me? What for?'

'Well if you let me in, you'll find out.'

'O-Of course, sorry...'

'I figured that we ought to have a proper talk. Especially since Abraxas isn't in and can't interrupt. An actual heart to heart. You've been on the scene for a while now, so it's pretty overdue.'

'Um, okay... S-So how have you been? Where have you been staying? Not on the streets, I hope...?'

'For a while, yeah. It's not like Abraxas left me and Wed with much choice, is it?'

'I guess not...'

'How d'you feel about that? Him making two of his daughters homeless?'

'I was horrified. But I couldn't talk him round. I tried, but he was so angry that Wednesday had been saying bad things about him.'

'Yeah, true bad things, and he was butthurt that she had to turn to a professional in order to get some shit off her chest.'

'I didn't agree with him burning the rest of your belongings, either. I - I just want you to know that. Nor did I want him to show the kids...'

'But Abraxas insisted.'

'He did.'

'And what Abraxas wants, Abraxas gets.'

'Yeah...'

'Why do you put up with it, with him? Look. I know this is personal shit, but you actually seem pretty nice, so I don't understand why you've stuck around this long. Just why did you marry Abraxas?'

'Oh God, um, you don't want to know.'

'I do. Because you've never seemed happy. I'll admit I never went out of my way to make much of an effort with you, but I have noticed that you always seemed pretty depressed. I don't understand how you could willingly walk down the aisle with a sociopathic narcissist that happily and regularly makes beating his kids into a form of entertainment, especially since you've got two kids with him yourself!'

'W-Whoa, hang on a minute! I - I've never seen him be violent...!'

'Then he's either been smart about it or you're being deliberately blind. Believe me, he beats his kids, and has done for the past twenty one years. Reminder: I am twenty-three years old.'

'He wouldn't let a finger on our boys, I - I'm sure of it! I'm close to them, and the twins, they - they'd tell me if they were being abused!'

'Yeah, unless he's gaslit and manipulated them into being quiet. Abraxas threw us out because Wed told her counsellor about him hitting us. He knocked about me and Laz, too. Don't you think it's strange that a fifteen year old would run away from home the way Laz did, and actually succeed? Abraxas didn't give a fuck that his eldest son left, and he's made Wed think that she'd be better off sectioned.'

'Indigo, I'm so sorry -'

'- No, I'm not finished yet. Because she told me something enraging the other day. Something so fucking nasty that if I had a way of getting back here without it taking several hours to do so, I would've beaten his ugly face in. She only mentioned this because her new school counsellor can actually be trusted to keep his fucking mouth shut. But apparently he and Phaedra made a bet on whether he could make her scream. D'you know what Abraxas did?'

'N-No...'

'Faked his own suicide.'

'I - what?!'

'Oh yeah. Covered himself and the nearby area with a load of fake blood, wrote a suicide note, had one of his guns on him and actually shot the damn thing and let her find his "body". My fucking baby sister is traumatised by all the horrendous things he's done to her, and you know what? So am I! Lazarus had to seek out professional fucking help to get over Abraxas' horrific abuse too, and if you really think he won't turn on your kids eventually, you're a fucking blind idiot!'

'Oh my God.'

'Abraxas' eldest three kids have all claimed appalling abuse by our sperm donor's hands. Do you think Wednesday has it in her to lie? To claim abuse when it's not true, despite being aware of the potential consequences?'

'No... She's a good girl.'

'Exactly. Do you believe me now?'

'This is so much to take in. ...Yeah. I - I mean, I know Wednesday wouldn't make something like that up, but... I can't imagine Abraxas hurting kids... You must be all so miserable.'

'Understatement of the fucking year.'

'I get it if you don't want to talk about this, but, um... H-How's your mental health? A-Are you still suicidal?'

'...Sorry?'

'Abraxas mentioned your history of suicidal ideation, a-and in light of all you're telling me, I just... I hope you're getting treatment.'

'Oh for fuck's sake! No, I'm not suicidal, I've never been suicidal! He fucking lied to you - again! I swear, I'll fucking kill him.'

'But he told me you had to see a specialist after attempting suicide as a kid.'

'He fucking did it, it was a scare tactic to make me fall back in line and take his abuse. He took a fucking knife to me and then pretended to be a terrified father afterwards!'

'Oh my God. He - he t-told me that mental health issues run in the family...'

'...Well, that part's true. Yeah, me and Wed have issues for obvious reasons, y'know, being beaten since childhood, and Abraxas has fuck knows what sort of psychiatric personality disorder.'

'Yeah... He said that you, Circe and Phaedra all had bipolar disorder. A-And that's why Circe and Phaedra killed themselves.'

'Oh for fuck's sake! No, I'm not fucking bipolar. No clue about Circe, but Phaedra wasn't either, she was just a fucking bitch. Neither of 'em killed themselves, Abraxas did it.'

'...I don't know if I can deal with this right now!'

'Wait, you never answered my question. I've given you all this information, so now it's your turn - why did you marry Abraxas?'

'I really don't think you want to know.'

'Yeah, I do.'

'...You're not going to give this up, are you?'

'I just think you could do a lot better, and I don't understand why you settled at such a young age, for such a waste of life.'

'God. I knew I'd have to face up to this eventually, but... I have...an addiction. A-And Abraxas knows it.'

'...He's your dealer?'

'In a way...'

'Jesus, I never would've guessed. You look pretty well put together for a junkie.'

'No, it's not drugs...'

'What then? Booze? Pills? Shopping? I bet Abraxas would attract a gold digger - uh, not that I mean you're one if it's an addiction. Shit, that came out wrong. But I could see him being okay with paying for a load of insane shopping sprees if in return he gets a piece of arm candy. So that's it, isn't it? You're addicted to shopping!'

'Sex.'

'...Can't it be shopping instead?'

'Sorry...'

'So that's why you've been his mistress for the past decade or so. Never mind, I don't need the details.'

'This is such a mess. Such a huge mess.'

'You should leave him. He didn't have a good reason for killing his first two wives, it's not safe. He doesn't respect you, or anyone else other than himself. This is harsh, I know, but you're pretty much just a slam piece. All women are, as far as he's concerned, and I'm worried about the kids, especially Jezebeth and Aura. If he hasn't started hitting your boys already, it's not going to be long until he does, I fucking guarantee it. Get out while you still can.'

'I can't. I-It's too late...'

'Why...?'

'I'm pregnant again.'

'...I'm going to see my sisters.'

'...What the fuck.'

'Gogo?'

'Hey Aura, it's me. Sorry to wake you. What happened to your face, kid?'

'Huh?'

'Has someone hurt you?'

'Daddy.'

'....'

'Why has Aura got a bruise on her face?!'

'She dropped a toy on herself when she and Abraxas were playing.'

'Do you really believe that?'

'Oh God. Oh no. No, he didn't -'

'- Straight from the horse's fucking mouth. I asked her if someone hurt her and she said "daddy".'

'Oh Jesus no -'

'- I'm taking her back with me. Jezebeth too.'

'Wait, what?'

'You fucking heard me. I'm taking both those toddlers home with me. I'm going to raise them myself, as fucking far away from Abraxas as possible.'

'B-But -! I didn't think you liked kids!'

'I don't want kids of my own, there's a difference, but I'll gladly put that aside to stop Abraxas from hurting them. Do the twins, your boys and your unborn kid a favour. Leave Abraxas. Before he does something fucking worse than punch them. You can start helping Aura and Jezebeth by packing up their stuff with me.'

'What if your dad comes home?'

'I'll kill him.'

'Y-You can't, you can't commit a murder here in the house!'

'Better hope we leave before he returns then.'

The next day -

'So what did you get today?'

'This skirt and shoes. And Lazarus got me The Best of Prokofiev!'

'I hope you enjoy it!'

'Looks good on you. You gonna come to the pub now you're eighteen?'

'Like that's ever stopped any of you before. I live across the road. I've seen what you kids are like.'

'Sure, sounds good!'

'Well, try not to overdo it. Because a hangover is a shit present, especially if it's from yourself.'

'Shit!'

'...Awkward.'

'...Whoops.'

'I'll look after her. I'm responsible.'

'Me too.'

'Your dad wouldn't approve.'

'Sounds fun.'

'...Jezebeth didn't learn that from me, I just wanna say that now.'

'Gogo.'

'Hey spud.'

'Hugs?'

'Sure.'

'I know what kids are like for picking up bad language.'

'Nix is the same.'

'I feel grateful that my daughter didn't swear too much when she was little.'

'Gogo you have no boobies.'

'...Thanks, kid.'

'...Ouch.'

'Remind me why I brought you back home again?'

'Hey mister!'

'What is it, sweetheart?'

'I learnt a new word!'

'Uh oh.'

'Cock!'

'...Oh dear.'

'"Cockerel". That's what you learnt? Cockerel?'

'Nope, cock! Cock, cock, cock!'

'Ah, I wouldn't worry about it, I'm sure she'll grow out of it in time. The darling Deveron and I live with a married couple who have two kids, both of whom went through a sweary stage as toddlers. It was most amusing watching the mother try not to react when her sweet little angel looked her deep in the eyes and declared "mummy likes shit".'

'I get told off for swearing. Dad claims he doesn't do it, but it all seems to go out of the window if Grandad gets mentioned.'

'Hey, anyone should be allowed to swear when it comes to that fuckface.'

'Fuckface.'

'You're going to be a terrible influence on those girls.'

'It's a good job I'm not gonna have any of my own, isn't it? I still remember being asked to babysit a grand total of once because I fu- because I bollo- oh Goddamn it. Because I screwed it up.'

'Was that when you tried not to say S-H-I-T and said C-U-N-T instead?'

'...Yyyyyep. Nailed it.'

'Well done.'

'I'm a fantastic role model. Anyway, where are you gonna go for your first booze-up? Not the Old Horse, I hope.'

'Well I used to go there before I was legal to drink, but now I can go anywhere. So it's probably best if we avoid it. Unless Wed wants to witness balls in beer.'

'...They still do that there?'

'Yep.'

'Wait, what?!'

'...Yeah, that's why I mentioned it. 'Cause the last time I went in there I saw Stan flopping his nutsack into his pint. And not that Stan's ugly or anything, but I don't particularly want to see his genitals.'

'Oh. I wouldn't mind.'

'You fancy almost everyone though, Wed.'

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, hold on. Testicles. In beer. This is a wind up, right?'

'I'm afraid not. I used to frequent the Old Horse pub back in my drinking days.'

'Oh, so did you do that too?'

'Wednesday!'

'Jesus H fucking Christ.'

'Oh Christ no! No, no. It's really not the kind of thing I'd do.'

'...Bryan Izon doesn't go to the Old Horse, does he?'

'Who?'

'Fat, grey, stinks of diarrhoea, stale booze and vomit, taken to glowing green in the abdominal region lately apparently -'

'- Oh Jesus I know who you mean now. ...Oh God, I hope not. That's horrifying!'

'Alright no, I'm sorry but if the mental image of Bryan pregnant was too much to stomach, the idea of him violating a pint of beer is definitely beyond my limits.'

'Fucking hell, topic change!'

'Okay, well um... I know this isn't going to meet with universal encouragement, but... now that I'm eighteen, I, uh, I'd like to get in touch with Hazel again...'

'Yeah, I kinda expected that to be honest.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah. I do understand everyone's reservations, I really do... But she's always been nice to me. I - I just... think she's a nice person, deep down. Even if she hasn't shown it much to many others previously.'

'Well, it's your choice. Tell us if she does anything though, won't you?'

'Yeah, I was gonna mention that too.'

'I will, I promise. ...Um. I hope nobody's mad at me for that...'

'Well, clearly this is a situation that I'm not privy to but if I'm right in thinking that you are giving someone a second chance, having hope for potential redemption, I think it may possibly work, just so long as you're careful. Though obviously if I am completely wrong please do feel free to correct me.'

'I think she's worthy of a second chance. That's my opinion.'

'I'm not mad over it. I wouldn't do it myself, but you're free to do what you want. You have your reasons, I guess. Wouldn't hold it against you.'

'Okay... I'm not expecting you two to get on with her or hang around her, either! I don't want to force anyone into mixing with people they don't like, I just... I wanna be friends with everyone, if it's possible.'

'You have a very big heart.'