She excelled at
school. She endured the school awards
ceremonies, trying not to visibly shrink from the hand of her father placed on
her shoulder while he pretended to be an ordinary dad instead of a monster. In her finals, she achieved a TER score of
99.9, placing her in the top 0.1 per cent of school leavers.
She didn’t tell
Luke everything about what her father was doing to her, and the indifference and
cowardice of her mother, but she did mention that she wasn’t very happy at
home, and Luke, who had also been accepted into Melbourne University, suggested
that they share a flat. He explained how
she could get Centrelink, and how it would be more if she was
“independent”. He was happy at home, but
happy also to move into a flat or a shared house.
“I’ll be able to
bring guys home,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
Esmé entered into
this game with spirit. “Me too!”
They laughed
together. Two more tragic losers you couldn’t hope to find anywhere, she
thought bitterly to herself.
She left home without
saying goodbye. There was nothing for
her there, except wretched memories and deep unhappiness. She did leave a note, though, for her
mother. It was short, and brutal. “Ma, I’m leaving home. You know why.
I hope I never see you or dad again.”
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