Like magic, there is a knock on the door. ‘Mummy!’ Bree-Anna runs for the door, happy, happy dancing through it. He catches her, wraps his arm around her, and shoves his hand over her mouth. She kicks and worms to get out of his grasp, but he holds tighter and crunches her bones together. She squirms harder, tries to get her teeth into his hand.
The knock comes again, and he says, ‘What the f**k?’ He drags her toward the dresser, her feet scraping across the carpet. She pushes to get to her feet. He lets go of her mouth and she lets out a squeal. He bangs her head on the dresser and hisses, ‘Shut up.’ He opens a drawer. She feels a trickle of blood on her forehead. Mummy is gonna be so mad with him when she sees her bleeding head. She pants and says Mummy, her voice croaking, and he stuff
