Interrupted

It took Erin about a week to finally feel at ease in the house. She refused to see a counsellor and said she was fine. I couldn’t push too hard. After all, she was legally an adult now, capable of making her own decisions. I talked to Kieran about what to do with her. She needed to have a job, a way to support herself. But she dropped out before she finished primary school and had zero marketable skills. She was resistant to the idea of going back to school. I went online and hired a tutor to teach her secondary school syllabus. Erin wasn’t keen on the idea of having lessons, but she was obedient enough to do what I told her. The DNA test result came back and confirmed Erin was my half-sister. I went back to the village, visited Bridget’s grave, and mourned for the mother I never got the chance to know. Erin told me a lot about the Smiths and the picture she painted wasn’t one of bucolic bliss. Dermot was a habitual drunk, liked to use his fists on the women in his house, didn’t tolera