Page 57 of Uprising

“You brought this on yourself.” He says. “I told but you don’t learn…”

“What?” I half snap. Instinct already telling me what is going on though my head is racing to catch up.

He looks up, meets my gaze and blinks.

“What is this?” I repeat.

Lara runs to me, burying her face in my stomach, smearing that blood all over me. I wrap my arms around her, holding her for a second and then squat down to see why on earth she’s bleeding.

It’s her nose. It’s streaming with blood. Her face looks red and puffy from crying but I can see it, the hand mark where someone has hurt my child.

I look up accusingly at the man still daring to be here. Still daring to act like this is okay.

“She had a nosebleed.” He shrugs like it’s not even a big deal.

I raise an eyebrow at him. It’s such a blatant lie and he thinks he’ll get away with it?

“He hit me mummy.” Lara whispers. As if she’s afraid to tell the truth, afraid in this moment that I’ll let it go, that I won’t protect her.

My anger surges, I can feel myself shaking as my adrenaline pumps through me. I put my arms on Lara’s shoulders, manoeuvring her out the way of this.

“You hit my child?” I say.

“It was an accident.” He says but I hear that smug arrogant attitude. He’s not even trying to be convincing. He really thinks I’m just going to let this go doesn’t he.

“You hit my child.” I scream it.

And then suddenly I’m seeing red. All reason, all logic is gone. I don’t think about the consequences. I don’t think about anything but making this bastard pay.

I launch myself at him and as we collide, we fall onto the floor, but I land on top. I land on him.

“You dare hurt my daughter.”

I’m punching him, one fist and then another. I don’t stop. I don’t relent.

He tries to fight back but in this moment I’m too powerful, too full of rage and fury and pent up emotions that have been locked, trapped, encaged for so long that now that it’s out it’s like an explosion.

“How many times have you hurt her?” I shout. “How many times have you dared to lay a finger on my child?”

He can’t reply. He groans out as I deliver blow after blow.

But I’m not stopping. I won’t stop. This bastard has dared to touch Lara. Dared to beat a six year old. He’s an adult for fucksake. He’s a grown man.

This moment here is for Lara, this moment here is for her to see that I’m not just sitting idly by, that I will protect her, that I will do everything I can to ensure she is safe.

And I’ll admit part of this is for me too. I have to prove that I have some power, I have to prove that I am protecting her, that I’ve not just brought her to the wolves and let them feast on her corpse.

“You bastard.” I yell delivering a perfect right hook.

He lets out a whimper. A pathetic noise that if anything makes me hit him harder.

“You absolute bastard.” I land another punch breaking that hook nose of his. I guess that’s karma isn’t it?

But my hands are a mess now, they’re covered in blood and I’m not so sure some of it isn’t mine. I know I’m crushing knuckles. I know I’m breaking my own fingers but I don’t care. I hate this man. I hate every minute that he’s forced my daughter to endure.

“Rose.”

I don’t look around. I just continue beating him.