“It’s doing my head in,” Johnny spat at the television. “Bloody Scotland. We never should have let the bastards back of the net.”
Tosh was having none of it. “If you’re going to get all mardy, I’ll leave you to yourself. You don’t give a bleeding shit about football anyway.”
“I do when it’s the sodding Scots. Who the hell do they think they are?”
“Bollocks, Johnny. You’re half Scots yourself.” She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. Johnny was spoiling for a fight. She could see this now, the way the corners of his mouth pressed in, the whiteness of his lips.
“You’re one to lecture me, Tosh!” he said, rising from his chair to bang the television off with a balled fist. “The way you carry on against the Americans. Oh, you’re a pissy one, all right.”
“That’s different,” Tosh said, stepping into the kitchen and pretending to be interested in the contents of the fridge. The open door was a protection in case he took a swing at her. The thing to do, she told herself, was to stop arguing. To change the subject before he got really nasty. Nobody at the office would believe she walked into another door.
But she couldn’t for the life of her think of anything to say.
Ugh, grim. “Like” never feels appropriate for these.
Oh dear, not particularly well suited are they!
I Protest (that’s my story, not a comment!)
Well done. Your description of her recognition of his mood from his face is apt. Sad she prefers to hide behind the fridge door rather than leave for good. No man is worth that.
Gritty and all too realistic.
Terrible situation for Tosh to be in. I think when he goes to work she should pack up and leave before something really bad happens to her. Realistic story.
I agree with Dave, “like” doesn’t seem quite right. Great job with a grim glimpse into a realistic life. At least this woman’s got a bit of spunk left in her.
Funny side note: I’ve been reading the other Sunday Photo Fiction stories, and many of them take a protest march angle. I wasn’t familiar with the term “mardy” and being primed by those other stories, misread it as “marchy”. Which, oddly, fit pretty well. “If you’re going to get all marchy” might be a new phrase for me.
Unfortunately, all too realistic. hopefully she can get out of the situation soon. I like the way you took this. Although not in the “like” way if you get my meaning.
A terrible situation for Tosh, convincingly told and all too familiar … so many people can find themselves in this sort of situation with a narcissistic violent partner … usually reaching this stage of that sort of relationship, the victim has a very hard time indeed getting out of the relationship … perhaps someday the story can be taken to the next stage …
Hope she gets some help to leave that situation. Interesting
Scary real.
Way too realistic!