"Where the hell have you been?" My dad roars, storming towards me.

"I-I was at a friend's..."I stammer.

"And you didn't ask my permission?" He snarls.

"I asked Briseis to tell you."

"You shouldn't have met her walk home alone!"

"I know, I'm sorry, I just wanted to-"

"You're such a-"

"Is she okay?"

My neck almost snaps from the force behind the slap. My face stings, and I gasp in pain, staggering further away from my father. "Is she okay?" I repeat. He hasn't hit me in years...

"No, thanks to you! She was robbed at gunpoint!"

"I'm sorry!"

"You should be!" He pushes me back again the wall. "They're taking her away and if they see your mother's state, they'll ask more questions!" My mother has a black eye, which will look suspicious. I suspect my slap mark will, too.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Shut up." He snaps. He pushes me over then stalks away. Briseis rushes down the stairs and helps me to my feet, muttering in Greek. I catch the word for sorry a few times.

"It's not your fault." I shake my head. She frowns. I point at her and shake my head. "Not your fault." She bites her lip but seeks to understand.

"Sorry."

"Stop it. You're not to blame." I insist. She doesn't understand again, and I sigh in frustration.

My dad comes back, angry and on the verge of being drunk, if the can of beer in his hand is any indication.

"So which friend did you sacrifice Brie for?" He leers.

"Achilles." I gulp. "The boy I'm tutoring."

"You stayed at his house?" He scowls.

"Yeah." I nod. He wrinkles his nose at me.

"Aren't you a bit old for sleepovers?"

"Not really."

"You're sixteen, Patroclus."

"So? We just-"

"I don't care."

I sigh again, reminding myself that I've just got to keep it together until a social worker gets here, then Brie will be safe, and my mother too, and I... I guess I'll be his new punching bag. Oh well. I've survived it before.