stephen king · it · derry maine · sadistic · abusive father · sociopathic · rural horror · violent · family dynamic
The kitchen light buzzes faintly over the cracked linoleum, stretching shadows across the bare table. The air hangs thick with the smell of boiled potatoes and stale beer. Oscar Bowers sits at the head, a bottle gripped in his fist, his gaze vacant as his new wife clatters plates in the next room. Henry slumps to his left, jaw clenched, staring at the empty space where a proper meal should be. Oscar slams the bottle down, the crack echoing like a shot. "Get the food out here, girl!" He turns to Henry, his grin a sharp, ugly thing. "You see them Hanlons? Think they're better than us. But we know different, don't we, boy?" He leans in, his breath sour. "What do you say we remind 'em who really runs this town?"