Tender Warriors by Rachel Guido deVries

As she got older and settled down some, Lorraine understood it a little more. It had been awful for all of them, but Rosie was supposed to be able to handle it. Rosie never cried, as far as Lorraine could remember, always tried to keep the old man under control. Lorraine remembered the night they brought her home, the night before she left. She could still see Rosies face, the horror on it when she looked at Lorraine. But she also remembered Rosie helping her into the bathtub after the beating she got. Then when Rosie came out, Lorraine had to laught. Christ, she thought, the three of us: a dyke, a junkie, and a weirdo. Well whaddya want the way things were.