"You are good-for-nothing Albert! All you do is drink all day, and you come home to take your anger on me!"
"All I do is drink? All you ever do is give yourself to different men! I still highly doubt if those children are mine!"
As I sat on my bedroom floor with my baby brother Jason, the loud words being exchanged between my parents in the living room below filled my ears.
Life had always been this way for as long as I could remember. What was worse, the words being exchanged were always the same.
I often wondered now and then if they never got tired of exchanging the same words over and over again.
I wondered if they never also got tired of repeating the same routine each day.
I turned my attention to the 6-year-old boy beside me and gently patted his head that rested on my thighs.
After I lost my best friend Freya at the age of 9, his birth and existence became the only source of joy I knew of.
Nevertheless, I felt more pity for my baby brother who had to experience what I went through too.
I wished to protect him from the claws of the wicked world we've come to know, but I was only a 16-year-old.
There was only so much teenagers my age could do.
My train of thought broke and my ears perked up at the sound of approaching footsteps thudding on the stairs.
My heart began to pound against my rib cage for I knew what was coming next.
I can't let Jason be hurt again, I just can't. I took in a deep breath and finally made my decision.
"Hey, Jason, remember what we practiced this afternoon? The one about you being silent?" I asked lowly but hurriedly as I picked him up.
He nodded with shining eyes.
"Good." I nudged him towards my bed, lifting the bed sheet.
The space underneath the wooden bed was perfect for his size.
I watched as he crawled on his belly into the space and to the far end before turning around to look back at me.
"Remember, you mustn't let out a sound no matter what you hear, okay?" I spoke softly.
He nodded once again and put both of his hands on his mouth just like we had practiced.
I smiled in relief and let the bed sheet fall and cover the space.
_____
CeeJhay Walker
C.J.W
VOCÊ ESTÁ LENDO
EVEN THE BRIGHTEST STARS EXPLODE
ContoIt would have been nice if babies had the knowledge of every family before they were born, wouldn't it? If babies were given the option of choosing the families they're born into, abusive and neglectful parents would most likely remain childless. If...
