I heard voices, angry voices, downstairs. They woke me up. It was in the dead of night. My parents were fighting again. I pulled my covers over my head covered my ears. I closed my eyes tightly as tears came. I wished I could disappear.

I grabbed my phone to send a text to my best friend Melinda, who lived next door.

“Are you awake? I want to come over.”

I quickly dressed and climbed out the window.

Melinda had responded to my text and was waiting below. I jumped out of the tree that was by my roof.

“Are you ok,Linda? It’s 3 am!”.

“My parents are fighting. I’m scared.”

“You can stay with me til morning, but you better go back home. Your parents need you.”

“I’m invisible. Heck, I have to look after myself

Half the time.”

“You can talk to a school counselor tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s get some sleep.”

So I woke up about 2 hours later and snuck back in my room to get my backpack. I went downstairs and saw my mom on the couch. She was sleeping deeply, not even aware of me as I passed her.

My dad must be in the bedroom, I thought. I quietly fixed a glass of orange juice and ate a cold pop tart. It was like ashes in my mouth. I was miserable.

When I got to school, I kept my head down. I went through my 6 hours at school in a trance. It didn’t seem real. Then I got a text from my mom.

“Please meet me outside.”

Well, it was time to go, so I grabbed my stuff out of my locker and went outside. My mom’s SUV was by the curb.

When I got in the car, I didn’t know what to expect.

My mom was subdued, but I sensed something odd about her manner.

“”Your father and I worked things out last night. We’ve agreed we need counseling. I’m sorry for the drama these past weeks.”

“”I heard you last night,”

“I’m sorry about that,”

“I went next door,”

“Melinda?”

“”Yeah,”

“Well, I don’t blame you. I remember when my parents fought. I would sneak out and find my friends and we would hang out for awhile. Some of my other friends had been going through something similar. All they knew without the help of their friends, it would have been a very difficult day.”