“Shh… don’t cry too loud or she’ll hear us.” I said as I held my sister ’s trembling body close to my chest and we sank to the cold floor of my bedroom.

Mom was at it again. Screaming. Slamming things. Yelling about someone at work—her boss maybe. Didn’t matter. We were the target anyway. Whether it was a coworker, boss—it didn’t matter. We had to hear about it whether we liked it or not. Mostly the _not_ part. As soon as she came home at 3 o’ clock, we were her personal dumping ground and that’s the way it had always been.

My sister sniffled trying her best to keep quiet but she was so little…I didn’t expect her to hold it all in even if I needed her to. Mom was making her way around the house, screaming and yelling at something dad had said to her.

Something about not taking it out on everyone or maybe something like she needed to calm down. I can’t totally remember but I do remember how she erupted in rage at him after it. I remember grabbing my little sister and pulling her into my room to hold her and cover her ears. She was too small to carry that burden like I did.

Footsteps sounded down the hallway. A crash in the kitchen. My sister flinched and I pulled her closer. Held her tighter. As my mother screamed to a god above, I closed my eyes to take deep breaths, hoping this would soon be over. I kissed the crown of my sister’s head and buried my face in her hair.

We sat like that for a while and I wouldn’t mind if it had been forever. Together we were safe.