Immortal Peril

01

"I hate you!"
Those were the words I woke up to.
That's what I had to look forward to every morning.
"Oh shut the f*ck up Mikahaila"
Yep that's dad.
"I don't have time for this bullsh*t Craig"

They're at it again.

I quickly got down from my bed, which was bunked over my little brother, Trent's. I heard him crying. Cr*p... he's been up listening to them already. I pulled myself together, knowing I had to become the comforting older sister in a matter of 3...2..1.

"Heyyy" I whispered in a light tone. As I laid down beside him I wrapped my arm around him.

"You know what I tell you right?" I asked him and tried to plaster the best 'everything's calm and natural' look on my face.

"Y-yeah..... sometimes p-people need to yell t-to get their point a-across. Sometimes a l-little bit of yelling is g-good sometimes" he hiccuped.

I felt terrible. Trent only hiccups if he's been crying for a long period of time.... which means he's been up listening to them.... for a while....

A pained look spreads across my face without me being able to control it. I want to act as a force field and deflect any bit of harm or hurt that comes his way. But I've failed. Just a raindrop of hate has made its way through my make believe 'barrier of happiness'. I quickly try to cover my expression with something neutral and calm. Something comforting.

"That's right" I smile and give him a little squeeze/hug. "Even the best of families have arguments sometimes" I say as I pat his head and ruffle his hair.

"Get some sleep... don't you have school tomorrow?" I question and speak a little bit louder, because my parents yelling isn't as muffled as they move down the hallway, closer to our room. "Hey Trent... play dead" I say quick with a tiny grin on my face. I try to pretend it's a game. And we both close our eyes and let our mouths hang open, pretending that we've already been drooling and sleeping.

As my eyes are closed I can see the shift in light that sends an internal message to myself that says 'they've opened the door'.

I twitch to make it look that I'm in deep sleep, in dreamland, just to sell it a bit more so that my dad will close the door.

Instead he walks over, and kisses both me and Trent on the forehead. Then something changes. I don't know what it is, but I feel the air in the room change. It becomes... tense.

My dad stays bent over for a while, and I realize, he's lifting Trent from my arms. I want to do everything to make him put Trent back down because I honestly don't know what's going on.

I know my parents would never ever hurt us..... but something's changing and it's scaring me. I hear the door close and know I'm alone in my room. I open both eyes, look around a bit and adjust my sight to the darkness of the room. I hear my parents and concentrate hard on hearing them. I listen with all my might... and then I catch them talking.

"I'll take him. You can stay with Petra. It's better that we both have one.... to keep us remembering what we're here for." I hear my father say.

"You're f*cking kidding right? Craig? You can't be serious?" I hear my moms voice whisper in disbelief.

He's actually doing it this time, I think to myself.

Of all the times that I've heard my father say he's  going to leave, and take us with him, this is the first time he's actually doing it.

"Yes Mikahaila, I am being the most honest I have ever been with you. We are not fit to live together anymore. It's.... it's frustrating living with such a..." he trailed off. I know what he's thinking.

With such a f*cked up, messed up, idiotic family.

"Fine.... f*cking fine. Whatever. Y'know what. I work for this family. Okay. We're all trying. Every single one of us. But you know what...." my mom pauses for a minute, noticing her voice getting louder. She was trying to calm down. ".... all of us have been trying to work things out except you. You're just giving up? Just like that?" She asked, her voice strained. I could hear the emotion in her voice. I guessed she was probably on the verge of tears.

"No Mikahaila. I'm trying to help fix it." he said and I heard the door open and close.

Crash, slam, crash.

"Sh*t" I hear my mom whisper.

Then I hear her cleaning up whatever item she broke.

And then I go to bed. Tears welling up in my eyes.