Silent Rain

Prologue

I stared as the rain fell against my bedroom window. The sky was bright despite the rain. I always had a love for the rain. It was the one noise I could listen to for hours. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, drizzle. I love every kind of rain. Every time it rained it felt new. Like it would be possible to start over.

Looking away from the window, I looked down at my lap where my 7 year old little brother was laying. I unconsciously ran my hand through his chocolate brown hair. It was the one thing that calmed him down. It calmed him and me when I rubbed his head.

I moved his wild hair out of his face to look at him, and every time I did I felt sad, angry, happy, but grateful.

His face was stained with streaks of dry tears, and his nose was red. The freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks standing out immensely on his pale skin. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady.

He's asleep. That's good.

I thought back to what happened just an hour ago that caused my baby to cry like this.

***

The sound of glass breaking woke me from my sleep. It was still dark out, and the house was quiet again. I grabbed my phone off of the small table next to my bed.

It was 6:17 in the fucking morning.

I inwardly groaned and lay back down to go to sleep. Just as my head hit the pillow I heard a bang from downstairs. I quickly hopped up now fully awake. I grab my glasses off my bedside table and made my way to my door swinging it open and stepping out into the hallway.

My room was the second closest to the stairs. My step dads room was at the very end of the hallway, and Gabriel's was the closest to the stairs and the farthest from our dad. I quietly made my way down the hall to Gabriel's door, stealing a quick glance down the hall to see HIS door open.

Shit! I hurried to Gabes room as quietly as I could. There were no lights on in the hallway. It was dark but I got there. When I got to his door my stomach dropped.

His door is open, and he's not here. Giving up on being quiet I barrel down the dark wood stairs knowing he could hear me, but I didn't care. I needed to get to Gabe.

I hear another crash, and at this point I'm jumping multiple stairs not caring if I fall.

I make it down stairs as another crash sounds from the kitchen. The house was dark. The only light coming from the kitchen. I run to the doorway of the kitchen and freeze in my tracks.

I look around the kitchen which was a mess. Broken glass was everywhere some of the cabinet doors had been ripped off their hinges. Food from the fridge was spilled and spattered on the floor.

In the middle of the whole thing is my step dad Seth. He was swaying back and forth as if he couldn't stand straight. He was breathing heavily and his neck looked red.

He's mad. I need to get Gabe. I scanned the kitchen not seeing any sign of him relieved but still worried. Where the hell could he have gone?

I looked back towards Seth. He still wasn't facing me so I backed up and made my way to living room in search of my little brother. I looked into the living room and no luck. The lights were off everywhere and that didn't make sense to me.

He can't stand being in the dark alone. I'm starting to panic slightly as another big crash resonates through the house. The noises get more and more frequent, louder, heavier, angrier.

I need Gabe. Where the hell is he? I should double check his room.

I quickly walk past the doorway of the kitchen while glancing in to see him look directly at me. Fuck!