You and I vs. the end of the world

Everything

 "So the story starts in Gulfport, Mississippi..." I started telling the story before getting cut off by Lizzie.

"Isn't that the town that tried to replace Martin Luther King day with Great America Day?" She asked.

I sighed. "Yes, but that's not the point, anyways..."

This story begins in Gulfport, Mississippi. My mom and dad got married and started a family at the young ages of 22 and 25 in 1993. Their first daughter would be my older sister Katilyn (Her name was actually supposed to be 'Kaitlyn', but it was spelled wrong on the birth certificate and they ended up sticking with it). Katilyn, or 'Kati', as I call her, was the pride and joy of their lives. My parents were perfectly happy and healthy as well as their baby girl.

Five years later, they decided to have another baby, that baby would be me. I was also pretty loved but despite having the unfortunate title as 'the middle child', I was the most successful out of the three, which my mom really appreciated in the end. My parents, my older sister and I would go do all sorts of things. We went to New York, which was AWESOME. Unfortunately, that trip was stopped short thanks to the events that took place on September 11th, 2001. I still find it hard to believe that I witnessed the twin towers fall at only three years old, it still baffles me. It wasn't until I was almost four that the turning point happened. My dad started to go out to bars and stay out late drinking and doing drugs. I know he smoked weed, but I don't condone weed smoking, that kind of became my thing too after a while. My dad also started abusing my mom and they argued daily, especially when she broke the news to him that she was pregnant with my little sister, Katherine. I remember being at our neighbor's house and having to stay the night because bad things were happening at my house.

Then one day, things changed drastically. I still don't know if it was for better or for worse, but it made a major impact on my life. I remember that it happened about a few weeks before my 5th birthday, but I can't recall the exact date. I'd want to say this happened in late March of 2003. It was around 9 at night and my sister and I were heading off to bed that night and unsurprisingly, my dad was at the bar, his second home at this point in his life. We were snug in our beds with the door shut and the lights off when we heard a loud slam come from what we can assume was the front door. You could faintly hear my mom's quiet voice, but not over my dad's furiously slurred speech. I don't even know what he was going on about, mom did everything right today, I thought. She got us to bed on time, she fed us, and everything, but maybe dad wasn't angry with us? It was all still a mystery to me. It wasn't long until I heard my mom screaming and my dad yelling at her to shut up or he'll do it. I didn't know what "it" was, but I was certain it wasn't a good thing. My nana rushed into our room and told us to get in the closet and take Katilyn's little hotline phone with us. We did as we were told and Katilyn attempted to plug in the phone as I held a nearby flashlight. I was scared and confused. I had so many questions running through my head; "Why is dad yelling?", "Why are we in the closet?", "Why does Kati have her phone?" It was all confusing and scary for me, and it didn't help that we were in a dark closet without our blankets and my night light. Once Kati got her phone plugged in, she held me close and told me not to make any noise. I nodded and we stayed put until nana or someone gave us the okay to get out.

Then, out of nowhere, we heard our bedroom door bust open as my mom screamed at my dad to leave us be. That's when we heard skin make contact with skin and we realized that dad had hit mom. Kati pulled me down as we lay on the closet floor. My dad shot the top of our door, causing us to scream and jump back. So much for staying quiet, I suppose. He kicked at the door since he was too livid and intoxicated to actually get the door open like a normal person (or at least bust the door open, since nana had the key this whole time). After a while of pounding and yelling, we heard loud footsteps enter our room with a loud thud and the jingling of what sounded like handcuffs following. After a couple of minutes of arguing between our father and some other unrecognizable voices, we heard footsteps exiting our room as our father continued to yell. The closet door was then unlocked and our nana told us we were safe now. I was skeptical, I didn't want to leave the safety of our closet, but I wanted to stay in the comfort of my bed. My sister picked me up and put me in her bed and kept me close. She knew very well that I was panicked and confused about the recent events. She was the only one who wasn't afraid to explain to me what happened that night, but mom didn't tell her what happened either, she just pieced everything together.

After that night, we didn't go to school the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. Instead, we began packing our things and prepared to move in with our aunt in Denver. I was upset that I had to leave my friends back in Mississippi, especially Rodney. I remember little me bawling in his arms and him holding me tight, despite him not knowing or understanding the circumstances of the events prior to my departure. Him and I shared one final kiss, and I never saw him again after that. I remember saying goodbye to my old dance studio. There were tears shed for Katilyn, but not so much for me. Unlike me, Kati was a favorite. She was talented and a major asset for the studio. They were unsure how they'd compete without her, but they did. I remember briefly saying goodbye to our old school, except we were rather pleased that we didn't have to go back to that place. I remember that ever since that night, I refused to sleep alone. I would either sleep with my sister or my mom. I eventually grew out of this habit when it came to my mom, but I still slept with my boyfriend or my friends if they were around. I also grew more fearful of the dark, tight spaces, yelling and violence because of everything that happened that night. My doctors said I most likely had some sort of PTSD, but it wasn't as severe as the PTSD you see in veterans. I still lived normally, I just had my quirks.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it, I guess." At this point, I was crying. Not bawling, but I was definitely crying. My voice was getting lighter and I felt my nose starting to stuff, giving me a light headache.

Carter pulled me into his embrace, which made me lose all composure and I began to bawl. "It's okay, Kass, it's over now, you're safe and I love you."

"Wow," Caroline took a lengthy pause as she thought of what to say. "You really are brave, Kass."

I nodded to let her know I was thankful.

"I know this is all serious and whatever, but did you actually see the twin towers fall?" Lizzie asked, earning her a slap from Caroline, which she returned.

I chuckled a little bit and looked over at her. "Yeah, I did."

"Were you even scared?"

"Not really, I was three and didn't really know what was happening. My family was scared though." If I could be quite honest, I had very vague memories of September 11th, all I remember is I was there and I was gone.

"So, Katherine never met your dad?" Lizzie was obviously trying to turn this into 20 questions.

"No, she wouldn't have liked him anyways, he would've been terrible to him."

"One last question."

"Can we please get this game of 20 questions over with?!" Mello groaned, he probably would've yelled if it weren't for the story I just told.

Lizzie ignored him. "Can we eat dinner now?"

"Sure." I chuckled as I got up and helped Caroline find stuff for dinner.