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Chapter 72

Matt's other Uncle has moved in with us. He is staying in my room. I am still sharing a room with Chloe. It is a typical Friday night. Momma and Matt have gone out for awhile. Chloe is staying with some of her friends. She gets out when she can. I don't blame her. If I had somewhere else to go I guarantee you I would not be here. 

I am in my room laying in our bed and enjoying the silence, but it doesn't last long. Momma and Matt come storming into the house yelling, angry about something. This is nothing new to me. It has become a normal thing now. 

Momma burst into Chloe's room. I bolt upright in bed. 

"What are you doing!" Momma yells marching up to me. She doesn't wait for me to answer. She grabs me. Blow after blow hits me. I quickly hold up my arm to block them. I don't know how many times she hits me, I lose count. 

"Stupid girl! Just like your sister!" Momma strikes me again. Momma leaves me cowering in the floor.

"Call her," Matt barks. I do not see them but I can hear them in the living room. I do not dare leave my room. I do not want to get involved in this. 

 "Sneaking out all the time doing who knows what," Momma shoots back. I know they are talking about Chloe. I hear Momma on the phone ordering Chloe to come home. They don't tell her why just that she needs to come home right then and there. 

When she returns home, everything hits the fan. Momma and Matt attack her with accusations about sneaking out of the house. They said they had a very reliable source that had seen her sneaking out of the window. 

Chloe wasn't sneaking out. Their reliable source was our crappy neighbor. 

"You want to leave so bad then leave!" Momma yells. 

"I will then. You think I want to be around yall and all this ____" Chloe snaps back. I hear Chloe's angry footsteps stomping down the hallway to our shared room. She enters and slams the door shut behind her and locks it. She leans against the door. 

Matt was always telling Chloe to leave but tonight was the worse it had ever been. I think she is really going to do it this time. I can see it in her face. She doesn't want to do this anymore. The defeat washes over her. She slides down the door to her knees. I get off the bed and crawl next to her. Tears stream down her face. I lay my head on her shoulder and wrap her arm around mine. 

My arm is from Momma's attack but it is a dull pain compared to the pain in my heart. Chloe's tears break it even further. It hurts to see my sister so defeated. She is the strong one. She is the protector. She doesn't cry. 

I know my arm won't bruise. I don't bruise easily. That is one thing I learned  from living in this house. There were other times when I was the one who caught the blame for somebody else.

Momma is way more violent than Matt. I would have never thought that until tonight. I wish someone was here to pick up my pieces or Chloe's or Max's. I know that this will never happen. The one rule: never let someone in. You will only get hurt or hurt your family.