Runway at 13

Chapter 1

I plug my ears. I don’t want to hear anymore. I’m kneeled down on the floor, covering my brother. They’re not throwing things. But the ongoing screams, from my mom to my dad, is ringing in my ears. I unplug my ears. Looking down at my brother, I see him crying. He’s so innocent. My poor, innocent 6 year old brother… crying. This is fucking ridiculous. I have to do something.
I stand up, grabbing my brother and picking him up to take him to my room. My room is on the 2nd floor, so it was king of hard to cary him up some stairs. I quickly open the door and run to my bed. I set him down.

“Look at me. Caleb. It’s going to be okay. Okay?” I say, wiping the tears from his small face.

“I..I..I” He stutters. He’s too scared to speak.

“Just lay down. You can get under the covers. I’ll be bac-“

“No! Please don’t leave.” Caleb cuts me off. New tears start to form in his eyes. I reach to wipe them and he puts his head down. I pull his chin up to where I can see his eyes directly with mine.

“I’ll be back. I won’t be gone but 3 or 4 minutes.” His baby blue eyes stare into mine. Giving me the courage to say, “I promise.”

I kiss him on the forehead and throw some blankets over him. I run to my dresser, and pick up my key. When I was 9, I put a lock on my door because I was afraid that someone would come into my room and kidnap me or kill me. All I can say is that … I was 9. Shoving the key into my back pocket, I lock the door from the inside and shut it. I creep to the end of the hallway and realize something weird is going on… I … hear … nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where did my parents go? I quietly make my way down the stairs, and go strait to the front door. I turn the nob and peek through the door to see that the car isn’t in the driveway.