A Book of Poems and Stories That I Will Never Publish

Safety

Authors Note: I wrote this when my sister and I were at my dads house and him and my stepmom were fighting.

she storms into the bedroom and slams the door. he follows suit shortly after, but with more anger. they are arguing. i sit on my phone and try to pay attention to the tv. but my ears on focused on something else entirely. i flinch every time the house settles. i flinch every time a voice is raised. i flinch every time there's a bump or a bang. has he hit her? should i steal the car and take myself and my sister home? should i call someone? should i go in there? why does this happen? how do i distract my sister? when can we just rest? how can i take my sister and leave knowing that she's stuck here with him? when can it all stop? how long until one of them kills the other one? how long until we hear the gunshot and i push my sister out of the door and have her start the car while i grab the dog? how long until everything blows up, yet finally calms down? how long until one of them dies and this is finally over? how long until this ends for good?