Because of you

Because of you

Because of you, I will always have a friend.

Because of you, I have no home.

And because of you I feel safe again.

A short narrative about the emotional complexity of family life, in truth, family is meant to be a safety net, they are the people who catch you when you fall and bring you back up again. But very often family is the place where we find the deepest heartache...

Last night we had to hide behind the sofa again. The big man kept knocking at the door. At one point I was convinced it might burst open and he would come flying right through our house. I'd scare him off though. Mum laughs whenever I say that because I'm the smallest in my class, and not the least bit scary. He posted something through the door. It had big red lettering.

E-V-I- Curly C-T-I-O-N. When I went to get it Mum took it right out of my hands and gave me one of her happy smiles. She picked up my little brother balancing him on her hip and hummed the tune to the One Show that was just about to start. She saw me looking at her sideways and waggled her tongue at me. My mum is used to people looking at her funny. She isn't like most of the mums in the playground but I don't mind one bit. Someone once asked me if she was my sister. I think it is because she looks so young, she also wears big high heels, I've tried a few times to walk in them but I sprained my ankle and that was the end of that.

Mum flopped down on the sofa with Maxie and pulled me on her lap, cuddling all of us close.

'Mum, what does eviction mean?' I asked.

'Sshhh April, you know I love this bit,' she whined back.

Maxie gurgled in agreement. Maybe eviction means something good. Maxie obviously thinks so, but then again what does he know he's only one and a half. Maxie looks like mum, they both have lovely blonde hair. Mum's is thick and long and goes all the way down her back and Maxie has a little blonde tuft of curls on top of his head. My hair is mousy brown and never looks right. Although recently Mums doesn't look right either; she's had it scrapped back in a tight bun and I can't remember the last time she brushed it.

'Mum, can I brush your hair for you? I could do it gently and I won't hurt you one bit'.

She didn't look up; her eyes seemed to be straining on the TV screen, looking at it so hard it was as if she was in a different world all together. Maybe she was thinking about eviction, whatever eviction means. I'm starting to miss Beth now too.

'What time is Beth home Mum?'

Beth is my younger sister I'm the eldest. Mum said it would be best if she went for tea at her friend's house tonight, maybe it was because the big man was coming. It used to be just me and mum, then Mum got a new boyfriend and Beth was born, he doesn't live with us anymore, neither does my dad or Maxie's...

In what seemed like minutes the closing credits and tune of the One Show started up again. This time Mum didn't hum, she didn't even move, she just stayed staring at the TV. The only thing that stirred her was a knock at the door. Not a loud, harsh banging like the big man does. No, this was a soft gentle knock and I knew it was Beth. I flew to the door. But Mum flew quicker, spread her arms across it and guarded it. She bends down and looks through the peephole out onto the corridor, I think she might be scared.

'It's okay Mum, its only Beth,' I whispered.

Mum took and long breath and opened the door. And I was right, Beth stood on the landing with Amy and her Dad. Beth was smiling but Amy's dad was looking concerned.