Can't Hide It.

Before she ever learned how to love softly, she learned how to survive loudly. When she was little, their house in Chicago never felt like a home. It felt like a ticking clock. Like something was always about to go wrong.
Her dad and her mom never got along. Never laughed together. Never sat at the table and talked about their day like families did on TV. Their house carried tension in the walls. The kind that made you tiptoe down the hallway at night.

Her father was angry. At the world. At himself. At her mother. And sometimes, even at her. He would scream. Slam doors. Break things. And when yelling wasn't enough, he'd put his hands on her mom. She remembers hiding behind her bedroom door one night, knees tucked to her chest, covering her ears while her mom cried in the living room. The sound of glass shattering. Her dad's voice booming. Her mom pleading just for him to stop.

"I'm sorry I'm so in love with you Alaia, I just can't hide it" he said staring into her big brown eyes

"Aw your so cute, I'm in love with you too. Everything about you" she said and kissed his cheek