Prologue


I stand at the top of the stairs, watching my mother and father argue. I was used to this. They had been fighting for awhile now. Suddenly, though, my father does something he’s never done before. He hits my mother. Her body falls backwards, crashing against the table. “Daddy, don’t!” I cry, running down the steps toward them.

My father turns to me with a drunken look before throwing me across the room. "Stay out of it, Gee.” Anger fills my body as I sneak into the kitchen. I grab a knife and quickly go back, hiding it behind my back.

When I return, my daddy is facing my mom, about to hit her again. I run forward and stab the knife deep into his back. He lets out a cry of pain. Suddenly, his body falls forward. My mother dodges it and he crashes into the table. Dead.

I hear a whimper from behind me. I turn around to see Mikey standing there in his PJ's, tears running down his face. I groan; I didn't want my little brother to see that. I walk over to him and wrap him in a hug. His tears fall on my shirt as he wraps his skinny arms around me.

“It will be okay, Mikey. I promise.”