Page 24 of One of Six

When I get out of the shower, I dry and moisturize my body, then I concentrate on my hair, which ends in a French braid. This will keep the long strands from getting tangled overnight.

Tired, I pull on shorts and a vest top and climb into bed. The front door slams shut and my heart stops. It starts again and I rush to my door to make sure it's locked.

It sounds like Dad is stumbling upstairs. This is not good for my mother. Dad is a violent drunk.

I hear the bedroom door open and then I hear Mom shout, "No! What are you doing?"

"Jason told me what you told him Beatrice would do to him!" He shouts. "How could you do that?"

"I didn't mean it." Mom cries. "Richard... No, please don't! You don't want to shoot me!"

What the hell!

I open the bottom drawer of my bedside table and grab the phone. Who should I call?

There is a lot of crying and screaming. I have to be quick.

I dial.

A sleepy voice answers. "Uncle David, you have to come to the house. Dad's threatening to shoot Mom."

Uncle David curses. "Keep your door locked. I'm on my way." He hangs up.

I don't know if I made the right decision. I'm sure he wants to stop Dad. He also told me to keep my door locked, so that must mean he wants me safe, right?

I force my legs to move and crawl under the covers.

A gunshot shakesme to my core. Silence follows as panic rushes through me. Sweat breaks out all over my body and my breathing becomes rapid. Is this a panic attack? Is this what happens when you hear someone get shot? I try to calm myself down, focusing on taking deep breaths and grounding myself in the present moment.

Heavy footsteps run upstairs, and then I hear Uncle David loudly cursing. A loud grunt and then the sound of a body hitting the floor. More cursing and bodies crashing into furniture, and I continue to hide under the covers.

It must be Dad and Uncle David fighting. Why can't I hear Mom?

Tears trickle down my face as I fumble with the phone. I call Judge.

"You have to come. Dad and Uncle David are trying to kill each other, and Dad killed Mom."

Judge hangs up without a word.

I burst into tears, wishing I hadn't come home. This is all my fault. I never should have said anything.

With a sudden start, someone starts banging on my bedroom door. "Beatrice, I need to talk to you," Uncle David says.

As much as I don't want to be around him, I desperately want to check on Mom. He sounds calm right now and I don't want to upset him again. "One minute!" I shout as I crawl out of bed and pull on a sweatshirt.

My heart is pounding as I slowly open the door. Uncle David winces as he looks at me. My eyes search his bruised and bloody face for answers. "Mom?" I barely get the words out.

He steps out of my doorway, and I gasp at the destruction before me. My eyes shoot to his. "You and Dad fought?"

Nodding, he takes my arm gently. "I'm going to take you downstairs, okay?" He slowly leads me along the hallway, blocking my parents’ bedroom with his body. "You don't need to see this."

"I want to see Mom," I say in a small voice, knowing it must be bad. "Did Dad shoot her?" I sob softly as I'm led into the living room. He grabs a blanket from the back of the sofa and covers me as I curl up in one of the chairs.

The front door opens, pulling Uncle David into the foyer.

I stare blankly into the unlit fire, feeling lost, alone, and scared. I have no illusions that my father will not be punished for what he's done, not with his father being who he is.

I'm aware of Judge sitting across from me. His silent presence unsettles me. He doesn't like to be ignored, but I can't bring myself to look at him. Judge and Richard have been getting away with bad things for a long time with David’s help. If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to get real justice for Mom.

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