• I turned over and picked my cell up off the shelf that was next to my bed. It was exactly 12:09. My dad, Vincent was in the living room sleeping since Michelle, his wife and my step mom wouldn’t let him in the bed. My two younger siblings were asleep in the bedroom across from mine. Everything in the doublewide trailer was easy to hear; from Michelle’s snoring, to my sister’s hiccups. 1

    I slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank. Sweat beads rolled down my back. It was hot, even for April. I wondered if I should really go through with this. After all I had school tomorrow, well, today really. I sighed and closed my eyes. The quiet peaceful sounds of the night was strange compared what had happened earlier. I suspected Tessa’s bruises would be gone in a few days. Michelle and Vincent had been a little rough this time in their fighting. I’d warned Tessa against getting between them; had even tried to force her into the other room. But being a preteen made her stubborn as I was. 2

    I snatched my backpack up off the floor beside my bed. It was already filled with more clothes what few hundred dollars I had. I closed my bedroom door softly behind me, wincing when it creaked. Michelle was a light sleeper. I waited a minute and continued when she didn’t come stomping out of her room in a flaming fury.3

    My two younger sisters, Tessa and Paris, shared a room right across from mine. They slept in two different beds about the same size on separate sides of the room. Tessa was ten and the second oldest. Her side of the room had walls covered in posters of animals. She was going to a veterinarian when she grew up and went to college, or so she said. Paris was about five years old. Her bed was filled with every stuffed animal imaginable. But that was the only type of animal she liked, the stuffed kind. 4

    There wasn’t a line down the middle of the room or anything, but you could tell whose side was whose. Tessa’s side was dirty and scattered with clothes. While Paris’ side was relatively clean with the exception of a toy here or there. I leaned down and patted her hair and then turned and laid a note next to Tessa’s head. She stirred slightly and rolled back over. I looked down at them and felt a very strong urge to cry; to just sit down and bawl my eyes out on the floor despite my feelings against crying. 5

    Walking out of the room was hard, but when I got to the front door and turned around I didn’t think I could go through with running away. I gripped a hold of the strap on my backpack and turned quickly opening the door and walking out before I could change my mind.6