The Silence

11

"Fuck it." I whisper to myself and confidently open the door and immediately close it behind me so that the girls won't see too much.

The first thing I see is my mother sitting at the table with a paper towel to her lips, my father probably hit her again. Our torturer, however, is standing in the kitchen with a glass in his hand, which probably contains whiskey.

I have to work hard on weekends and sometimes after school to keep us alive while my father spends his entire salary on alcohol and gym memberships.

Welcome to my family.

I walk carefully to my mom so as not to scare her because she looks absent.

I put my hand on the woman's shoulder, which makes her flinch slightly, but when she sees that it's just me, her muscles relax. I feel so sorry for her, I have no idea why she's still married to that bastard.

I hear the man muttering something under his breath. I see him taking out cigarettes and a lighter from his pants pocket.

I could use a new pack of cigarettes because I'm running out of mine. I'll probably pay with a black eye, but I would get it anyway, so I can at least get something in return.

I walk confidently towards my father and snatch the pack from him.

"What the fuck? Kid, give me those cigarettes, damn it." He speaks in his hoarse tone through clenched teeth. I feel chills run down my spine.

I roll the pack of cigarettes in my hand so he can see. "You know it's not healthy? Especially if you smoke in a house with children. It harms them too, father." I hide the cardboard box in my boxers to make sure he doesn't take them from me. "I'm confiscating it."

I may look like I'm not afraid from the outside, but deep inside I'm shitting my pants and I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack.

Before I can add anything, I see the man across from me swing and shatter the now empty glass over my head a second later.

The force was so great that it pushed me sideways and I had to hold on to the kitchen counter to avoid falling.

I hear a quiet gasp from my mom.

"Before I come back, this glass will not be on the floor." The man behind me talks to his wife. "And you." He grabs my wrist with all his might and pulls me towards him. I smell the strong smell of whiskey. "You need to buy a new glass." After I nodded, the strong brunette throws me to the ground and heads towards the exit of the house.

When we hear the man closing the door behind him, Lottie runs out of our room and is immediately next to me with our mom.

"Have you gone completely mad?" Mom talks to me as she examines my bloody head. "Jesus, baby, this will have to be sewn."

I slowly get up from the ground and, holding onto Lottie's arm, I walk to the mirror in the hall.

I sigh at the sight. There is a lot of blood coming from my left eyebrow. My hair is also bloody, which indicates that my head is also damaged.

"Jesus I hate work in less than 2 hours..." I groan in pain and irritation to myself.

"Honey, why don't you skip work today? Let your boss know you can't make it today." I hear my mom's sweet voice somewhere to the side.

A short laugh escaped my lips at the thought of telling my boss that I wouldn't come to work today.

My family has no idea what I do for a living because I always shrug off their questions. The only people who know exactly what I do at work are my boys because sometimes when I couldn't keep up with deliveries, I asked them for help.