Broken Life

1

I looked around, my parents screaming at each other as I held my two sisters close. My youngest sister holding our baby brother in her arms as we tried to stay quiet. They'd never find us here, they never have. We should be safe, but are we really?
Who the hell knows.... I sure don't.
"Jake? When will they stop yelling" Carly said while holding Ethan in her arms, a single tear running down her face as I pulled them closer, wrapping them in a hug. I would tell her it would be soon, but if I said that, I would be lying. I hate lying. I'd rather tell them the truth, but if I did that, they would get more scared than they already were. How could I do that?
I don't know, never have known. "I...... I don't know Carly, I think it will be soon" I put on a fake smile and kissed the top of her head, I was screaming at myself on the inside, why can't I just say the truth.
Am I just a people pleaser? I don't know, I'm not sure if I know anything.
Ellie was quiet, she was listening to our parents fighting, it was always caused by mom, always.
She seemed to be constantly looking for a fight, but why does she like this sort of violence? I've never understood why she had kids if she would just scream and torture us.
Why? I constantly ask me this.
"Mom has the cup" Ellie sighed. Ellie was a little freaky, she has crazy good hearing, she always knew what was happening. We were a floor above them, I won't say where we are, it's our safe spot. We had code words and phrases. Like "____ has the cup", that meant "this parent seems to be winning the argument", we have other ones such as "the snatcher has arrived" meaning "parent fight is happening, go to the safe spot".
We thought we would never have to use that code, but I soon realized it would be happening multiple times a day.
"Don't listen, we need to stop listening" I whispered. Ethan started crying as we tried to calm him down, we soon heard stomping. "JAKE WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU AND THOSE LITTLE BRATS?!" we heard mom. Ethan calmed down as we heard moms footsteps on the floor. I held the door above us and hung onto it with all of my strength. The girls were on the verge of crying. I put my finger over my mouth as to say "stay quiet, it will be ok". "Miranda stop! They're hiding for a reason!" "WHERE ARE THOSE LITTLE BRATS?!?! GET YOUR SPOILED ASSES OUT HERE! OR I'LL DUMP YOU ON THE STREET!".
Ellie started crying. I shushed her before I heard my bed being moved as my heart dropped.
She found us.

I put the three of them under a nearby blanket and held and handle of the door with all my strength. "Where does this door lead, John?"
"I don't know, I never noticed it"
"Don't lie to me, John"
I held my breath, my heart pounding out of my chest, if you looked you could probably see my heart pumping  right out of my chest as if I didn't even have a rib cage.
I felt pressure pulling against my hands, my body shook, as light peered through the cracks of the door, and the world stood still.
Protect them