She walks into her house with her headphones on. School is over for the week, and she happily breathes a sigh of relief. She unlocks her door and sees her sister watching cartoons. "Where is Mom?" she asks.

"Do you think I know?" her sister replies. The girl goes up to her room, and decides she'd better start her homework. Not really knowing what to expect and seeing that it is now 5:30 p.m., the girl grows worried. "Will it happen tonight?" she asks herself over and over again.

It's now going on 6 p.m. and her sister wants to eat dinner. Her mother is not home, so the girl decides to make dinner because she does not know what time her mother will decide to come home. An easy dinner is made but the girl feels once again it is a dinner that should have been made by her mother.

It's now going on to 8:30 p.m., and the girl decides that she should put her sister to bed. At 10 p.m. a car door slams out front. The girl knows that it is her mother, but she decides that she should go up to her room because she doesn't know what will happen. Another door slams. Her mother's boyfriend enters the house. The yelling goes on forever. Another door slams and a truck starts up.

The mother's boyfriend has left. The girl then drifts to sleep on a wet pillow full of tears.

The girls gets up for school the next morning. She had a bad sleep the night before, but she drags herself up. When her mother gets home from work, she apologizes many times. The girl replies "It's okay, things are okay," but inside she knows it's not okay.

The next few nights go fine, no problems at all. About a week later, the girl comes home and the mother is not there. It has happened again.



This is dedicated to all the kids out there with parents who have an alcohol problem. Keep your heads up and keep trying. There are people who know

what it feels like, and they are there for you. 1