You wake up to the sound of gun shots. You’ve heard them enough in your neighborhood to know if their far or close these shots sound close. You guess about a block away. You think of your little sister. Did she hear them? Is she crying? Then you think of your mom and dad. Are they safe in bed? You think and you think and you think. He’s not there with your mom, he’s probably walking home from the convenience store. Could your dad be dead? Was he lying on the cement, praying to God? You shake your head trying to get the image out. Then you hear a knock at the door. You think, who could it be? The knocking stops then the doorbell rings. Finally you get out of bed. Looking through the peephole, you see that it’s your neighbor. Quickly you unlatch the door and open it. She comes running in your arms, you quickly close the door. She’s crying her eyes out. You think it’s her daughter. Could it be? Then another knock at the door, you open the door to find you were wrong. Her daughter is standing right in front of you. She looks traumatized, you bring her inside. Then she locks eyes with you, which brings you back to the moment in 2nd grade.

You’re sitting at a table with your friends in Mrs. Carter’s class. Then the door opens. You turn your head in that direction, you see a girl. A beautiful girl walking to the teacher. She stands in front of the classroom and the teacher greets her to the class. You lock eyes and you look into her hazel eyes. You come back to reality. She’s still crying in your strong, muscular arms. You take her to the couch; you lay her down and go to the kitchen to bring her a glass of water. When you return with the glass of water, she’s sitting upright and isn’t that much as she did before.

“Your…dad…was…k-killed.” She starts to cry again. You’re shocked, you can’t find the right words to reply so you don’t. You hear a sob you turn your head in that direction. It’s your mom. You wonder if she just heard what Gabriella said. She falls to the ground. You run to her and pick her back up, then you hear another cry, more like a yelp.

“Is it true? Is daddy dead?” You turn your head in the opposite direction, to find your little sister, Amiee. She runs to you and mom. You all huddle together crying and weeping. Your neighbor and Gabriella join in.

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You wake up the next day and go to the kitchen. You call for your dad then you remember that he’s not there with you anymore. You get ready to go to school. Amiee is going to stay home, because she doesn’t feel like going to school. On the ride to your school, your mom talks to you. She tells you to be a good boy and to be a better person, and to make your dad proud. There you go. You’ll go to school and you won’t be a bully instead you’ll be the nice guy. You’ll get the best grades you ever had and you’ll impress the teachers. You’ll defiantly turn your life around.
They let you out of school, you called your mom telling her not to pick you up and that you’ll walk home.
You walk home and the day is beautiful outside, sunny and cloudless. You think of ways to change your life. First you’ll get a job so that you’ll help your mom with the bills. Second, get good grades. Third, help Amiee with anything she needs.

One Year Later

You arrive at your door. You take the keys from your pocket and you open the door. You walk through the doorway, you’re excited that it’s the weekend and you can spend time with Amiee, and you don’t notice a drunk man on the couch sleeping. You walk to your room, and then you realize, why in the world is there a man in my house? You walk back to the living room to find that he’s still there. You call for your mom.
“Mom!” No answer. You carefully go to the couch not to disturb the man. You carefully sit on the coffee table, and you stare at him. Then you hear keys jingling outside the door. You wonder if it’s your mom. The door opens and your mother walks through the doorway. You run to her and ask,
“Who’s the man on the couch?” just as you said that the man wakes up. He looks at you then to your mom,
“Ooh hey baby I was tired so I slept on the couch.”
“Baby! What does he mean, Baby?” You say, surprised anyone would ever call your mom Baby again.
“I meant to tell you. I meant to tell you last night.” Your mom tries to calm you down by stroking your cheek.
“I’m going to pick up Amiee.” You grab the keys out of her hand and run to the sidewalk where the car is parked. You open the door, and enter the car. You put the key in the ignition and start the car. Putting your foot on the gas you hurry to pick up Amiee.
You arrive at her school. She’s the only one there and she’s talking to a teacher, Mrs. Carter. Amiee sees you, and instantly a smile’s on her face, you smile back. You motion for her to come. She turns back to Mrs. Carter to her that she’ll be leaving. Amiee runs to the car.
“Where will we be going to today?” Every Friday for the last year you and Amiee have always done something fun. Going to the park, roller rink, or riding bikes.
“Sorry. Something came up. Nothing fun for today.” Her face changed emotions, happy to sad.
The ride home was silent no one said a word. Instead of taking Amiee home, and parking next to the sidewalk, you take her to your neighbor’s house. You knock on the door, Gabriella opens it.
“Can you watch Amiee for a little while?”
“Sure. Are you going to pick her up?”
“Let her stay the night.”
“Okay.” Amiee walks through the door way, but then she runs back to you. You crouch down to be at her level.
“You’ll come back right?” She asks.
“Yes. Don’t worry. Have fun” She nods her head then runs to Gabriella. The door closes. You walk back to your house, you open the front door. You walk to the table, and you talk to them.




Another Year Later

You can’t believe that they’re getting married, but it’s happening right in front of you.
“I do.” Your mom says.
“And you Jason Williams take Kelly Watson to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.” Your new step-father says. Great a drunk who sobered up to remember his wedding. Now that he married your mom, you would get twice the beat up. You had a scar on your back when he whipped you for coming home late. You had bruises on her chest from Jason’s beatings. You didn’t want them to get married, but it been a year. You go over to your sister and ask,
“Would you like to dance?”
“Sure!” Holding her by the hand you take her to the dance floor.

Three Months Later

You’re sick and tired of him. He threatens to kill you in your sleep. You’re scared of him and you want to tell your mother, but then if you do Jason will for sure kill you.
He’s sleeping on the couch when you come home from work. There’s 15 bottles of beer on the floor and they’re all empty. You stare at him for a while, wondering what when wrong. You remember, that’s right Dad died. You walk to the kitchen, you stand in front of the knife drawer, and slowly you open it. Which knife to choose, which knife to choose? You pick one up. You take it to the couch and you stab him. Blood starts to pour everywhere. You don’t cry and you don’t run and hide, instead you watch him die.
You never did like him and finally you did it. You killed him. The man who abused you. The man who is not your father.