I always heard mother boasting that father was king of all he did. Always got what he wanted. One to be feared. Respected. What exactly he does, I’m not sure. Something with money, stocks and shares he says. But I know he’s lying. I know it’s a cover up.

Men are always coming and going at odd hours of the night. They’re always covering up something. I hear it as I hide in the shadows, listening to their whispers. His right-hand man, Jake, stays close to his side. Watching everything he does from the shadows. Watching me.

Mother is always dazed and floating about. Never awake in the morning, always passed out early in the evening. I never took her seriously. When she’s not high as a kite, she tells me that even though my father is harsh, even though he’s rough and shows us all tough love, that we have it better than most. “We should feel blessed,” she says.

Deep down, I know she has to be right because, there will come a day when father steps down and Jake will rule. Something about the look in his eyes, that one that causes me fear in the middle of the night, has me knowing she’s right. Things could be worse. Much, much worse. One day, inevitably, I know they will be.

Still, I won’t let myself let go of the magic I know exists in the world if I just believe in it hard enough. If I don’t let myself succumb to the darkness that seems to be all around me. In my father’s eyes. In Jake’s eyes. I won’t let it take me under with them. I just need to think happy thoughts.

“You’re only thirteen, child. What would you need to escape from?” Nana finally says.

But we both know the truth, and a frown returns to her face a moment later, when I don’t answer her.

A loud crash on the stairs below has me gripping my blankets in fear. Startled, I sit up in bed just as Nana bolts from her seat and through the jack and jill bathroom to check on John and Michael. Loud footsteps echo up the stairwell and down the hallway a moment later. Sucking in a jagged breath, I retreat into the dark corner of my bed, pressing my body up against the cold wall of my room and praying for a magic I’ve never known, but still hope exists.

The footsteps stop abruptly. An eerie quiet fills my ears. My eyes land on the doorknob to my room and a sickness fills my stomach a second later, when I watch it slowly start to turn.