Teen Ink

Chapter Three; Phoenix

I was so screwed. I was running ten minutes late, and that meant a good thrashing. Mom and Dad would probably have a belt ready. I pulled in, prayed that they might have an ounce of mercy, and slowly got out of the car. I quickly ran to the door, expecting to open it to a slap in the face.
I could hear screaming. Not the normal screaming, but ear-piercing, blood-curdling, no-words screaming. It was a female and male voice, so I knew they were at each other’s throats. I knew I should have just walked in, went to my room, and said nothing, but a voice said that I should be there in case one of them got stabby.
A part of me wanted to watch them kill each other, and other said that was too harsh. It was like the little angel and devil sitting on your shoulder. One said, do it! The other said, do not! I was torn between the two, wanting to do both.
Using all my courage, I opened the door and flinched as the screaming grew to the point of busting my eardrums. I came to the kitchen doorway, and peered in. What I saw was several broken dishes, spilled food, and two familiar faces choked in red and tears. They screamed so loud that I thought maybe the windows would shatter. I stood, thinking of intervening, but wanting to stay out.
My thoughts of intervening really went down when I saw Mom waving a death trap; a thirty-eight special. She had got it from when her and her drunk buddies would play Russian Roulette. Yes, I said Russian Roulette. The game where you try to shoot yourself in the head. I’m surprised she didn’t kill herself already. I knew she’d kill Dad, and, frankly, I needed someone.
I ran in front of Dad and yelled over the screams, “Put it down! NOW!”
She stared at me in a crooked manner. Like I had four heads. If she was drunk, she probably did see four heads. “Put it down!” I yelled again.
“NO!,” she snapped. “I’ll kill you both! You wretched souls of hell!” she screamed-and raised the gun.
“NO!!!” I screamed, and she fired. I felt a fire enter my chest, my knees falter, and collapse. I felt my head crack against the cold, hard, linoleum, and, for a moment, thought I saw a light, and everything went black.