03
The house was dead silent. It was almost ten,
and Sarah still wouldn’t come out.
We were sitting outside her bedroom door,
nobody willing to leave.
“Mom, Dad, go to bed. I’ll watch over her,” I
said.
“How can I sleep with Sarah like this?” my
dad asked. Mom patted his back and leaned
on his shoulder, her eyes all red and swollen,
her tears long gone.
“Those bastards might come back tomorrow.
You need to rest,” I said.
“He’s right,” Mom said. “Listen to Danny.
She’ll be safe with him.”
Dad sighed heavily and slowly walked away.
He used to work construction and hurt his
back lifting sandbags. It got worse as he got
older, now all he can do is slap on a pain
patch.
Watching his hunched–over figure, my throat
tightened. I was so angry.
After my parents turned off the lights, I
knocked on the door twice, long, then twice
short.
That was our code.
I used to sneak her out for late–night snacks.
I would slip her candy when Mom and Dad
weren’t looking, we’d go have fun.
But this time, I didn’t get to see Sarah’s
smiling face.
“Sarah,” I whispered. “Can I come in?”
I had a key to her room.
Still nothing.
I had a bad feeling. I grabbed the key and
unlocked the door.
The smell of blood hit me like a punch in the
gut.
<
The sheets were soaked in blood, Sarah was
lying there, half her body covered in it. Her
wrists had these deep, jagged cuts.
“Sarah!”
I picked her up and ran out.
“Mom! Dad! Sarah tried to kill herself!”
