I'd faced many difficult situations in my life. Drug use. Abuse. Abandonment. Money problems. All of those things were dim in comparison to coming to terms with the fact the one person I'd always been able to count on was now dead. I'd never had to deal with death directly before. Sure, some of my parents' friends had died over the years, but more often than not their deaths were a direct result of their own stupidity.

Iris' death seemed to come so suddenly. Of course I knew she was getting older and her health was starting to fail a little, but she was strong and stubborn. The last time I spoke to her she told me she wasn't ready to die, but less than six hours later she was gone. It all seemed too sudden to be real.

I don't know how long I sat in that chair at the hospital, and the nurse - she'd mentioned at some point her name was Caroline - seemed worried about me when I finally managed to stand to leave. She asked if she could call someone to come and get me, but I didn't have anyone. Realizing I was on my own now and no longer had Iris to lean on when times were tough felt like a slap in the face. I was so stunned by all of it I didn't even cry. I thought that was odd since just a few hours earlier I'd been in the middle of a screaming match with my sister and was fighting back tears the whole time.

I left the hospital after Caroline gave me the information about who to contact about the funeral details. The whole drive back to the trailer park was a blur. When I got home, the house was dark. I went inside and just sat on the couch. I didn't bother with the lights or the television. I could hear noises coming from other trailers in the park. They surrounded me as I stared into the black abyss trying to come to terms with the fact that Iris was really gone.

I tried to deny it was true for a while. I kept telling myself this was just some sort of a mistake. I tried to convince myself that Iris was just lost somewhere in the hospital. They'd find her in the wrong room or something. Then she'd call me and we'd laugh about how ridiculous the whole thing was. I kept waiting for the phone call, but deep in my heart I knew it was hopeless. She was really gone.

I never even made it to bed. I just stayed there on the couch. At some point I must have dozed off because the next time I opened my eyes the sun was peeking through our dingy, half-broken blinds. I just sat there for the longest time. I knew I needed to get up and check the time. I knew I needed to take a shower. I knew I needed to wake the kids and start breakfast. I knew I needed to call the funeral home. I knew I needed to go to work. I knew all of those things, but none of it seemed to matter.

It wasn't until Layla stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and asking why I hadn't woke her up I realized how much time must have passed. She seemed to sense that something was wrong as she walked through the kitchen and into the living room. "I'm sorry about what I said last night," she began.

I realized she must have thought my behavior was because of our fight. I shook my head absently. "Don't," I said. I didn't even care about the things she'd said. I already knew she didn't mean them. I hadn't meant the things I'd said either. It was so stupid and seemingly too trivial to even bother worrying about now. "Iris is dead," I whispered, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"What?" Layla asked. Her eyes went wide and she stumbled to sit down in the chair across from the couch. "You're joking, right?"

I shook my head. "The nurse said she tried to call here after I left last night."

A look of dawning comprehension appeared on her face as she nodded. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and I opened my arms and motioned for her to come to me. She slid off of the chair and practically leapt into my arms and buried her head into my shoulder. "It's okay," I said. "We'll be okay."

I knew Layla thought of Iris as a grandmother as well. Even though Iris hadn't been watching her and Austin, they still went to visit with her. When I told them they had to come straight home after school, the standing rule was that the only place they could go before I got home from work was to Iris'. I didn't know how often Layla had been to see her lately, but from the way she was acting, I had a feeling it hadn't been often. Like me, she was probably feeling the guilt from not taking more time just to talk to her.

I sat on the couch with Layla clinging to me for a good ten minutes before she wiped her eyes and sat up. "Can I help with anything?" she asked.

"Um, go take your shower, and then can you get Austin and Brenna up?" I asked. "I need to call the funeral home and get breakfast started."

"Okay," Layla nodded, wiping her wet eyes once again as she stood up on shaky feet.

I waited until she got her clothes and went into the bathroom before I took out the number Caroline had given me to call the funeral home. I had no idea about these kinds of things, but I swallowed hard and dialed the number. To my surprise when I spoke to the woman on the phone about Iris' funeral arrangements, she informed me everything had already been arranged.

"By who?" I asked, feeling dumbstruck. As far as I knew, Iris didn't have any remaining family. Her only friends lived in the trailer park, and I knew none of them were probably even aware of her death.

"After her husband died, Iris came in and made all of the arrangements for her own funeral," the woman explained. "All we'll need from you is the clothing she'll be buried in."

"Okay," I said, nodding to myself.

After the woman gave me directions to the funeral home, I got off the phone. Just after I started breakfast, Layla stepped out of the bathroom. I heard her go into Austin's room and battle him out of bed. I knew I wasn't going to have time for a shower before work, so after I got the bacon on the stove, I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and pulled my hair up into a messy ponytail.

I knew I looked horrible. I really needed a shower, but I didn't have time and I didn't think a shower was going help me much anyway. A shower couldn't wash away the horrible feeling I had inside. I could only wash away the ugly feelings on the outside, but what was point? It wasn't going to change how I felt.

I put on some more deodorant and sprayed some perfume on my wrists before I went into the bedroom. Layla was getting Brenna out of bed, and I had to squeeze around her to get to my dresser to take out some clean clothes. I was glad I'd done the laundry earlier in the week. I had to take Iris' clothes to the funeral home before work. The woman told me the funeral would be the following afternoon. They'd have the wake a couple of hours before the funeral would begin. It still felt surreal, like it was all happening way too fast. There was no way I would have been able to do laundry before then. I didn't even know if I had anything to wear.

Layla took Brenna to the bathroom to clean her up and see if she'd use the toilet before she put a pull up on her, and I quickly changed my clothes before hurrying back into the kitchen. Luckily, I'd left the burner on low so the bacon wasn't burned. I turned the burner up just so we could get a move on things before I grabbed the crate of eggs.

Breakfast was far from perfect. The eggs were a little dry and the bacon was rubbery. When Austin started to complain, Layla kicked him under the table and told him to shut up. I didn't have the heart to tell him Iris was dead. How were you supposed to tell a child? How was I ever going to explain it to Brenna? I couldn't make it make sense to them if I couldn't even explain it to myself.

"I can ride the bus to the store after school if you want," Layla offered. I looked up from pushing my eggs around with my fork. "To pick up Brenna, I mean," she clarified.

"Oh," I nodded. "Right. Thanks."

"Do you have the stroller in the car?" she asked.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"What's going on?" Austin asked. "You're both acting weird."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "Just get off the bus by the store after school, okay?"

He nodded and bit into another piece of bacon. I couldn't eat. I couldn't even pretend to eat. Instead, I just stood up and threw the rest of my breakfast into the trash. I told Layla I'd be right back as I pulled on my shoes. I grabbed my keys from my purse and walked down to Iris' trailer. I looked through my keys until I found the one to open her front door. She gave me the spare key when I was younger. She told me I could come to her house any time I needed.

I never talked about it with her, but I was sure she heard some of the fights that went on in our trailer. I didn't like to think about it, but there were times when my dad would come home after spending hours at the bar. He'd be so drunk, and my mom would be so mad at him for blowing all of the money on beer and drugs. They'd fight. They'd throw things. My dad usually preferred to throw punches. He seemed to like that best. Mostly because that was the easiest way to shut my mom up.

I tried not to think about those times. It wasn't as if they were an every day occurrence, but it seemed like there was at least one major blow out every few months. Thankfully, Layla and Austin were too young to remember the worst of the fights. I wasn't so lucky. There were times I was terrified of my father. Sometimes when they'd fight I'd lie in bed and listen and cry, wondering if this would finally be the night when he'd kill her.

Fran liked to say that was why my mom left. It was her favorite rumor to spread. Telling everyone Joel beat Maggie one last time and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. If it'd been the truth, maybe I wouldn't have been so resentful about her leaving the way she did. Unfortunately, my dad hadn't laid a hand on her in years. But then again maybe all of those times he threw a punch had knocked all sense of responsibility out of her. Maybe that was why it had been so easy for her to just leave us the way she did.

I let myself into Iris' trailer. I looked around. It felt so quiet and so strange not to hear Iris scuffling around down the hall or to hear the news on the television. I tried not to think about it as I made my way down the hall to her bedroom. Iris was a stickler for cleaning. Her bedroom was neat, as always. I walked over to the closet and pulled open the door.

I switched on the light and stepped into her tiny walk in closet and looked around. I had no idea what Iris should be buried in. Her favorite thing to wear was sweats. That was hardly proper burial attire. But then again, was there some sort of rule you had to be buried in something fancy? I hoped not. I wanted to be buried in something comfortable like a t-shirt and jeans when I died.

I looked through the closet. Iris had more clothes than I knew what to do with. I pushed my way toward the back where all of the dresses seemed to be hanging. She'd even organized her closet. It sure explained how she spent her days. After all, she was a former housecleaner. I suppose I shouldn't have been so surprised she was the same way about her own home.

I pulled out a pale blue floral printed dress and looked it over. I couldn't ever remember seeing Iris wear it, but I thought it would look really nice on her. I kept it on the hanger and draped it over my arm so it wouldn't touch the ground. All of the jewelry Iris usually wore was on her when she went to the hospital and had been taken with her body to the funeral home, so I didn't have to worry about that as I headed toward the living room. I noticed Brenna's diaper bag on the kitchen table. I hadn't thought to grab it the night before, but I slung it over my shoulder and locked the door and headed back to the trailer.

I was surprised to find the kids waiting for me in the car. Layla had even grabbed my purse for me and buckled Brenna into her car seat. "Thanks," I said as I hung the dress in the backseat by Brenna's window and sat her bag on the floor.

"I grabbed some toys for Brenna too," she said, motioning to the bag on the other side of her car seat.

"Thank you," I said as I got into the driver's seat and started up the car. I dropped Layla and Austin off before I headed toward the funeral home. I knew I was going to be a little late for work, and I didn't even want to think about what Taylor might have to say when he saw that I had Brenna with me. I hoped he wouldn't mind. Right now I didn't have the time to worry about finding a new job. I was just worried about getting through the day and explaining to Austin and Brenna that Iris was gone. Then there was the funeral. Finding a new sitter for Brenna would have to wait.

Luckily, things didn't take long at the funeral home. I think I spent more time taking Brenna out and putting her in her seat than I actually did in the funeral home. After the funeral home, I headed straight for work. Of course, I got caught in the morning traffic, which made me even later than I already was. For once, I didn't really care that much. So much had changed in the last twenty-four hours. The world somehow felt like a different place without Iris.

When I got to the store, I took Brenna out and grabbed her diaper bag and bag of toys before I took her hand and led her inside. The break room was empty, but I saw the light in the office was on. Brenna and I walked to the door, and I found Taylor seated at his desk talking on the phone. He looked up and when he saw me, he looked curiously at Brenna before motioning for me to come in.

I sat Brenna's bag of toys on the floor and sat down in the chair before I picked Brenna up and sat her on my lap. I listened as Taylor talked on the phone for a few more minutes before he hung up the phone.

"I know I'm late," I began. "But -"

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your guest?" Taylor interrupted.

"Oh, right," I said. "This is Brenna."

Taylor smiled at her and said, "Hey, Brenna. I'm Taylor."

"Hi," she smiled.

"She's cute," he smiled. "How old is she?"

"Two and a half," I replied.

"Fun age," he nodded.

"I know it's probably not standard, but I had an emergency and couldn't find a sitter on such short notice," I explained.

"It's okay," Taylor shrugged. "Why don't you just take the day off?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I'd rather not," I said. "I need the hours. The distraction."

"What's going on, Mika?" he asked, frowning. "Does this have to do with whatever happened yesterday?"

I thought it was odd Taylor was able to sense that something was really wrong, and I wasn't just being moody. I hardly knew him, but he was still able to see. I wondered how he was able to do that. Maybe it just came from working in the business industry. That didn't seem to make sense, though. My perception of business people had always been that they were all about the numbers and not the people. It was possible my perception was just wrong, or maybe Taylor was just different from most people. After all, he'd done nothing but try to help me since the day he took over management.

"Yeah," I finally nodded. "It does."

Taylor looked at my expectantly as Brenna climbed off of my lap and went to look around the office. I sighed and rubbed my temples. "The woman who watched Brenna for me ... she had an accident yesterday and broke her hip. That was the call I got and why I left in such a rush."

"Oh," Taylor said, making a face of pain at the mention of a broken hip. "Is she okay?"

"No, she's dead," I replied. Taylor's eyes went wide. "She had a stroke last night, and it caused her to have a massive heart attack," I explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "Anything I can do?"

"No, everything's taken care of," I said, shaking my head.

"Are you sure you don't want to take the day off?" he asked.

"I'm sure," I said, firmly. "Like I said, I need the distraction. And you don't have to worry about Brenna. My sister is coming by after school to pick her up."

"It's fine," Taylor shrugged as Brenna made her way over to him. "Hey there," he said to her. "Can I hold you?" he asked. He held out his hands and to both his and my surprise, Brenna went to him willingly. "So, you have a sister?" he asked.

"Two," I corrected. "And a brother."

"How old are they?" he asked.

"Well, Layla's thirteen. Austin is eleven," I said. "And then Brenna is two and a half," I said, nodding to her.

"Oh, you mean ..." he looked surprised. He looked down at Brenna, who was grabbing for the pen on his desk. He moved it just out of her reach as he spoke. "I thought ... I'm sorry, I just assumed she was ..."

"My daughter," I nodded. "It's okay. For all intents and purposes, she is."

Taylor looked uncertain of what to say. I didn't feel like being mean or rude, so I spared him. "I guess I should actually go get to work," I said as I stood up. "Come on, Bren."

"No, mama," she said. "I stay."

"You can't, sweetie," I said.

"No, it's cool," Taylor shrugged. "She can stay. I've just got to make some calls and do some paperwork. She's no trouble."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yep," he smiled, ruffling Brenna's curly hair a little as she picked up an eraser and examined it curiously. She started to stick it in her mouth. I blanched and started to tell her no, but Taylor beat me too it and gently pried it out of her little fingers.

I cocked my head to the side. "Do you have kids?" I asked curiously.

He looked down at Brenna and his smile wavered a little. "I had a daughter," he answered after a long pause.

"Had?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said quietly. When he didn't say anymore, I took that as my hint that he didn't want to talk about it, so I just nodded.

"If she gets to be too much trouble, just bring her up front," I said before I turned and headed for the front of the store.

Roxy looked up from where she was throwing another piece of a shelving unit into the pile in the front of the store when I walked through the door. "Hell hath frozen over," she declared. Her words seemed to draw Thea and Grant's attention. They looked at her and followed her gaze until their eyes landed on me. "Mika Davis left work early yesterday, and today she's late. The world is coming to an end," she declared.

I thought about telling her as far as I was concerned the world had started spinning off it's axis around seven thirty the night before. Instead, I told it to her straight, "Iris died last night."

"What?" Thea exclaimed, growing pale. Since Thea had once lived in the park, she knew Iris first hand. "How?"

I explained to her what happened, and Roxy and Grant listened as I spoke. They'd only heard about Iris, but it seemed as if the news of her death sobered them both considerably. Roxy's whole attitude seemed to change, and I realized it was because she felt sorry for me. For once, I didn't really mind. Normally, I hated feeling pitied, but I was already feeling sorry for myself. The whole situation seemed incomprehensible. Every time I thought I'd started to come to terms, I'd find myself wondering how this could actually be happening.

The morning wore on quietly. Thea'd hugged me and tried to assure me things would be okay, but it seemed as if beyond that she - as well as Grant and Roxy - were at a loss for words, so they just kept quiet. Taylor came out front with Brenna around midmorning to check on things. Thea and Roxy cooed over Brenna, saying how much she'd grown since the last time they saw her.

Brenna seemed to love the attention she was receiving, and didn't seem to mind at all as she was passed from person to person. However, when Grant picked her up, she puckered up her face and started to cry. "Mama!" she exclaimed, reaching her hands out to me.

I smiled, wryly, as I crossed the room and took her into my arms. "Not so great with kids, huh, Grant?" Taylor questioned.

"Apparently not," he shrugged and went back to work.

Since Taylor had brought along Brenna's toys, I put her down and let her dig into her bag and find something to play with as we all got back to work. Most of the shelving was taken down but we spent the rest of the morning taking down the rest. Then we had to move all of the scrap pieces.

Instead of throwing all of the wood into the garbage out back, Taylor called a scrap yard and asked if they wanted the pieces. They said they'd send someone down with a truck to pick it up, so all we could do was wait. It was a little early, but we decided to go on an early lunch break. Since I hadn't even thought about packing a lunch, I had to buy Brenna something for lunch. I didn't feel like driving anywhere, so when Taylor said he'd drive down the street to pick up lunch for everyone at McDonald's, I handed him my money and told him to get Brenna a chicken nugget happy meal.

"Don't you want anything?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," I said as Roxy and Grant gave him their money and gave them their orders. Thea offered to go with him to help carry all of the food. Unlike Roxy and Grant, Taylor and Thea weren't gone long. Thea seemed to have overcome her crush on Taylor in light of the fact she was seeing someone new.

I had a feeling if Roxy would have gone with Taylor, they would've been gone considerably longer just because she would have taken the time to proposition him. I wondered how she could even think he had any interest in her. It was obvious his interest was strictly professional. Besides, she wasn't his type. None of us at the store were. We were poor and mostly undereducated. I'd made good grades in high school, but I had no college education.

Taylor seemed to be well schooled in many areas. He was intelligent. I could tell that from the way I heard him handle business calls. His people skills were spectacular, and he seemed to do it all with ease. It was also impossible not to see he was also handsome. I'd told myself before that we had good looking guys around these parts, but he was on a whole other plateau. I was used to being around guys who were smart, handsome, or kind - but none of those guys had the whole package. They all seemed to be one or the other. That was what made Taylor different. I was beginning to understand Thea and Roxy's immediate attraction. I didn't know why it'd taken me so long to notice these things. Maybe I did know. Maybe I just didn't want to admit it.

When Taylor and Thea got back, they started handing out the food. Thea handed me Brenna's happy meal and drink. I had to go get her diaper bag. I put a bib on her and poured her orange Crush into a sippy cup before I sat her food out for her to eat. She loved chicken nuggets and fries, so she dug in happily as Taylor handed me a drink.

"I didn't order this," I said as he also handed me a cheeseburger.

"I know," he shrugged. "I thought you might change your mind when you saw everyone else eating."

I took the cheeseburger and drink reluctantly. "I'll pay you back next week when I get my check," I said.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged.

"Taylor, don't argue with her," Roxy cut in before I started to insist.

"Okay, fine," he said as he took out his own food and sat down on the floor next to me and Brenna and started to eat.

The guys from the scrap yard came as we were finishing lunch, and we helped pile all of the scraps into the back of their truck. After they were gone, we had to move all of the boxes of DVDs into the back storage room so we could finish cleaning up the front room. It all sounded so much easier said than done. Grant had to leave at two, and Roxy was leaving at three thirty. As she was getting ready to go, I saw the school bus stop down the street. I watched from the window as a group of kids got off the bus. Layla and Austin were among them, and when they got to the entrance to the store, I opened the door for them and let them inside.

"How was school?" I asked.

Layla shrugged, and Austin said, "It sucked."

I rolled my eyes as Taylor walked over to us holding Brenna. "This must be your brother and sister," he said.

"Yeah," I said. I pointed to each of them and told him their names again. "This is Taylor. The new manager. The one that replaced Judd. I told you about that, right?"

Layla shook her head. "No, you didn't," she said.

"Oh, well, I thought I did," I shrugged.

Taylor smiled and looked from me to Layla. "You two look a lot alike," he commented.

Layla and I both rolled our eyes. "I take it you hear that a lot," he said.

"Too much," Layla muttered.

"Okay, well, I guess we'll go get the stroller from the car," I said, turning to Taylor. "I'll be right back." Then I turned to Austin. "You can wait here, Aust."

He nodded and as Layla and I headed to the door to the back, I heard Taylor ask Austin about his hobbies. I grabbed my keys from my purse before Layla and I went out to my car. I noticed Layla smirking at me as I unlocked the truck. Finally, I said, "What are you smirking about?"

"You forgot to tell me about Taylor, huh?" she questioned.

"I thought I told you," I said, shrugging as I lifted the trunk and told Layla to hold it up.

"Right. Whatever you say," she said as she held the trunk open with both hands.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as I heaved Brenna's heavy stroller out of the trunk.

"I suppose you hadn't noticed he was completely gorgeous as well," she commented as she closed the trunk with a thump.

I turned and looked at her. "Actually, I did notice," I admitted.

"Well, it's good to know you're not completely oblivious to good looking guys," she grinned.

"Says the girl who had a crush on Grant Henry," I countered as I began to pull the stroller open.

Layla blushed a little as she grabbed a hold of the stroller I was struggling to open up. She helped me pull it open before she pushed it toward the back door, and I held it open for her to push inside. Once Brenna was secured in her seat and Thea and Taylor had both cooed over her and told her goodbye, Layla stuffed the diaper bag into the shelf under the seat and took Austin and started for home.

"They seem like a good kids," Taylor commented.

"They are," I nodded.

With only Thea, Taylor, and I there to finish things up, things slowed down considerably. Thea and I had to carry a box together because it was too heavy otherwise. Then we had to finish taking down all the movie posters. I tried to salvage them the best I could, but the ones that were taped up were a lost cause. I didn't suppose it mattered very much. Taylor said we'd probably be selling the posters when we sold all of the old or discontinued stuff.

I was glad when the front of the store was finally empty. Thea left at four thirty, and Taylor I were left to do the rest. Taylor offered to let me go when Thea left, but I figured we'd get things done faster if we both worked on it, so I stayed. We had to vacuum before we could shampoo the floors. I always thought the store front was small, but after vacuuming and shampooing all of it, I'd changed my mind.

It was a lot of work, and by the time we were finished, I was ready to just go home and go to bed. I knew I still had to fix dinner and find clothes for Austin, Brenna, and myself to wear to the funeral. I still had to tell Austin about Iris. I wasn't looking forward to doing that, but I knew I had to do it, so after putting all of the cleaning supplies away and making sure everything would be ready for renovation come Monday, Taylor locked up and we got into each of ours cars. He waved as he backed out of the parking lot, and I did the same before backing up my own car and heading for home.

During the drive home, I tried to decide what I was going to fix for dinner. I didn't feel like doing anything too elaborate. I just felt too tired, so I decided it would probably be fish sticks and macaroni and cheese. After dinner I would sit down and explain to Austin what had happened to Iris. I knew it was going to be hard, but I had to tell him. The funeral was the following afternoon. I wished they'd given me a little more time. I was still trying to come to grips with it. Working had helped a lot. I'd been so distracted by getting things done, I hadn't had to think too much about Iris' passing.

Surprising, I felt like it had been a good day at work. Having Brenna there had definitely been interesting. Watching everyone dote on her was fun. She seemed to really enjoy it. Taylor also seemed really good with her. I was still curious about what he meant when he said he had a daughter. I wasn't really sure what to make of his answer, but now certainly wasn't the time to dwell on it. I had more pressing matters than trying to pry into the details of Taylor's personal life.

As I pulled into the driveway, I cringed at the sight of my dad's truck sitting in the driveway. I was in no mood to put up with his drunken antics, but as I turned off the car, I had a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I could hear noise from within the house. Instead of the usual annoyance of my dad's band playing, I heard music blaring, but that wasn't the part that seemed so out of place. I knew Layla had CDs from the library, so it wasn't a surprise she was listening to them. It the banging noise I could hear above the music.

I frowned, slinging my purse over my shoulder and shoving the car door shut as I hurried up the steps. I pushed the door open and was immediately overcome with the smell of drugs and the sound of Brenna wailing. I saw her sitting on the couch, covering her eyes as tears poured down her cheeks.

I looked toward the back of the trailer to the door at the end of the hallway where the banging was coming from. There I saw Austin pounding on the door to my dad's bedroom. The only working CD player in the house was in his room so I knew the music was coming from there, but even though the door was shut, the volume of it was almost deafening. My first thought was Austin was banging on the door, trying to get Layla to turn down the music, but as I walked down the hall and started to ask Austin what was going on, he turned to me with tearstained cheeks. His fists were bloody, apparently from banging on the door and I knew something was terribly wrong.

"Dad. Layla. Screaming," Austin sobbed. I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach when my ears finally picked out the sound of screams mixed in with the music coming from the bedroom.

I pushed Austin out of the way and tried to turn the doorknob. It was locked, so I pressed into the door with my shoulder while holding onto the doorknob. It was useless. "Layla?" I yelled, hoping she could hear me over the music. "Can you hear me? Dad? Open the door!"

Layla's screams only seemed to grow louder, and a million thoughts popped into my mind. So many different scenarios of what was happening behind that door, and each thought was worst than the one before it. I pushed at the door again, but it still didn't budge. I pounded at it with my fists, much like Austin had. "Aust, call 911," I called over my shoulder. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew it was bad.

I kept pounding at the door, hoping it would give, but when I realized it wasn't going to happen, I ran back down the hallway to the kitchen. I scrambling around, looking for something, anything that I could use to get that door open. I threw open the drawers, picked up several items, but none of them seemed like they'd be of any use. I even picked up the butcher knife, but I knew it wasn't going to help unless I got that door open.

There were tears in my eyes and they were blurring my vision. I wiped them away with the back of my hand and noticed the empty laundry basket sitting on the floor. "Coat hanger," I whispered to myself as I all but flew back down the hallway to my bedroom. I scrambled through the cluttered room to the closet and pushed the closet door to the side and grabbed an empty coat hanger. For once in my life, I was thankful we still had wire hangers.

With shaky hands I pushed and pulled at the curved top of the hanger, scraping and cutting my hands in the process. I didn't care though. I didn't even register the pain. Once I finally managed to get it was straight enough, I hurried out of the room to the door at the end of the hall. I stooped down and pushed the hanger into the tiny hole in the doorknob. My hands were shaking so bad, but I managed to keep the hanger in the hole and moved it until I heard the lock click open.

I felt a rush of relief as I stood and pushed at the door. It opened halfway, but there was something blocking the door. I kicked the door until whatever was behind it moved out of the way enough for me to get in the room. When I stepped inside, I stopped dead in my tracks, horrified by the sight in front of me.

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. Layla was on the bed, screaming and our dad was on top of her, pinning her hands above her head. His pants were down to his ankles, and Layla's screams seemed to grow louder with his movements. I felt such an intense feeling of disgust, despair and anger. It felt like something just came over me, and before I even had time to think, I had charged across the room. The hanger was still in my hand as I pounded at my father's back.

He yelped as the straightened edge of the hanger poked into his back and sunk my fingers into his shoulders and I hauled him off of the bed. I could hear my own voice, but I had no idea what I was even saying. All I could think, see, feel was the pain in Layla's voice. He was hurting her, and I had to stop him.

Somehow he managed to turn around. I pounded at his chest as he pushed me. I stumbled backward, and my back hit the dresser followed my head. I felt like my head was pounding and room was spinning. My dad was coming toward me again. The rage on his face was plain to see. If looks could have killed, I would have already been dead. I tried to stand up, my when I tried to pushed myself up with my arms, they gave out at the elbows, and I fell back against the dresser again. The pain in my head was renewed, and I had nowhere to go as my father charged at me.

I was sure he was going to kill me. His hands were pushed out in front of him, and he wrapped them around my neck. He squeezed, and I felt my throat tighten as I gasped for air and tried to push him away with my bloody hands. He was so much stronger than me, and it was so hard to breath. I was gasping for air, but it just felt like his hands were getting tighter and tighter around my throat. I felt like I was going to black out as I clawed at his arms, trying to get him to let go of me. I felt myself starting to go, but then all of a sudden his hands were gone and I could breath again.

I opened my eyes slowly, gasping for air, only to see my dad lying in a heap on the floor. Above him, Austin stood, clutching onto a frying pan for dear life as tears spilled down his otherwise pale cheeks while Layla crawled to the end of the bed, trying to cover her naked body. She was bloody, bruised, and seemingly broken, and all I could do was weep.