TYLER’S POINT OF VIEW (just for this chapter)

I could feel Karma staring at me. She had been looking at me for about five minutes. I waited for what seemed forever until Anne came in and told Karma that it was time to go to bed. She sighed as if she did not want to leave me, but got up anyway. I thought of how she had taken care of me and beaten up those men. How did she do that? Then I thought of the day her and Eli got into a fight, and how when I was cleaning her up she willingly told me the truth of her past. All I told her was that my parents had gotten a divorce and I ran away. I guess the truth was just too shameful, and I tried not to think of it. However, as they say you cannot control your dreams.

My older brother, Derek, and I were sitting on my bed with the door locked. We could hear m parents screaming and cussing each other out. Derek tried to cover my ears to block out the foul words but I pulled back. “Tylor, you shouldn’t be listening to those kinds of words, you’re only seven.” He said in that parental tone everyone hates. “I’m seven and a half; I can listen to those words if I want to. And you’re only sixty.” I had said not being able to pronounce sixteen. “Do you want me to read you The Three Little Pigs?”He asked. I nodded my head vigorously and climbed into his lap. Just as the story began to get interesting, we both heard our father scream in agony. “Wait here, and if I say run you run in whichever direction I tell you, okay?” He said looking at me. “Okaaay,” I said stretching the ay sound, exasperated.

I watched Derek slowly open the door and peek his head out. When he could tell the coast was clear he cautiously made his way down the hall. As he turned the corner, I lost sight of him. I shrugged and grabbed my coloring book and began to shade Superman red and blue. I heard the creaky stair moan in protest. That meant Derek was approximately half way down the staircase.

About two minutes later I heard Derek scream, “Mom what did you do?” I heard my mother’s muffled weeping, probably blocked out by her hands. “It was an accident! I just got so angry and he was yelling at me and I wasn’t thinking and—and,” She blubbered on. What had she done that had been so bad? “Just because you got angry you think its okay to do this? Because if you do you’re a psychotic Bitch!” He spat. I covered my ears and hummed the Barney theme song to myself to block out those nasty words.

I heard a commotion downstairs then Derek came running up the stairs with a handprint on his throat. “Tylor, run,” He yelled. “Where,” I whined. “Jump out the window!” He said aiming his finger at the window. He finally made it into my room and then he locked and barricaded the door. “You know that I’m scared of heights,” I said worriedly. “I’ll jump out with you, but we have to hurry there isn’t much time.” He said fluttering his hands looking for something else that he could add to the pile that lay in front of the door with.

Suddenly a butcher knife rammed into the door creating a big crack in it. My mother’s eye appeared in the crack, “Get over here you nasty little brats!” I could hear the craziness in her voice and the set of her eyes to know that she was not playing around. I followed Derek to the window. He jumped out easily and landed on his feet. I hesitated a bit but then he said, “Jump, I’ll catch you,” I almost walked away until I heard another crack in the door. I flung myself out the window and landed smoothly into his arms. He slung me over his shoulder and ran with me piggyback style all the way to the local McDonalds’.

He had been wandering around New York City for three years now. It was a Sunday evening and the streets were crowded. “Tylor, I’m going to go by us some train tickets,” he had said. I knew he was lying. He had been really stressed out lately and acting weird, so I figured he just needed a moment to himself. I waited in that exact same spot for two full days until I realized that he was not coming back. I guess it was just too hard to believe. I carried on with my life completely forgetting about him.

I awoke with a gasp. Sweat was dripping down the back of my neck and I was breathing heavily. “Just a dream,” I whispered to myself and then fell fast asleep.