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“Woman, get outta my face,” Pop spat.
“What would happen to Nova and Bird if you’d killed us?” Nana shouted. “Huh? You wanna leave them all alone in this world?”
“Maybe their fuckin’ mother would show up and be a parent for once!”
“Oh, that’s just great,” Nana hissed. “That’s a real good plan, Samson. Leave them to the mother that we had to take them away from.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t been a shitty mother, your daughter wouldn’t be a worthless piece of trash!”
Nana jerked back in surprise, staring at Pop like she didn’t recognize him.
Hands shaking, I stepped out of the hallway. “Everything okay out here?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
“Mind your own fuckin’ business,” Pop barked, pointing at me.
“It’s okay, Nova,” Nana tried to reassure me. “Go on back to your room.”
“You guys are being really loud,” I replied tentatively.
“Everything’s okay, honey.”
“Did you guys just get home?” I asked. My voice came out timid even though I was trying really hard to seem calm and collected. Maybe I could defuse the situation.
“What part ofget back in your roomdon’t you understand?” Pop asked nastily.
“Why?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. I was far enough away from them that I got a little twinge of courage. I’m not sure where it came from, but I wrapped it around myself like a cloak. “I can still hear you frommy room. I bet you’ve woken up all the neighbors by now. Someone’s going to call the cops at this rate.”
Pop’s eyes narrowed, and he took a step toward me. I stood my ground, ignoring every ounce of self-preservation I had.
“You’re right,” Nana said, moving away from Pop. “We can finish this conversation in the morning.”
“What fuckin’ conversation?” Pop said to her back. “You think I’m gonna listen to you bitch at me tomorrow? You’re fuckin’ high.”
He threw the keys in his hand and they flew past Nana and hit the wall. She didn’t even flinch as she came toward me.
“Come on, honey,” she said softly, gripping my forearm. “Go on back to bed.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked, letting her lead me back to my room. I didn’t want her going to their room and getting cornered by Pop in there. They had a lock on their bedroom door. She’d be trapped. A thousand scenarios played in my head and every single one of them was terrifying.
“I’ll be alright,” she said, patting my back. “Go on now. Go back to bed.”
When I opened my door, Bird was standing in the center of the room, his hands in fists and a look of indecision on his face.
“You okay?” he asked Nana, his voice cracking.
“I’m just fine, Birdman,” she said gently, coming inside to put her hand on his cheek. “Don’t you worry about me, kiddo.”
“He shouldn’t be yellin’ at you like that.”
“I got some of my own yelling in,” she said, winking at him. “Go back to sleep, huh? Sorry things got so loud.”
Bird continued standing in the center of the room as Nana said goodnight and left us. We stared at each other, both terrified and confused.
“What the hell is happening?” he asked painfully.
“I don’t know, bud,” I replied, gripping my hands together to try and stop their shaking.
“I’m really freaked out.”
