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Chapter Nineteen
Tyson
Five Years Old
Thesilencewokeme.
I opened my eyes, my skin sweat-slicked and hot. The bare mattress squeaked as I pushed myself up, scanning the room. It was mostly empty. I glanced down, my baby brother was sleeping curled up in a ball next to me. Our oldest brother wasn’t there, but that was normal. Atlas usually woke first to try and scrounge up some food.
I rubbed my sore eyes. I hadn’t gotten much sleep. Mama and Daddy were up late into the night screaming at each other. Daddy did most of the screaming. Mama did some too, but mostly a lot of crying. The sound of her sobs made my chest ache, but I couldn’t go to her when Daddy was there. He didn’t like that.
I took a deep breath. The air in the room was thick with humidity and heat. It was the hot months and the fan above us on the ceiling wasn’t working, which probably meant the lights weren’t working either. That happened sometimes. I never liked it when it did, but at least in the hot months we didn’t freeze.
I slowly rolled off the mattress set directly on the floor, trying not to wake up my baby brother. He stirred, groaning in his sleep, but didn’t wake up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Crew hated it when Mama and Daddy fought at night. We all did, but he was too young to know not to cry. Crying got Daddy’s attention, which was bad. He didn’t like it when we cried.
Dust and grit dug into the bottoms of my feet as I padded across the floor of our bedroom. The hardwood was scarred and uneven and I had to be careful not to trip. I opened the door as quietly as I could, the old rusty hinges squeaked a little bit no matter what. I winced at the metallic squeal, holding my breath, but no one seemed to wake up.
I peeked into the hallway, the door to Mama’s room on the far end was closed. She would need me this morning. When Mama was sad, she always said that she needed me. She said that I made her strong and gave her the courage to be happy again after Daddy made her sad. I hoped I wasn’t too late today. I didn’t want her to be upset with me. When her and Daddy had a bad night, I woke up with the sounds of Daddy stomping out the door to go to work. I hadn’t this morning. I think I’d been too tired to wake up.
As I made it to Mama’s door, a cold feeling trickling down my spine made me stop. I sucked in a breath as goosebumps raised along my skin. I didn’t know what it was, but suddenly I was scared. I grabbed the door knob, my knuckles whitened as I turned it.
But the knob didn’t turn.
I stared at the door, that cold feeling overwhelming me. It shot through my blood like when you jumped into the creek when it was too cold outside. I tried the knob again, turning it even harder. It still didn’t open.
I gritted my teeth, turning the unturnable knob back and forth and jiggling it and pulling with all my strength. I pounded my fist on the door as hard as I could, yelling Mama’s name. She didn’t answer.
I didn’t know why, but tears spilled down my cheeks.
“Mama!” I shouted, pressing my forehead against the wood separating me from her. I pounded again so hard that pain shot up my hand. “Mama, let me in! Please.”
I paused, my breaths heavy, my blood rushing through my ears. I listened so hard, but still nothing but silence came from inside her room. She had never locked her door before. She always wanted me to come in. I swallowed the lump in my throat, wanting to feel her arms around me as she hugged me to her chest. I wanted to tell her that it was going to be okay. I needed to tell her that all the things Daddy said to her weren’t true. She needed to hear the good things to keep her strong.
I beat both fists against the door frantically, needing her to open it. I screamed her name until my throat was raw. I didn’t know why she had locked this door but I knew, somehow, that it wasn’t good. Someone was crying behind me. I’d woken up Crew, but I didn’t care.
Suddenly, two strong hands gripped my shoulders. “Ty!” Atlas’s voice screamed in my ear. “Ty, what are you doing?” he said sternly, shaking me.
I whirled around, looking up into my big brother’s eyes. “It’s Mama,” I cried. “I can’t get through her door.”
Atlas looked at the door, his brows pulling together. He pushed me to the side as he reached for the doorknob himself, jiggling it. He paused, glancing at me.
“How long have you been trying to get in?”
“A long time.” I wiped away tears with the palms of my hands.
Atlas’s face paled. He turned to the door and this time, he shoved his whole body against it, leading with his shoulder. The ground shook beneath my feet with the force of it. Still, the door didn’t budge. Atlas tried again and again and again until finally, the wood splintered and gave way as he crashed through it, stumbling into Mama’s room.
I didn’t wait for Atlas to invite me in or get his feet up under himself. I barreled straight into the room after him.
I took a few steps before I froze. Mama was lying right there on her bed. She was so still, her eyes open, staring at the ceiling. There was something sticking out of her arm, something I knew was bad, but I didn’t know what the name was.
“Mama?” I whispered. She didn’t answer even though her eyes were open.
Someone touched my shoulder and I jumped. It was Atlas. “We need to get out of here, Ty.”
I frowned at him. “Why?”
There was something wrong with his eyes, they were getting red like he was about to cry. I had never seen Atlas cry before and my heart beat faster. My head whipped back to where Mama laid on the bed. She had not moved and I knew something was so wrong.
