Why did I have to hit her... I didn’t have to go that far. I thought to myself on the bus ride home. I felt like I could throw up any second and it would still not be enough to end my worries.

The bus only took about ten minutes to drop me off home. I got off the bus and I wanted to scream, cry, and throw up everywhere. I just didn’t know where to start.

My bus drove off and I fell to my knees. My stomach couldn’t handle the stress anymore and I threw up in my driveway.

t got on my clothes and once I got inside my house, I ran to my room. The stress was not over. I crawled into my closet and sobbed.

Eventually, I heard my dad come home and he sounded anything but happy. I heard him yell on the phone about something.

“How can you do this! Who do you think you fucking are! I have a little girl at home what do you expect me to tell her!”

The call didn’t last long but there was a lot of yelling.

I stayed out of his way in my smelly clothes for hours because I was scared he would take his anger out on me.

I almost fell asleep in my closet due to being there for so long. It wasn’t until I heard my dad call me for dinner. My heart started racing again. I wasn’t ready to face him. At least not yet.

I waited a couple of minutes and my dad called me again. I felt like I had no choice but to go and so I went.

I slowly crept out of my room and walked to the kitchen. He looked happy when he saw me. But I got a little bit closer and he pinched his nose.

“Honey, why do you smell so bad?”

I couldn’t contain my tears. I laid on the kitchen floor and sobbed.

My dad got on his knees and kneeled next to me.

“Why are you crying, Sweetheart?” He spoke softly while he wiped my tears away.

“You’re mad at me... and it’s all my fault!”

My dad shook his head.

“Honey, what makes you think I’m mad at you? I'm not mad.”

I slowly sat up and looked at him.

“But, I don’t understand. Auntie said that you would be mad at me...”

My dad scratched his head.

“That’s a bit strange but alright then. I’m not mad at you though. I’m angry with my boss but not you. Maybe Auntie thought I’d be stressed with work.”

I let it go and went to the bathroom to clean up. My dad started up a bath for me and gave me clean clothes.

Once the bath was ready, I stepped in and thought about how my day went. It was terrible but it wasn’t over yet.

“Honey, I’m going to call Auntie really quick I’ll be right back.”

My heart sank. I had to think of something fast.

“No!” I screamed as I grabbed on to his arm.

He took his arm back and persisted it would be a fast call and he would be back. Afterward, I slowly stepped out of the bath and placed my ear against the door.

“Hey, weird question but did you tell Campbell I’d get mad at her?” I was terrified of what was going to happen next. I couldn’t stand it.

“Then why is she telling me that you said that? It really scared her.”

It was silent for a couple of minutes I couldn’t tell if they were fighting or somehow in agreement with each other. It terrified me either way.

Then without a warning, the door opened and I rushed back in the bathtub. My dad shook his head.

“Spying on my conversations? Really?”

I turned around and faced the wall.

“I was scared,” I mumbled in response.

“Of what?” I heard my dad replied.

“Nothing.”

I heard my dad leave the bathroom and slam the door behind him.

“He would never believe me anyway. Even if I did tell him all about Auntie and her piece of shit daughter.”