I, Sophia Carlson, swear to never ever steal, cheat, lie, swear, have sex, or do anything bad if I don't die or pass out within the next hour. 

My dad came home drunk and angry from our town's bar. Iowa doesn't have many of those, especially Sioux City, Iowa where we live. He yelled at me and then promptly went upstairs to pass out. His hangovers were the absolute worst. When he woke up, there would be a fight, and I am most likely going to lose. 

"Molly," I whispered to my sister who had just came through the door, "Dad is passed out upstairs. I need you to go in the secret hiding place remember?"

Her school ended later than mine because Olsa High School ended at 3 while her school ended at 4.

She looked up at me with those very chocolate brown eyes of hers, always so quick to trust me. She got them from our mother, who lived in St. Paul, Minnesota. My parents got a divorce 6 years ago when Molly was born. I was Molly's age. I turn 17 in a couple months. Molly was currently gazing at me with worried eyes.

"Fia," she said, using her nickname for me, "I need help with my homework."

"But daddy is angry right now," I reminded her, "I need to keep you safe by hiding you, Mols."

I always make sure Molly is never around when Dad is in his angry mood (which is almost all the time) for mostly two reasons. The first, because then he will focus more on me and not on Molly and will therefore have a less chance of hurting her. The second reason is because I don't want her seeing our father beat me up and abuse me. She is already going through so much right now, it doesn't seem fair to put her through this too. 

"But Sophie, who will keep you safe?" She asked, looking up at me with those melted Hershey eyes. 

I've thought that a lot. I could call my best friend in Wisconsin, she was my best friend until she moved a year ago. Bailey was everything a friend could ask for and more. She knew about my father and offered to let me and my sister sleep over at her house when his drinking got really bad. This has happened on more than a couple occasions, more than I'd like to admit. But, Bailey was always there for me, loving me like a sister. And as much as I'd like to run to her like I did when I was younger, I can't do that anymore. I have to be strong not only for Molly, but for myself too. 

I've also thought about calling my brother Ethan. But I also decided against that too. There are multiple reasons for that. First, he has been gone for so long, I don't know if he is the same Ethan he was when he left. What if he has changed? Second, he has always been tight with our dad, what if he doesn't believe me and says I'm lying? Then Dad will beat me even more due to the fact I told someone else. 

Then, I've thought about reaching out to my mom. But again, I've decided against that too. She hasn't been in my life for the past 6 years, why should she start now? Also, she left me with dad, why would she want me back after all these years of not trying to be in contact. Also, I'm a bit mad at her. How could she leave me with this monster? She knew what it was like, that's why she left him in the first place. 

There were so many feeling relating to this touchy subject and Molly was still expecting a answer to her question.

"I don't know, sweetheart. I don't know."

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Sophie is above