Bers

I have one very vivid memory that I cannot forget. We were flying down the interstate, my mom's live-in boyfriend, Frank was driving her car. They were fighting. My mom suddenly grabbed the steering wheel and we did a complete 360 right there in the middle of traffic and ended up on the shoulder. An older lady stopped to ask if we were okay, my mom said she had picked this guy up, he was a hitchiker, and now he wouldn't get out of her car. Well, that did it for him. He took off walking, but before he did he opened the trunk, threw in the keys and closed it again. We were stranded. We had to walk to a gas station off the next exit and she called my dad to come pick us up. It had been so long since we had seen him, it was like he was a stranger. That night, after we were in bed, I could hear them talking. It sounded like they might want to be together again. I felt happy and safe. Sometime after I fell asleep, my twin brother shook me awake. He was saying "Frank's here. He's hurting mom and dad. We have to go get help. We have to go to Mr. Boring's house." I was so tired, I couldn't wake up. But I remember it just the same. I fell back to sleep. Later still, I awoke at my grandma's house. I had no idea how I got there. I went out to the living room. It was dark, but the red lights of an ambulance were flashing across the ceiling and walls. My aunt was there, sitting in the dark. She told me to come sit on her lap, so I did. She held me and rocked me until I fell asleep. I didn't cry. I didn't know what was going on. I was only six. I still feel guilty.