Four Years Ago

My brother, James and I sat up in bed. Waiting."I won't let him touch you, Em."He whispered to me kissing my forehead. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. He had been touching me. His own flesh and blood. He had told me that now that my mother had died he could do whatever he wanted. And with James working late at his new job…no one could help me.

When I did tell James he didn't believe me at first. I kept begging him and begging him to sleep in my bedroom with me to fight him off, but he never did. Last week he found blood stains on my bed sheets and confronted him about it. John beat him and beat him, and all I could do was sit behind the door and cry.

We heard a door open and close. I held onto James' hand and closed my eyes.

"Shh, 's going to be alright.I won't let him touch you ever again."He repeated. When I heard my bedroom door slam open and hit the wall I opened my eyes. I saw my drunken father standing there. He laughed.

"Come to defend your little bitch of a sister?"He asked throwing his head back and chugging his beer."She always cries when we have sex. It's really annoying because I know she likes it."He said throwing his beer bottle on the floor.

"That's enough."James shouted charging at him. All John did was laugh.

"James don't."I yelled but James was already kicking his ass.I tried to pull him off but he pushed me off. After five minutes, he was knocked out cold.

"C'mon!"James shouted. He grabbed two duffle bags and handed one to me."Go put some clothes in this."I ran to my room stepping around his limp body. I put everything I might need. The first thing I put in was the journal James had gotten me for my thirteenth birthday last year. I stuffed some clothes in there and put my shoes in my book bag. I ran out to James.

"Wait here."He said going into John's room.

"What are you doing?"I asked.

"We need money. We're going to L.A. The guys moved there a couple years ago, remember? I know where they live..."He said cracking open the safe. He took all the money. It was almost five thousand dollars. Money that john never invested in us.

Before we left, James took his keys and we drove to the airport.

"How old are you?"The lady asked.

"Eighteen."He said showing the lady his ID.

"Go ahead." she said carelessly flipping through a magazine. The whole flight ride I was thinking about my mom. How different it'd be if she were here. I sighed holding on to James' hand. He smiled at me and kissed my head.

"I'll wake you up when we get there."He whispered as I drifted off to sleep.